The Birds (1963)

Plot Outline: Socialite Melanie Daniels decides to play a trick on lawyer Mitch Brenner in a San Francisco pet shop by pretending to be an assistant. The joke backfires though as Mitch knows who she is. Trying to get her own back, she buys two lovebirds and decides to follow him up the coast to his home at Bodega Bay. But as she arrives in town, birds suddenly start attacking people for no reason whatsoever. Trapped in his farmhouse, the family must try and survive whilst the onslaught continues.

The Review: Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror/thriller has actually got better with age in my opinion. Although the special effects are admittedly poor, the film's basic approach to creating tension and generating a few scares is top notch and highly refreshing to re-visit after today's efforts are packed to the rafters with explosions, overblown sound effects and silly dialogue. Hitchcock begins with a long character-based opening but then quickly pulls the rug out from underneath us as soon as the first seagull swings down to attack. From then on, the attacks gets bigger and more deadly in scope, featuring an attack at a children's birthday party and the classic attack on the pier and cafe. This sequence is so well-orchestrated, with one event leading to another in a Final Destination-like set-up.There's the scene inside a phone booth (superbly spoofed in The Simpsons with Hans Moleman) where Hitchcock traps us within the confines of the booth whilst birds ram the glass to try and break in. You can feel the claustrophobia there as there is no escape until the attack subsides. And your heart will race when you see the attack on the school children: with every new shot of the climbing frame outside, there are a few more birds waiting until the camera takes you outside to see that it's completely covered in birds. Hitchcock doesn't give any explanation as to why this is all happening. And, just like in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, it works for the better because the audience doesn't really need to know that. Birds are attacking and killing people and, instead of worrying about what is causing it, the characters just need to worry about surviving. When a film is as tightly-written and expertly paced as this, then you don't really have time to worry. I've always had a problem with the ending though and still to this day it perplexes me. I'll give Hitchcock credit for not wrapping everything up in a neat little package but we're left wondering what is to happen next. Hitchcock also seems to get the best out of his cast, with Rod Taylor playing the usual dashing hero role and Tippie Hedren looking very, very cute but needing a good slap after her attitude towards people in the film.

Final Verdict: The Birds may not be Hitchcock at his finest but it's not far off. An all-time classic.

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