Dead Birds (2004)

A group of Confederate soldiers hole up in an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank and find themselves at the mercy of supernatural forces.

Director:

Alex Turner

Writer:

Simon Barrett

Stars:

Henry Thomas, Patrick Fugit, Nicki Aycox

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Thomas	...	William
Patrick Fugit	...	Sam
Nicki Aycox	...	Annabelle
Michael Shannon	...	Clyde
Muse Watson	...	Father
Mark Boone Junior	...	Joseph
Isaiah Washington	...	Todd
Harris Mann	...	Jeffy Hollister
Melanie Abramoff	...	Girl Ghost
Donna Biscoe	...	Black Woman
Brian Bremer	...	Hysterical Man
Russell Durham Comegys	...	Kormer
David Dwyer	...	MacCready
Michael Faella	...	Johnson
Steve Green	...	Boy Ghost

Storyline

In Civil War-era Alabama, a band of outlaws takes refuge at an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank that held a cache of Confederate gold. Led by William, the group includes Sam, Todd, Annabelle, Clyde and Joseph. They intend to flee to Mexico, but nightfall and a thunderstorm force the robbers to remain in place. As the night wears on, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house. As supernatural forces begin to manifest themselves, the six turn on one another.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | 19th century | black magic | bank robbery | horror western | 

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Taglines:

There are worse things than dying

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and gore

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Casa dos Pássaros Mortos

Filming Locations:

Mobile, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silver Nitrate Pictures,Dead Birds Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Boone Junior improvised the moment when his character Joseph bites down on a stolen gold coin and proclaims that it's real.

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Goofs

In the barn, when Annabelle, Todd and William discover the dead horses. Annabelle's hair changes from in front to behind her and back again between shots.

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Quotes

Clyde: [about William] If he thinks he's sharing our loot with that nigger, he's got another thing coming!

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Connections

Referenced in Making 'Dead Birds' (2005)

User Reviews

Hit and miss

In terms of production value, the film looks great. It's got better actors than most horror flicks and the FX and monsters are good. It also has a good creepy vibe to it and some good scares. The problem is, the script doesn't really go anywhere after they get to the house... Its basically a series of creepy scenes where the cast dwindles as we go along, but you don't really have a sense of escalating tension.

The first half worked fairly well, but it doesn't change much as it goes along. We get some backstory as we go that wasn't that creepy to me, and its also pretty clear they didn't know how to end it. The ending they have just doesn't work at all.

My biggest complaint though is the soundtrack which is way too repetitive and is basically a ripoff from the Shining soundtrack.

Its okay if you want to get some decent scares, but its not going to blow you away.