Where Birds Don't Fly (2017) User Reviews

Where Birds Don't Fly: Potential squandered

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 4 August 2018]

Where Birds Don't Fly has a fantastic opening, beautifully scored and well written. I immediatly thought this ultra low budget crime film would be good based on this, I was sorely mistaken.

It tells the generic story of the police after a brutal serial killer, sadly it tells a very very boring story.

Within 10-15 minutes of that fantastic opening sequence it becomes apparent that the film isn't going to retain the same level of quality. Considering it was made for a budget of 5k it looks adequate but the writing doesn't make for very engrossing viewing.

Bizzarely tame considering the severity of the killers actions and frustratingly boring this is one crime thriller that isn't all that thrilling.

The Good:

Some good writing

Well scored

Fantastic opening scene

Love the title

The Bad:

Gets real boring real fast

Seen it all a thousand times

Far tamer than it should have been

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

When a person doesn't want to actually make any sort of effort they'll just pray

The Auschwitz story regarding this birds is fiction

Serial killer thrills hampered by a low budget

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 17 April 2017]

This serial killer thriller is an independently-produced picture, so expected a very low budget throughout. The story is about a team of detectives on the hunt for a sadistic killer working his way through the city, but given the budgetary constraints this turns out to be an entirely slow-moving and tediously plotted production that severely tests the patience. The production definitely needed more oomph and suspense to see it through; the best thing about it are the performances, which are much better and more refined than expected.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE!

[paulmagb · 5/10 · 5 October 2019]

While I agree with all the other user reviews posted, the ONE THING I felt was very different about this film was the HUMAN ELEMENT of the detectives. As they proceed through the plot, they show their very human side when, as they return home at night, they are ever MORE attentive to their families as a direct result of what they are experiencing working this particular case. I liked that about this film. I thought it a great angle to incorporate into the plot. What a shame the rest of the movie lives up to the other reviews here.....SAD!

BROOLYN BEACH BOY

These hardened detectives are neither hardened nor detectives

[m-s-dwyer · 2/10 · 11 April 2018]

This movie is brutal. Why don't these guys do some investigative work instead of driving around the city waxing philosophical? Move the plot along, pull the camera back, and maybe find a setting other than the front seat of s car for huge swaths of your movie.

Pull the trigger and shoot yourself before watching this

[wamebrpics · 2/10 · 18 December 2018]

Just horrendous. Horrible. Terrible. Pathetic. They found the killer by riding around in the car and seeing someone buy bleach. OMG.

OMG! I Could've Learned To Knit A Sweater...

[hbsteph-50138 · 1/10 · 7 July 2022]

The first 15 minutes and musical score had me interested. After that, agonizingly slow, doesn't even cover it. OK, so it's low budget but I honestly thought it'd be worth watching a "B-" grade movie. It wasn't. The acting and script left so much to be desired. I actually watched it until it had about 50 minutes to go...losing more interest. Then I skipped ahead until there was only 30 minutes left. JHC! THAT time left was slower thsn ever!! As I titled my review, yeah, I certainly could have knitted a sweater. At least I would have had a positive outcome. I did not enjoy this "movie"(? Such as it was). Don't waste your time.

a bunch of halfheadded detectives

[ops-52535 · 2/10 · 30 March 2019]

This was some of the most boring crime movies ever seen. its a serial killer that does such gruesome takes on his victims that the director wont show us. that is like the norwegian filmcensorship in the early 80's. also the camera angles are terrible most of the time, with the top of the detectives heads cut of, and this goes on wether its in a restaurant or in the car or at the murder scene.

there are just one thing to say, this is for the stupid to see and stay away from it if you can. this is the work of a nonimaginative director and photographer.. its a 2 at best the grumpy old man thinks,cause it stinks.

Frustratingly slow and glacial

[mercersk-972-972492 · 2/10 · 13 December 2017]

I get that they want to emphasize how sad & tragic these cases are, but this movie drags and grinds to a halt so often that it's agonizing to watch at times. Some scenes linger on forever, and the viewer is expected to be patient while the detectives sit and ponder, and sit and ponder, and sit and...you get the picture. Even the climax seems to drag on, as if it's possible to make even that part seem almost boring. They were working with a low budget, but it could have been a lot more suspenseful.

Where Birds Don't Fly

[a_baron · 6/10 · 27 January 2021]

This is yet another ultra-low budget film made by amateurs or at the very least people who are far from professional actors. It is portrayed as a hunt for a serial killer but veers off into philosophy a large part of the time.

It really isn't fair to judge these kinds of films in the same manner as "the real thing". Allowing for that, it holds up quite well, certainly a lot better than some of the rubbish made with larger budgets, particularly one or two in the horror genre that will not be named here.

Terrible.

[mandcsharma · 1/10 · 4 April 2020]

This is terrible, don't go there. The acting is because of the low budget, but the photography and direction is just hideous and lazy. The camera man cuts off people's heads at best of times. We have detectives that do nothing but stay in their car and talk to each other, but somehow solve a crime. You will see more drama in any TV series including but not limited to Tellytubbies. If after reading the real reviews of this movie and you still go ahead and watch it, face the wall and as hard as you can smack your head against it. That would be more fun and more than you deserve for watching this drivel after being warned.

Pretty Much Spot On!

[ptsj-music · 10/10 · 19 December 2019]

A film free from Hollywood stars and style, still with acting and dialogue beyond much of what is normal, and even though it might seem amateurish, it's really not, but instead this aspect and the close up photography gives the story and picture a feeling of being in a documentary, or even like being there. This film is extremely underrated and those who think it is some low budget piece of junk have seen way too many Hollywood action B-movies to understand what reality is. This brilliant film deserves quoted a comment from YouTube: -My Father was a crime scene photographer, and I can tell you firsthand that this film is pretty much spot on. Too few make it through a CSI career with their elan vital intact, regardless of their strength of constitution...that said, their families also carry an often unacknowledged burden. The range of pain caused by violent crime is farther reaching than most people realize, as everyone personally touched is a victim. Kudos for a resourcefully made low-budget picture...a bit rough on the surface, maybe, but I see a glimmer of future promise in the folds. (end quote). If you don't get the picture, see it again. Enough said.

Dearly Beloved...

[heaterpistol · 6/10 · 31 July 2023]

This is a contemplative film about the process of chasing a serial killer. The cops did not seem hardened except the experienced ones. Two of were downright paranoid, waving a gun around their homes.

The serial killers were typecast. One said absolutely nothing and the other blathered on about evil.

My problem with the plot is that the killers changed MO (modus operandi), first killing somebody with an extension cord.

Next he used a Hammer. Third he dunked a little boy in a vat of Clorox..

He attacked the retired cop with a Hammer. He tied up the cop's grandson with an extension cord. Then he found a large stone inside the house (sic) and was caught and arrested while hefting it.

The second psychokiller's maniacal laughter was cartoonish.

The part I liked was that at each crime scene, it took on a religious tone. The lights, the yellow tape, everyone serious, a body laid out at the center of the service. And the music.

True to That!!!

[dancer-28468 · 10/10 · 22 April 2022]

This will be my very first movie review that I have ever taking the time to write... From the very first opening line this film had me on the edge of my seat with my eyes and ears wide open until the very end... As deeply disturbing what this film was about the ending was absolutely beautiful... Congratulations to all of you!

An individual low budget movie that has a powerful message

[kbscrank · 8/10 · 5 July 2020]

Take away the production isn't high expense this movie hits home and has a real strong message...it's a better movie then it's low rating and everyone I have recommended it to enjoyed it

Rollercoaster of emotions, seriously underrated

[daniellerose-41735 · 8/10 · 28 February 2022]

I think this is the first film I've reviewed, but after all the bad reviews left I felt the need lol. The actors and the story line go so well together, it all combines to make a believable movie or at least the feel of "real". It doesn't show a lot of unnecessary gore, which is relieving, It makes the watcher think, something most movies don't do, and perhaps the bar ratings? It has its down points as most low budget movies do but I recommend a watch through of it.