Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Encyclopedia
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (often shortened to Birdemic) is a 2008
independent
horror film
written, directed, and produced by James Nguyen. The leading cast is made up of Alan Bagh
and Whitney Moore. An apparent homage to The Birds
, Birdemic tells the story of a romance between the two main characters as their small town is attacked by birds.
Birdemic was made with no studio support, largely self-financed and produced through Nguyen's Moviehead Pictures company for a budget of less than $10,000. Though Nguyen intended Birdemic to be a "romantic
thriller", according to its press release, the film has gained notoriety for its poor quality, with some critics citing it as one of the worst films ever made. After a limited theatrical release, the film gained a cult following
and was picked up for distribution by Severin Films
in 2010.
) is a young software salesman living a successful life in Silicon Valley
when he meets up with an old classmate and aspiring fashion model, Nathalie (Whitney Moore), and begins dating her. Things go well for the couple while hints of something going wrong occur around them, such as the corpses of diseased birds winding up on beaches.
After a night of sex in a motel, Rod and Nathalie wake up to find that their town is under attack from eagles
and vultures that spit acid and explode into flames after striking the ground. Rod and Nathalie escape from the motel by joining up with an ex-Marine named Ramsey (Adam Sessa) and his girlfriend Becky (Catherine Batcha). As they leave town, they rescue two young children, Susan (Janae Caster) and Tony (Colton Osborne), whose parents have been killed by the birds.
The group proceeds to drive from one town to the next, fending off more bird attacks along the way and briefly meeting a scientist named Dr. Jones (Rick Camp) studying the phenomenon. Becky is killed by the birds, and Ramsey, in an attempt to exact revenge, tries to save a busload of tourists. As they leave the bus, Ramsey and the tourists are doused in acid by the birds and all die.
Rod, Nathalie and the kids continue to flee from the birds, driving into a forest where they briefly meet a "Tree Hugger
" (Stephen Gustavson) who explains to them that the birds have only been targeting gas stations and cars, and that the attacks are the result of global warming
. The quartet ultimate settles on a small beach, where Rod fishes for dinner. As they prepare to eat, they are attacked by the birds, which are suddenly -- and for no explained reason-- chased away by doves
. The film ends as Rod, Nathalie and the kids watch the birds fly off into the sunset.
-born director James Nguyen's family fled Vietnam
in 1975, shortly before the Fall of Saigon
.
He never received any formal training in moviemaking, but instead grew up watching the movies of Alfred Hitchcock
, including his 1963 picture The Birds
, and his 1958 movie, Vertigo
, which Nguyen considers his favorite among the director's films. Nguyen went on to be a software salesman in Silicon Valley. He first picked up a camera in 1999, and eventually directed two movies, Julie and Jack and Replica. The former, released in 2003, was a low-budget romance, while the latter was never released. Nguyen blamed this on the expensive storyboarding process and his casting decisions.
Nguyen was inspired to write the script for Birdemic: Shock and Terror while spending time relaxing in Half Moon Bay
, California
, and much of the filming took place in the area surrounding the community. Birdemic took four years to produce, largely due to time limitations - filming was done mostly on weekends and financed through Nguyen's day job.
According to the film's website, the movie was partly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock
's 1963 film The Birds
(the film touts a cameo from Tippi Hedren
, which is actually archival footage from an early Nguyen film, Julie and Jack, playing on a television) and Al Gore
's An Inconvenient Truth
. The film was produced for a budget of $10,000, but the distributors have spent more on marketing than it cost to produce the film and purchase the rights.
in Park City, Utah
to promote the film freelance, handing out flyers to passers-by from his van, adorned with stuffed birds and paper signs that read "BIDEMIC.COM" (spelling Birdemic wrong in his haste) and "WHY DID THE EAGLES AND VULTURES ATTACKED?", and renting out a local theater to screen the film. Word of mouth eventually gave Birdemic attention from horror movie websites Dread Central and Bloody Disgusting
, while the trailer was featured on the July 30 episode of G4
's Attack of the Show.
and Eric Wareheim
, followed by a cast-and-crew attended screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas
on March 2, with follow-up screenings in Tempe, Arizona. and New York City.
Severin Films
acquired the film in early 2010 and launched the Birdemic Experience Tour 2010, which showed the film in numerous cities in the United States and Toronto, Canada from April through July 2010. Birdemic premiered in the United Kingdom at The Curzon Soho in London on May 28, 2010.
. In early 2010, Birdemic was picked up by Severin Films
with plans to release the film on home media. Birdemic was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on February 22, 2011. The DVD's special features include an audio commentary by James Nguyen as well as one by lead actors Alan Bagh and Whitney Moore, two deleted scenes, a feature on the Birdemic Experience Tour, and an episode of the public-access San Francisco TV show Movie Close Up which features Nguyen and was aired as Birdemic was still under production (the host of the show, Bonnie Steiger, later played an extra in the bus rescue scene of Birdemic).
eagles and vultures that, in addition to performing physically awkward aerial maneuvers (non-animated bird sprites in the background will simply rotate 360° in mid-air), spit acid and explode upon impact with the ground.
On a 2009 "Best of" list, Bloody Disgusting
listed Birdemic amongst its honorable mentions, calling it "the best worst film you'll see in 2010". The Huffington Post referred to the film as "truly, one of the worst films ever made." Variety
reported that "'Birdemic' displays all the revered hallmarks of hilariously bad filmmaking: inane dialogue...miscued music, godawful sound...and special effects that simply must be seen to be believed: birds dive-bombing and exploding in red-and-yellow poofs of smoke, and clip-art eagles, crudely pasted on the screen, with only their wing tips mechanically flapping." The Village Voice
described Birdemic as "one more in the pantheon of beloved trash-terpieces." Salon commented on the "atrocious CGI" and reported that the film had become "a cult hit among bad-movie fans."
An online review from the Independent Film Channel
stated that the film feels "indebted to Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space
with its blend of ultra-low budget filmmaking and cuckoo bananas ecological message." The Guardian
and the New York Times reported on the film's cult status, with The Guardian writing that "Birdemic features acting as wooden as a tree, clunky camera work...and crude special effects that reduce audiences to tears of laughter rather than terror." Slate
wrote that "aspects of Birdemic can seem too bad to be true...The film's artlessness comes to function as its own sort of hallucinatory art...we see the narrative space of the film breaking down and rebuilding itself constantly—bloody stitches on its forehead, bolts in its neck. This breakdown can be profoundly discomfiting and surprisingly infectious." The film currently has a 2.0 (out of 10) average rating on IMDb, placing it at #47 on the IMDb Bottom 100 list. Rotten Tomatoes
currently gives the movie a rating of 15%.
Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, who hosted the Los Angeles premiere, parodied the movie on their television series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
in the episode "Crows".
On the February 25, 2011 episode of The Soup
, scenes of Birdemic, especially an elongated scene in which employees clap incessantly at the company's good financial news, was the "Clip of the Week".
A RiffTrax
for Birdemic was released on February 22, 2011, featuring commentary by Michael J. Nelson
, Bill Corbett
, and Kevin Murphy
of Mystery Science Theater 3000
fame. The release of their commentary was quickly followed up by recreations of seven humorous scenes from the film.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written, directed, and produced by James Nguyen. The leading cast is made up of Alan Bagh
Alan Bagh
Alan Bagh is an American actor and model. He is best known for playing "Rod" in the horror film Birdemic.-Career:Alan has performed in theater, film, television, commercial, internet, and industrial productions, in subcategories such as seals, acting, casting, props, hair and make-up,...
and Whitney Moore. An apparent homage to The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
, Birdemic tells the story of a romance between the two main characters as their small town is attacked by birds.
Birdemic was made with no studio support, largely self-financed and produced through Nguyen's Moviehead Pictures company for a budget of less than $10,000. Though Nguyen intended Birdemic to be a "romantic
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
thriller", according to its press release, the film has gained notoriety for its poor quality, with some critics citing it as one of the worst films ever made. After a limited theatrical release, the film gained a cult following
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
and was picked up for distribution by Severin Films
Severin Films
-History:The label was created in 2006 in Los Angeles, other offices were founded in New York and London. The released films by Severin Films include: Hardware, Jesús Franco's Bloody Moon and Macumba Sexual, Walerian Borowczyk's Immortal Women, Gwendoline: Unrated Director's Cut, The Hairdresser's...
in 2010.
Plot
Rod (Alan BaghAlan Bagh
Alan Bagh is an American actor and model. He is best known for playing "Rod" in the horror film Birdemic.-Career:Alan has performed in theater, film, television, commercial, internet, and industrial productions, in subcategories such as seals, acting, casting, props, hair and make-up,...
) is a young software salesman living a successful life in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
when he meets up with an old classmate and aspiring fashion model, Nathalie (Whitney Moore), and begins dating her. Things go well for the couple while hints of something going wrong occur around them, such as the corpses of diseased birds winding up on beaches.
After a night of sex in a motel, Rod and Nathalie wake up to find that their town is under attack from eagles
Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner.With five number one singles, six Grammys, five American Music Awards, and six number one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the...
and vultures that spit acid and explode into flames after striking the ground. Rod and Nathalie escape from the motel by joining up with an ex-Marine named Ramsey (Adam Sessa) and his girlfriend Becky (Catherine Batcha). As they leave town, they rescue two young children, Susan (Janae Caster) and Tony (Colton Osborne), whose parents have been killed by the birds.
The group proceeds to drive from one town to the next, fending off more bird attacks along the way and briefly meeting a scientist named Dr. Jones (Rick Camp) studying the phenomenon. Becky is killed by the birds, and Ramsey, in an attempt to exact revenge, tries to save a busload of tourists. As they leave the bus, Ramsey and the tourists are doused in acid by the birds and all die.
Rod, Nathalie and the kids continue to flee from the birds, driving into a forest where they briefly meet a "Tree Hugger
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
" (Stephen Gustavson) who explains to them that the birds have only been targeting gas stations and cars, and that the attacks are the result of global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. The quartet ultimate settles on a small beach, where Rod fishes for dinner. As they prepare to eat, they are attacked by the birds, which are suddenly -- and for no explained reason-- chased away by doves
Doves
Doves are an English alternative indie rock band, originating from Wilmslow, Cheshire. The band comprises brothers Jez Williams and Andy Williams , and Jimi Goodwin . The members started working seriously together after meeting at The Haçienda in Manchester. Doves' unofficial fourth member is...
. The film ends as Rod, Nathalie and the kids watch the birds fly off into the sunset.
Cast
- Alan BaghAlan BaghAlan Bagh is an American actor and model. He is best known for playing "Rod" in the horror film Birdemic.-Career:Alan has performed in theater, film, television, commercial, internet, and industrial productions, in subcategories such as seals, acting, casting, props, hair and make-up,...
as Rod - Whitney Moore as Nathalie
- Adam Sessa as Ramsey
- Catherine Batcha as Becky
- Janae Caster as Susan
- Colton Osborne as Tony
- Rick Camp as Dr. Jones
- Stephen Gustavson as "Tree Hugger"
- Patsy van Ettinger as Nathalie's Mother
- Mona Lisa Moon as Mai
- Danny Webber as Rick
- Laura Cassidy as News Anchor
- Damien Carter as Nightclub Singer
- James Nguyen as a restaurant customer (cameo)
- Tippi HedrenTippi HedrenNathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
as Actor on TV (archive footage)
Production
Da NangDa Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
-born director James Nguyen's family fled Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in 1975, shortly before the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
.
He never received any formal training in moviemaking, but instead grew up watching the movies of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, including his 1963 picture The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
, and his 1958 movie, Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
, which Nguyen considers his favorite among the director's films. Nguyen went on to be a software salesman in Silicon Valley. He first picked up a camera in 1999, and eventually directed two movies, Julie and Jack and Replica. The former, released in 2003, was a low-budget romance, while the latter was never released. Nguyen blamed this on the expensive storyboarding process and his casting decisions.
Nguyen was inspired to write the script for Birdemic: Shock and Terror while spending time relaxing in Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is a city in San Mateo County, CaliforniaHalf Moon Bay may also refer to:- Geographic features :* Half Moon Bay , a bay on the San Mateo County Coast of California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and much of the filming took place in the area surrounding the community. Birdemic took four years to produce, largely due to time limitations - filming was done mostly on weekends and financed through Nguyen's day job.
According to the film's website, the movie was partly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1963 film The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
(the film touts a cameo from Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren
Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
, which is actually archival footage from an early Nguyen film, Julie and Jack, playing on a television) and Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
. The film was produced for a budget of $10,000, but the distributors have spent more on marketing than it cost to produce the film and purchase the rights.
Promotion
In January 2009, Nguyen traveled to the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in Park City, Utah
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
to promote the film freelance, handing out flyers to passers-by from his van, adorned with stuffed birds and paper signs that read "BIDEMIC.COM" (spelling Birdemic wrong in his haste) and "WHY DID THE EAGLES AND VULTURES ATTACKED?", and renting out a local theater to screen the film. Word of mouth eventually gave Birdemic attention from horror movie websites Dread Central and Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is a website that covers horror movies with reviews, interviews and news. It is currently run by Brad Miska, and Tom Owen. According to one source, the site has 1.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. It is widely considered to be the "world's most...
, while the trailer was featured on the July 30 episode of G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
's Attack of the Show.
Release
On February 27, 2010, Birdemic received its Los Angeles premiere at the Silent Movie Theatre, sponsored by Bloody Disgusting and hosted by Tim HeideckerTim Heidecker
Tim Heidecker is an American actor, comedian, musician, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric...
and Eric Wareheim
Eric Wareheim
Eric Wareheim is an American actor, comedian, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric. Wareheim, along with Tim Heidecker, created the television shows Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Check It Out! with Dr...
, followed by a cast-and-crew attended screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
on March 2, with follow-up screenings in Tempe, Arizona. and New York City.
Severin Films
Severin Films
-History:The label was created in 2006 in Los Angeles, other offices were founded in New York and London. The released films by Severin Films include: Hardware, Jesús Franco's Bloody Moon and Macumba Sexual, Walerian Borowczyk's Immortal Women, Gwendoline: Unrated Director's Cut, The Hairdresser's...
acquired the film in early 2010 and launched the Birdemic Experience Tour 2010, which showed the film in numerous cities in the United States and Toronto, Canada from April through July 2010. Birdemic premiered in the United Kingdom at The Curzon Soho in London on May 28, 2010.
Home media
On April 3, 2009, Moviehead Pictures self-released Birdemic on DVD, selling it exclusively through Moviehead's official website and manufactured on demand through Amazon.comAmazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
. In early 2010, Birdemic was picked up by Severin Films
Severin Films
-History:The label was created in 2006 in Los Angeles, other offices were founded in New York and London. The released films by Severin Films include: Hardware, Jesús Franco's Bloody Moon and Macumba Sexual, Walerian Borowczyk's Immortal Women, Gwendoline: Unrated Director's Cut, The Hairdresser's...
with plans to release the film on home media. Birdemic was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on February 22, 2011. The DVD's special features include an audio commentary by James Nguyen as well as one by lead actors Alan Bagh and Whitney Moore, two deleted scenes, a feature on the Birdemic Experience Tour, and an episode of the public-access San Francisco TV show Movie Close Up which features Nguyen and was aired as Birdemic was still under production (the host of the show, Bonnie Steiger, later played an extra in the bus rescue scene of Birdemic).
Reception
Birdemic has been noted for its poor quality, with reviewers calling out its wooden acting, bad dialogue, amateurish sound and editing, nonsensical plot and, in particular, its special effects, consisting entirely of poorly rendered CGIComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
eagles and vultures that, in addition to performing physically awkward aerial maneuvers (non-animated bird sprites in the background will simply rotate 360° in mid-air), spit acid and explode upon impact with the ground.
On a 2009 "Best of" list, Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is a website that covers horror movies with reviews, interviews and news. It is currently run by Brad Miska, and Tom Owen. According to one source, the site has 1.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. It is widely considered to be the "world's most...
listed Birdemic amongst its honorable mentions, calling it "the best worst film you'll see in 2010". The Huffington Post referred to the film as "truly, one of the worst films ever made." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that "'Birdemic' displays all the revered hallmarks of hilariously bad filmmaking: inane dialogue...miscued music, godawful sound...and special effects that simply must be seen to be believed: birds dive-bombing and exploding in red-and-yellow poofs of smoke, and clip-art eagles, crudely pasted on the screen, with only their wing tips mechanically flapping." The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
described Birdemic as "one more in the pantheon of beloved trash-terpieces." Salon commented on the "atrocious CGI" and reported that the film had become "a cult hit among bad-movie fans."
An online review from the Independent Film Channel
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
stated that the film feels "indebted to Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
with its blend of ultra-low budget filmmaking and cuckoo bananas ecological message." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and the New York Times reported on the film's cult status, with The Guardian writing that "Birdemic features acting as wooden as a tree, clunky camera work...and crude special effects that reduce audiences to tears of laughter rather than terror." Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
wrote that "aspects of Birdemic can seem too bad to be true...The film's artlessness comes to function as its own sort of hallucinatory art...we see the narrative space of the film breaking down and rebuilding itself constantly—bloody stitches on its forehead, bolts in its neck. This breakdown can be profoundly discomfiting and surprisingly infectious." The film currently has a 2.0 (out of 10) average rating on IMDb, placing it at #47 on the IMDb Bottom 100 list. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
currently gives the movie a rating of 15%.
Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, who hosted the Los Angeles premiere, parodied the movie on their television series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim comedy block and ran until May 2010...
in the episode "Crows".
On the February 25, 2011 episode of The Soup
The Soup
The Soup is an E! Entertainment Television weekly series; it is a revamped version of Talk Soup that focuses on recaps of various pop culture and television show moments of the week...
, scenes of Birdemic, especially an elongated scene in which employees clap incessantly at the company's good financial news, was the "Clip of the Week".
A RiffTrax
RiffTrax
RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
for Birdemic was released on February 22, 2011, featuring commentary by Michael J. Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
, Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 , for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel and played the character...
, and Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (actor)
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
of Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
fame. The release of their commentary was quickly followed up by recreations of seven humorous scenes from the film.
Sequel
A sequel, entitled Birdemic II: The Resurrection 3D and also to be directed by James Nguyen, has been announced for a planned release date of summer 2012. The sequel will apparently be available in 3D and the plot will center around eagles and vultures attacking Hollywood, California. On October 25, 2010, the cast was announced; Alan Bagh will resume his role as Rod, with newcomers Alexandra Forsythe as Gloria and Lyle Drucker as Bill.See also
- List of films considered the worst
- The BirdsThe Birds (film)The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
- The Birds II: Land's EndThe Birds II: Land's EndThe Birds II: Land's End is the 1994 television movie sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic The Birds. It stars Brad Johnson, Chelsea Field, James Naughton, and Tippi Hedren, in a role different from the one she played in the original Hitchcock film. The original music score was composed by Ron...
- The Birds II: Land's End