The Birds

In many ways, The Birds is quite a strange film. It's got a plot that is very different for the time period let alone now and flaws that would ruin most films. That said, it's still one the finest horror films around. It's 60's horror that still works.

Set in 1963, it has a simple plot involving an island plot getting attacked by killer birds. It was a highly anticipated film for Alfred Hitchcock as it was the next film after his massive hit, Psycho.

Even though common but always to me to be a flaw regardless of the director, is how Hitchcock creates suspense. Set through the first act, he creates an act that makes the film progressively slow and loses touch with these characters and the film is much longer because of this set-up. The leads of Rod Taylor and Jessica Tandy put out good performances that continues on through the later acts and it's career marks for both of them.

 

The film enters what I call it's "legendary style" in the birds scenes. The effects are no doubt showing age close to fifty years in but it is still groundbreaking. From the attacks at the school to it's ending, the horror here is revolutionary with a creepy vibe with 60's blood. These are the type of scenes that create inspiration to come and created one more of a mark in the film world for Hitchcock.

This is not my absolute favorite Hitchcock film nor my favorite horror film but it is still great for the nostalgia, it's purpose and to see one of the greatest filmmakers with another memorable highlight to his career.

4/5

Phantasm

 

During the 1970's, horror really seemed to be in a good groove. Of course, the genre started in the late 1800's with the classic novels of Frankenstein and Dracula but it really came into focus in the 1950's and 60's. After that, George Romero and Alfred Hitchcock started to make their mark with innovative films. Phantasm is one of those late 70's films that adds to a decade of classic horror films and pushed horror right into the 80's where it got even more special.


Phantasm has a plot that revolves around brothers trying to connect to the world and find themselves after the death of their parents and they meet a mortician and that changes things in some horrible ways. Actually this is not a very complete description but frankly it would be literally impossible to explain this movie in full detail.


This movie has references to another world and also there are many killers and also dwarfs. In short, this is one of the most interesting horror films around. It is very hard to imagine that anyone could think up some of this stuff. It is a mixture of many things and all very original stuff.

The movie has a very strange beginning and then gets very eerie with a strange mixture of characters. There is one killer named the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) who doesn't do very much and one named Reggie Banister who does a whole lot of everything. Micheal Baldwin plays the lead character, Thomas who seems very out place in this world but works well with the other lead, Bill Thornbury for a breakout performance.


The direction here is a little questionable as the film lacks structure somewhat and at times it is hard to see where it is going. It also has an ending that raise many questions and seems a bit out of place considering what came before. That said, Phantasm is a film that was not going to be without flaws just because of what it is.


I don't really know a lot of what this film is and it is probably best described as a cult film. A cult film from the 1970's that made us look at horror films a little differently.

3.5/5

The Exorcist

For years, I let this film lay on the shelf. Of course, it is a classic to many people. One bad habit of mine is to always take a while to get to watching classic movies for some odd reason. Also the R rating prevented me from seeing it when I was younger. Now as teenager, my first viewing was nothing less than truly memorable. The Excorcist is a film that is hard to look as a whole because of how different it is and also something you can't not love, and finally a film not to take lightly.


Set in the Georgetown district of Washington DC, it involves a young girl named Regan (Linda Blair) who is possessed by the devil with no luck trying to get rid of it. At the time of it's release, The Exorcist was a very original film that was controversial due to it's subliminal stimuli and also it's plot which involved the devil as a central character.

To say that the director, William Friedkin did get some inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock here is a understatement, at least to me. Friedkin uses a Hitchcock slow approach to start Act One with a lot of purpose and it also gives the film an edge and tension. While I appreciate the technique, at the same it is still something that I have a hard time getting used to and also something I find a little dull.


One reason this film stands up so many years after it's release is because of the plot. We have had recent films like Devil Inside and The Last Exorcism that focused on the devil but compared to The Exorcist, they are really nothing. It uses a setting that still to this day would be different for a horror film with some great possession scenes involving Linda Blair which provide humor and creepiness and are very effective. The cast is good all around, but what really makes this work is the phenomenal performance from Linda Blair who plays the possessed child to perfection. It is very memorable for an actor playing such an extreme role at such a young age and something that I can't ever see being matched again.

                                        A look that says it all

Any film that is hyped is bound to disappoint you somewhat because it is so hard to live up to expectations. That said, this film from 1973, which everybody has heard so much about came very close to delivering for me everything I would want in a horror movie.

4.5/5