ADHD-DVD, Episode #84: The Birds
This week, Spooktober continues with what is widely regarded as one of the most frightening films of all time, as a British master of cinema scares turns his sights to the skies with an eco-horror story that dares to ask... what if birds were jerks? It's 1963's The Birds, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier, and starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Plechet and a young Veronica Cartwright. Time has not been the kindest to this old girl, as a number of sequences that shocked and frightened audiences back in the day now play as laughably funny a lot of the time. Being a Hitchcock film, there are a handful of transcendently great scenes, but few of them involve dive-bombing birds if we're being honest. I guess you can probably tell we didn't love it. Tune in to hear us justify those feelings! Plus: J Mo's been on a trashy horror kick to get in the Spooky Season mood, and Hayley's got a theatrical field report on the Jason Reitman SNL origin picture Saturday Night.
If you'd like to watch the movie before listening us discuss it, The Birds is not currently streaming in Canada at the time of publication, but can likely be rented for free at your nearest public library.
Other works discussed in this episode include Scream, Barbarian, Frankie Freako, Psycho Goreman, Hundreds of Beavers, Love and Monsters, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part One, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, Friday the 13th Part III, Freddy vs. Jason, Clue, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Breaker High, The Black Phone, They/Them, The Deliverance, The First Purge, The Time Machine (1960), Singin' in the Rain, The Happening, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, The Mummy (1999), Trap, The Lady in the Water, Old, Shaun of the Dead, and The Mist among others.
We'll be back next week to wrap up Spooktober with this month's nomination for canon consideration: John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), an absolute Halloween classic with timeless and immaculate creature make-up and practical effects, not to mention an iconic lead performance from the king of cool himself, Kurt Russell. The Thing is not currently streaming in Canada, which really goes to show how much the streaming dream is dead. But you can find it in discount bins at your local retailer I'm sure. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!