DEAD BIRDS - A Film by Alex Turner
There Are Worse Things Than Dying...
When a group of criminals on the run after a bank robbery during the Civil War take refuge in an abandoned house they have no idea what evil they have come upon. Isolated and presumed deserted, the house is anything but safe...As the night wears on and a thunderstorm grows outside, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house, haunting it forever. Voices in the well, visions of mangled bodies and clawing under the stairs plague their waking hours. As the fear in the group begins to grow and the supernatural forces in the house start to manifest themselves, the group turn on each other and exact the wrath of the souls trapped within the walls.
The film stars Henry Thomas , Patrick Fugit , Isaiah Washington , Michael Shannon , Mark Boone Jr. , Nicki Aycox and Muse Watson . Casting Director Shannon Makhanian and director Alex Turner did an interview with the SAG Indie website detailing the process of pulling together the cast.
DEAD BIRDS premiered at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. The film has gotten some solid press; The LA Times calls DEAD BIRDS a "richly imagined, genuinely suspenseful supernatural horror movie". Bloody-Disgusting.com says "Dead Birds is a spooky, complex and brilliantly crafted ghost story" . Russ Fischer took the time to do an interview with director Alex Turner AND review the film for CHUD.com. eye Weekly gave the film four stars, calling it "The savviest American horror flick since Cabin Fever" (scroll down past the Ghost in the Shell 2 + Zebraman reviews). Cinema Toast gives it 4 dead birds out of 5 and says "Dead Birds is a fantastic horror film".
The folks at Slasherpool.com also gave us a wonderful review, as did Horrorheads.net . DVD Dungeon says "Dead Birds is a movie that should be celebrated on DVD" . Reel Film Reviews calls it "a horror movie that's actually scary" . FilmStew.com talks about the audience reaction and features interviews with Patrick Fugit and Isaiah Washington. Pam Grady writes on Reel.com that "Turner's debut does what every great horror movie should; give one pause before heading out of the theater into the dark of night" . And The Austin Chronicle calls it "one of the most original cinematic nightmares in years".
For those people who are having a hard time figuring out the film, go on and check out Elaine Lamkin's definitive Dead Birds Movie Field Guide . Ms. Lamkin also wrote up a fun interview with Alex Turner and screenwriter Simon Barrett which you can find HERE .
DEAD BIRDS screened at this year's SXSW Film Festival . Alex attended the first screening at one of the most unique movie theaters in the country, the Downtown Alamo Drafthouse . Check out a couple of great reviews from Ain't It Cool News HERE and HERE .
The film is now available on DVD. Head over to your local videostore or NetFlix to rent it. Or click HERE to buy a copy.
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