Sometimes there’s a classic movie that I haven’t put on the list yet for no reason other than I get so focused on trying to post more recent horror arrivals that there is a slew of backed up classic choices. Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is one of those suspense/horror classics that deserves to be on any list. First, here is the brief IMDB synopsis:
A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
The Birds was completely terrifying when it was released in 1963, and holds up pretty damn strongly today. Hitchcock had the gift for delivering terror that connected with audiences in a primal way. Everyone usually goes immediately to Psycho or Vertigo, but The Birds should always be in that initial conversation. “When nature attacks” movies are a genre that a lot of people lean to because of our completely unsure balance with nature. I mean, sure, we all think we know how animals are going to behave, but then you hear a story in the news about some animal that snapped for no reason. It’s for this that these movies will always hit. The Birds may seem silly on the surface, but that just shows how Hitchcock can take any premise and make it haunting. Individual scenes of rows of birds just perched on telephone lines, playground equipment or roofs suddenly become terrifying. Their beaks become impaling tools of death. Hitch was so good at building characters for a long while and THEN putting them in danger. And that’s the case here. It’s a slow burn that I just adore. It makes the attacks so much more powerful. Enjoy Tippy Hedren’s first role and enjoy one of the best “when nature attacks” movies out there.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Peacock
Food/Drink Pairing: What else? Roast bird, fried bird, bird stew… Just eat one of those damn birds.
Musings of a Scary Horror Writer. 