Synopsis

A group of Confederate soldiers who hole up in an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank, and find themselves at the mercy of supernatural forces.

Official Review

From this year’s Midnight Madness selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, Dead Birds was one I went into with the least amount of expectation. It’s a ghost story set during the Civil War. Cool premise but as of late with the high bar that the Asian horror scene has set, it’s hard to get worked up with a North American take on the subject matter. Where the East mainly focus on trying to scare the living crap out of you, we on the other hand soften it up with tons of exposition that diffuse the tension right before you leave the theater. Asian classics such as the Ju-On films and The Ring are frightening, a little of the wall but gives the audience enough information. It doesn’t kill the thrill of ambiguity. While The Ring remake is efficient, it overly explains the plot and ties up all the loose ends which by the end, there is nothing to really be scared about. But to my surprise, Dead Birds does not follow that clichéd pattern. …Read More