Chance's Corner: The Birds Review

Flocks of birds swarmed Capitola, California in 1961 and hurled themselves into people's homes (puked a bit, too), which caused quite a panic. Alfred Hitchcock caught wind of their plight, read Daphne du Maurier's shocking novelette, and was inspired to create The Birds.

The Birds starts with shrill squawks and caws - the only soundtrack composer Bernard Herrmann helped curate for this film. Other than a little ditty on the piano and a haunting a cappella children's melody, there are no violins to punctuate the horror. Just the sounds of ravenous birds.

Most of The Birds is filled with build-up and character development. Hitchcock doesn't just toss Tippi Hedren & Company into the fray - he eases them into it - until the tension is almost palpable. The crows slowly converging at the school playground is one of the most iconic and frightening scenes in film history. The last act plays out a little like George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead - birds pecking away at boarded windows and doors - Tippi & Co sitting in the darkness, and seeking comfort in tight corners.

The only drawback to The Birds is its resolution - or lack thereof. What lies beyond the bend in the road? Why did the birds go cuckoo? Hitchcock didn't know the answer. And no one in Capitola, California knew, either, until decades later. The birds had ingested domoic acid, which is produced by red algae. The birds just simply lost their minds and died.

The Birds is available at the Franklin County Library!