Customer Reviews

Flu Birds

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This isn't a movie in which you should be thinking about top-quality, Oscar-worthy acting and plotting; it's a gem of a flick: hilarious, scary, with freakishly absurd special effects. I could see a MST3K treatment of "Flu Birds" somewhere down the line. Seriously, great, great fun.

I`m all for b rated and dumb movies,but Flu Birds is lame!You will be very upset if you get this.Not at all what I expected.JUST PLAIN DUMB AND A WASTE OF TIME,sorry to say.

2008's "Flu Birds", which aired on tv as "Flu Bird Horror", is a low-budget creature-on-the-loose flick about mutant reptilian birds wreaking havok on a group of juvenile delinquents lost deep in the forest. The birds spread a hideous disease to the people they bite or scratch. The Feds quarantine the hospital that an afflicted hunter is brought to and decide to airstrike the birds, whether the teens are still in the area or not. Meanwhile a ranger and a doctor desperately search for the kids.

Leigh Scott's "Flu Birds" combines the delinquents-on-the-run aspect of "The Warriors" with the flying-reptile angle of "Gargoyles" and the skin-eating disease element of "Cabin Fever".

Most of the reviewers here tear the film apart. Are their low-ratings and heavy criticisms legitimate or simply a knee-jerk result of these modern Sci-Fi tv flicks being such easy targets? Although some of their criticisms are valid I say "Flu Birds" delivers both as a wild creatures-run-amok flick and as a fascinating human interest tale.

As far as the former goes, the reptilian birds are effective enough for such micro-budget fare, in ways reminiscent of the gargoyles in 1972's excellent tv flick "Gargoyles" (the cover of the dvd is misleading, by the way, as the flu birds in the film look nothing like the bird depicted on the cover, which was a decision I doubt the filmmakers had little to do with). One reviewer lambastes the scenes where the birds attack a jeep and helicopter as "inept filmmaking" but I thought they were effectively done. Where's the beef? The sequences depicting the skin-eating disease are well done as well; in fact, the disease is scarier than the birds. Also, there's lots of gore for those who care.

In addition to this, the film has a good babes-on-the-run factor with Rebekah Kochan as Lola, the blond prancing around with denim shorts, leading the way. But don't get me wrong, the various women in the film do more than just flee in terror -- they lead, they fight, and a couple are doctors.

Also, although there's a definite comic-book vibe to the proceedings and a few humorous moments, the filmmakers and cast all take the material seriously and evade the rut of camp (with the possible exception of Porky).

Not to mention the film features a great opening/ending score, as well as spectacular Romanian locations, particularly during the opening credits.

However, it's in the realm of human interest that "Flu Birds" scores its highest points and distinguishes it from other modern tv creature features like "Carny", "Frankenfish", "Chupacabra Terror", "Loch Ness Terror" and "Swamp Devil". While some of these movies are okay, they lack the depth "Flu Birds" aspires to, and largely attains.

At it's core "Flu Birds" addresses the conflict of self interest vs. group interest. The Feds are depicted as ruthless in their drive to extinguish the threat of the birds and the disease they spread. Anyone who gets in the way must simply be destroyed. And who can blame them since they are trying to save millions at the cost of a mere handful? The whole is greater than the one, as they say.

The teens, all delinquent loners from disfunctional families, are just starting to learn the importance of sacrifice of the self or the few for the greater good of the many. In fact, the film starts out with them on retreat from juvenile jail to learn the importance community and the team concept.

Johnson, the lead teen played by Jonathon Trent, is strongly reminiscent of James Remar's Ajax in "The Warriors". Although he initially comes off obnoxious and uncaring the viewer can't help but sense something good underneath the surface, not to mention his passion and courage to survive. He possesses a wild, dangerous air and this naturally attracts the blond hottie. It also attracts the allegiance of the other two main guys in the group, Derrick and Gordon (aka 'Hip Hop'), despite the fact that Johnson is extremely tough on them at times. The reason he's tough on them is because it's a life or death situation. And even though the other leader of the group, Ava (Sarah Butler), loathes his seemingly uncaring nature she's willing to work with him to survive. (Sarah Butler, by the way, also plays the lead in the 2010 remake of the infamous "I Spit On Your Grave").

The teens face no less than three episodes that present the possibility of sacrifice -- in a tunnel, in a hunter's house in the woods and, lastly, in the tunnel again. In the initial episode the group votes on whether or not to sacrifice the disease-ridden Porky as a diversion for the birds so the rest can escape. Johnson argues that Porky is as good as dead already since he's clearly dying from the disease, but Porky objects. I guess he would rather suffer a slow, agonizing death in the darkness of the cave than die a relatively quick death as a diversion so his fellow delinquents might have a chance at surviving. Regardless, notice how the members attitudes contrast Porky's in the two subsequent episodes. It's an interesting study and reveals the teens' positive growth in the crisis.

FINAL WORD: Yes, "Flu Birds" has a laughable title and a ridiculous premise, but don't 95% of Grade-B creature features? Yes, the guy who plays Porky is a questionable actor and the film has a comic-booky vibe. Regardless, "Flu Birds" entertains and delivers in all the requisite areas as a nature-runs-amok flick, but it's greatness emerges in its study of human nature and self vs. group dynamics.

Don't listen to the critics who were unable to see beneath the Grade-B trappings. "Flu Birds", like "Sasquatch Mountain", possesses depth even while it successfully entertains and is therefore worthy of your time and respect.

GRADE: B+

The film runs 89 minutes.

I watched "Flu Birds" as the second half of a theme double feature paired with "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," which I thought I disliked until I saw this. "Flu Birds" is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of cinematic cheese. The brainchild of Leigh Scott, "Flu Birds" tells the story of a group of people in their mid-twenties posing as under-eighteen juvenile delinquents out in the woods on a retreat for fledgling criminals who are attacked by giant, mutant birds. They really don't look like any birds you've ever seen, but if you imagine a California Condor with more reptilian features, you'll be close. There is no clear reason given for why the birds attack, only that it has something to do with being infected by the avian flu virus.

The film gets off to a fast start with a really elaborate (and completely idiotic) trust exercise for the little hooligans who are in the reform camp for charges ranging from arson and murder to shoplifting and hacking the Pentagon's mainframe computer. There are idiotic teen-angst related conflicts amongst the kids (who are actually played by actors ten years too old to be convincing in their parts,) and the flare gun is the weapon of choice in settling feuds. During the trust exercise great flocks of birds descend upon the teens, and quickly prove that a picnic table is not a shelter in the process. (Don't ask.)

Mercifully my copy of the DVD was unable to play chapters seven and eight of the film, and for that reduction in running time I am grateful. (I tried multiple players; I presume this is a flaw only in my copy.) By the time I rejoined the action in chapter nine, the delinquents had obtained guns somewhere and were being pursued though the forest by the birds while taking occasional time out to point the guns at each other and try to be menacing. Eventually the survivors pile into a jeep while a helicopter is launched to target the fowl menace. The scenes of the birds dueling the jeep and the helicopter are models of inept filmmaking that should be watched by aspiring auteurs in an attempt to never repeat these grievous errors. Ultimately the most obnoxious of the hooligans sacrifices himself with the assistance of a mysterious warehouse in the middle of nowhere, some dynamite, and the vaunted flare gun. Then everyone relaxes and strolls through the forest knowing that he got them all. How, exactly, do they know he got them all? Amazingly the movie doesn't close with a shot of more mutant birds hatching thus inviting a sequel.

All told "Flu Birds" is a stunning embarrassment. It is a horrible concept that attempted to exploit public fears about the avian flu threat, but failed miserably on all levels: it is badly conceived, terribly executed, and has absolutely awful special effects, particularly the birds themselves. If you are bound and determined to watch a movie about killer birds, please just stick to "The Birds," but if you decide to watch this anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.

you just have to look.

The cover is misleading...I thought this film might be along the line of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (Collector's Edition)but I was wrong! Instead the bird's look like mutant rubber rabid chickens. The film is really a bad b-movie with alot of hopeful young actors trying to get acting jobs on their resume.

If you are looking for trash you really don't have to think about or really like, then this is trash you should pick up.

this is the best bird movie yet it has gore,creature violence,guns,and explosions.
the gore part is that the birds have a diseases that makes them bleed too death and the birds tear the people apart once it gets the chance to grab on the vunerable or attacking people.
the creature violence part is cool its all the birds attacking the people and taering them apart.
the guns are just three of them the pistol,the shotgun,and the submachine guns.
and finally the explosions the first one was that the bird grabbed the pilot's arm and took down the helicoptor and the guy with the shotgun killed all the birds COOL!

If you're looking for a horror flick that is SRS BSNS, stay away from this. But if you're looking for a movie to rip on with friends, then you'll laugh at this. The premise seems amusing enough, but the delivery is so bad it's almost hysterical. The plot, acting, and special effects are terrible. A couple of the actors DO try hard and make genuine effort, but most of them - especially the girl with the pink streak in her hair - were awful. The girl in question stares off several times - fiest when the flubird is outside her tent, and her expression is comical. Later on when the fort gets blown up, she's standing outside with the others and while they're talking, she has that slack-jawed stare again.

The symptoms of the flu (the holes in the flesh) were actually the creepiest/scariest thing in the movie because they were the most realistic special effect. I shudder to think of these holes on my skin, but the flubirds are hysterical. They're just cheap rubber puppets that are given no explanation. They just appear out of nowhere, with no origin. And the ending completely fell flat on its face. The only reason I watched this was because it was on the list of available videos on Redbox and I figured, hey it sounds cheesy and might be worth a laugh, and it's only a buck!

And one buck was just about right for this movie. I feel sorry for the better actors in this movie, now they're stuck with Flubirds on their resumes.

Not a bad idea for a film but has weak acting by the crew of 20-somethings that try to pass for under-18 reform school kids. The guys playing rednecks in the prologue were pretty convincing and the poor impulse control and nutty exaggerations by the "delinquents" seemed somewhat appropriate but used more generally to move the story forward. The digital and injury effects were generally pretty good though some wounds were obviously laced with spaghetti. The story has some decent disease-containment scenes showing how different people might react to a SARS-type of situation but some of the storytelling was generally choppy between plotlines.

I use this movie to punish my teens when they are getting out of hand. All I have to do now is threaten them with making them watch it and they are calm, quiet, helpful even! Great movie!

Flu Bird Horror (Leigh Scott, 2008)

I can't believe I sat and watched a movie with the grammatically monstrous title Flu Bird Horror all the way through. Without fast-forwarding, even. Like that other infamous Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie, The Bone Eater, I couldn't look away-- I had to find out just how awful this thing was going to get. And from that perspective, it fulfilled my expectations quite well. There's no depth at which it couldn't find a way to sink even lower. Fortunately or not, this monstrosity has yet to show up in IMDB, and I erased it from my DVR as soon as it was over, so no interesting stuff about the cast, crew, etc., except that yes, this is the same Leigh Scott who was responsible for the similarly awful Hillside Cannibals.

Plot: a bunch of mutant condors threaten a bunch of mutant (well, okay, not really) kids from juvenile hall out in the woods on a retreat. Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Scott started out his career working for Roger Corman's monolithic genre studio Concorde Pictures, and it certainly shows here; character development is nonexistent (even when there are tantalizing clues thrown into the mix; female lead Ava says at one point that she's in juvenile hall for arson, but aside from another couple of sentences of dialogue, it's never mentioned again), plot is paper-thin and more of an excuse for some amateur gore effects. Technical stuff is competent, as one would expect from a project with a director of Scott's experience (this is-- at least-- his fourteenth movie), but nothing to write home about. What really hurts this otherwise mediocre picture, though, is that the characters, flat as they are, still manage to be entirely unsurprising; every time you expect a plot twist, there it is. No one ever does anything unexpected (including Scott; I'm not sure on this one, but given that he's been the screenwriter on most of the Sci-Fi Originals he's directed, I assume that's also the case here). Give this guy a really good script and I have little doubt he could turn out a serviceable movie, but whether that will ever occur is anyone's guess. *