With "The Birds," Hitchcock stepped outside of his comfort zone; he made a slightly supernatural movie. Swarms of birds gather and attack mild-mannered humans. No explanation is offered. The birds cause fires, scratch at eyes, and torment children in a schoolyard.
The current blockbuster, "Final Destination: Bloodlines," made me think of Hitchcock's unusual late-phase work. Mid-century, a young woman visits a newly opened "Space Needle" stand-in. She has a premonition that many people in the building will die, so she manages to save several of them. (That's not to say that death *doesn't* occur. A glass floor caves in. A piano falls on a malevolent child. A gown is engulfed in flames.)
Having cheated death, the woman realizes she is in trouble. Death, or DEATH, is now angry. DEATH will hunt down each of its intended victims in creative ways; if the Space Needle didn't work, then a train accident will have to suffice. A beheading will have to suffice.
Additionally, DEATH will follow the woman's bloodline. Once the woman herself is "offed," each of her descendants will also die.
Most of the fun comes from trying to anticipate what DEATH will do next. There is one young man who seems to evade DEATH's capture--for surprising reasons--and then the final coda involving this man is so tasteless that you might laugh out loud. There is also, amazingly, an emotional story about the strained bond between a young woman and her brother. At a certain point, you think that this story is cleanly resolved (and you are emphatically wrong).
Additionally, I thought this movie was just beautiful to look at. There is so much care and inventiveness in the various climactic moments of horror.
My particular screening room was full--and with reason. Even more of a miracle....People were generally quiet and attentive all the way through the last scene.
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