# The Sinister Horror Movie Review: Dead Birds



## Sinister (Apr 18, 2004)

Quite possibly the most misleading title ever for a movie. There is only one dead bird and it has absolutely nothing to do with the overall plot or story. It makes one wonder exactly what it was the writers were thinking (or drinking) when they came up with it.

Henry Thomas (Yes, the Elliot kid from E.T.) stars as the leader of a gang of bank robbers who rob a a federal bank in Alabama during the Civil War. After a rather bloody shoot-out covering their escape, they hole up in an abandoned mansion out in a swamp that was handed down to a former hospital mate where William, (Thomas) was treated for war wounds. Weird things begin to happen upon the moment of arrival. One of the gang shoot a strange creature that runs out at them amongst the dead rows of corn and they proceed onto the house. Soon a thunderstorm rolls in and with the onset of night, more strangeness occurs as the individual gang members begin to see demonic creatures, hallucinations of the former residents and at one point they all begin to vanish one-by-one. Paranoia sets in when their loot, a couple of sacks of Confederate gold comes up missing. It is soon forgotten in the terrifying melee that ensues and leads our "heroes" down a path of discovery rife with human sacrifice, black magic and demonic possession.

I heard about this flick sometime back and wanted to see it most badly; in some respects I'm glad I did finally view it, while in others, well...

The opening robbery and subsequent shoot-out was well done. This film had a great spooky atmosphere and the score was phenomenal (I wish I could have a copy of it. Zombie-F I think this would be a welcome addition to your Halloween Spook Show.) and there were some genuine scares. However, after the robbery and subsequent gunfight, the film slowed considerably. It only picked up in a few places, but the dragging pace I could forgive in light of the ambience this film had along with the few jolts I got from it. Then something went terribly wrong. The last ten or fifteen minutes of movie were some of the most preposterous I have ever witnessed in a film with so much damn potential. It was like the director either didn't care, or he was racing with a deadline and decided just to throw something together. Whatever the case, it doesn't work at all, and it ruins what probably could have been if not an excellent film, a pretty dang good one.

I recommend seeing it once to fully understand what I mean by all of the above statements. I'm certain that you too, will lament the loss of what could have been but wasn't, like I did. Good Horror Movies set in this era are so hard to find, and unfortunately, this isn't one of them.

Rating: 2 out of a possible 5 stars.


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