The Silent Movie Theatre presented Birdemic: Shock and Terror to the world on 27 February 2010. Soon after, Severin Films picked up the film and toured it around the country before releasing it on disc.
The film is the brainchild of auteur James Nguyen. And given my writing, you might think I admire him. But he soils the very idea of independent filmmaking. He has no concept of drama or even basic storytelling. And he produces films with no care for the audience. He should not be allowed within 2,000 feet of a camera.
Let’s contrast him with Chris Seaver. I don’t really like his films. But they are well-made. And he makes themfor a particular audience that does like them. What’s more, he is better today than he was 30 years ago. As far as I can tell, Nguyen thinks filmmaking is a joke. And more important, he doesn’t think his films need to get better.
I just watched Birdemic 2: The Resurrection. He is slightly more competent than before. The film is very slightly more polished than the first. But it is filled with what killed the first film: pointless scenes with no dramatic momentum.
I understand! Most people think the first film was bad because of the absurd digital birds. We could look past that. But it’s hard to get past pointless scenes that go on and on like the “stock options” scene in the first film. (We endure the same scene this time but it’s the same actor giving a director a million dollars for his film project.)
The end of the film is the group driving around in an RV stopping periodically for “adventures.” Look: Some zombies! Look: some cavemen! The only thing that has changed is that now Nguyen is winking at the audience. But he’s not fooling anyone. Everyone knows he still has no interest in making a good film.
I admire people who make any kind of art without many resources. But I expect them to at least try to do good work. I don’t think that James Nguyen likes film. According to IMDb, he is in pre-production for “Birdemic: the Musical.” Normally, that kind of thing means an artist has run out of creativity. In Nguyen’s case, it just means more of the same.
Here’s the film if you dare. It isn’t fun — not even in an MST3K way.
Birdemic poster via Amazon under Fair Use.