Flu Bird Horror (2008)

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Out in the wilderness, rehabilitated teens come across a swarm of strange birds infected with a mutated strain of avian flu and must try to stop the unrelenting attacks from continuing and warn the world of the crises.There was a lot to like from this one. One of the best parts is that the film really manages to get a lot of great moments due to its strong pacing. This one is just relentless, not even getting ten minutes in before the birds attack the main group, which is outstanding and really appreciated. The fact that the attacks are also fun is great, as this one contains some really good sequences and gets really fun as it gets going in the rather frenetic opening scene where it shows the birds raining down on the confused teens as they flee in panic. Some of the other bird-attack scenes, including one where they're under attack inside a cramped house and any of the forest attacks are pure fun, with several sequences stuck inside a gas-filled chamber and the attack on the SWAT team. There's also the way it handles the virus and how it transmits it, managing some fun scenes where the discovery is made, and the race to keep it contained and really feels like something of a crisis, which comes off as a nicely done way of building tension to their attacks, using an impressive-looking hospital victim and them falling under the effects later to generate even more which is a nice plus. The last positive is that this one works in a nice amount of gore into it as well as the fact that the birds are realistically designed, both drawing from a real dearth of fake and cheaply-done CGI, which is a nice plus as these here are the film's best features. There wasn't a whole lot of flaws to this one. The main one is the fact that this one doesn't offer up too much in the form of explanations for anything, as there's no explanation offered for the bird's appearance, or even for the mutation of the virus, how it even got to the birds, what it does or really anything else, which is a grave error as it doesn't really manage to put anything together or really make an effort to do so, merely content to simply say they're alive and leave it as that, which makes for a suitably ill aftertaste. Along with the fact that it misses a grand opportunity with the helicopter attack, these are the film's flaws.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity

Where to begin criticising Bird Flu Horror? Well, to start with, it is a very cheap-looking movie. The scenery is alright, but the editing is haphazard which I think further reduces any tension levels and the special effects were so fake I had to check to see whether it actually was made in 2008. The story is another big problem, not only does it have numerous scientific and logical errors, it is predictable and has no real sense of dread, in fact a lot comes across as overly-silly rather than anything else, but it makes the mistake of being dull. The script is cheesy and doesn't leave the actors much to work with, the birds lack any kind of menace, the direction is lazy and the characters are stereotypical and you don't care for them at all. The actors try their hardest, but you can tell they are struggling to give any credibility to anything on display in Bird Flu Horror. Overall, I've seen worse but that is not excusing the fact that to me this movie was more of a horror than any scene it was made up of. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Charles De Montesquieu once proclaimed - "To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them." Unfortunately - although this contributed to the overall greatness of the film - Johnson was unable to fully grasp this seed of knowledge as the film progressed, leading to the quintessential conflict that truly drove the movie home: self vs group interest. However, before examining the answer, we must first evaluate the question...Are these motivations mutually exclusive, and can an individual's incentive be the same as the groups? The typical response is no; however, after viewing this awesome movie in its entirety, it evidently is not always the case. While Johnson tried to control the group and constantly struggled for power, Ava was trying to survive, and she kept the good of the group - with the obvious exemption of Porky - and its survival as the main focus.Now with this knowledge in your arsenal, re-evaluate the movie under this new light. Johnson did his best to fend off the terrifying birds {side note: the general animation and craftsmanship that went into the creating of these fearsome creatures truly was top notch. My entire family went into shell shock as we first laid eyes on these creatures from hell, and it took almost 10 sessions of therapy before I could get a hold of my new found fear.} and his actions portray a selfless man trying to help others. Once this fundamental pillar of the movie is understood, it even further elevates the rest of the film towards greatness.Hence, it was not a mistake that the teenagers were in fact juveniles, nor was the doctor getting killed a mistake. Many scenes also further lead to the notion that while intentions may very well be good, actions on the other hand clearly are not. The representation of the federal government as being the problem, not the answer, is typically found when looking back over the great movies of the decades, and obviously this movie was no exception. While the juveniles self sacrifice for the good of the group, the feds ruthlessly kill...While the script was capable of allowing a classic, it took the fine actors to achieve this feat. The acting was, frankly speaking, splendid. Everyone did their part, facial expressions spoke to the audience, and little nuances and expressions helped guide the audience through what is often times difficult messages to decode. The casting selection was dead on, and every camera angle was perfect. This was a great film, and I am sure that it will be remembered over the ages. I know that I will never forget it, and the wisdom that is now permanently with me.

Pteriodactl like creatures(..called mutated birds carrying scales), carrying H5N1 viruses that leave those infected with horrifying skin diseases, lead a full assault on juvie kids on a camping trip and their counselor, while also attacking two hunters, killing one while another is rescued by Garrett(Lance Guest;The Last Starfighter), a park ranger who operates within a 200 mile reserve. Dr. Jacqueline Hale(..television veteran, Clare Carey), a former flame of Garrett's, discovers that her patient, the hunter attacked, with a large gash on his neck she stitches, is carrying a variant on the Avian flu which renders the victims infected doomed. This virus is caught through the blood stream and a possible pandemic could arise if the birds carrying it aren't destroyed. Enter a government response team who quarantine the hospital which contains the infected victim and those within it besides Garrett and Hale who hop in his jeep and seek after the teenagers caught somewhere in the middle of the reserve, their counselor dead after being ripped apart by the predatory birds. Soon a SWAT team, along with biological agents are sent in to find the birds resulting in a massacre. Meanwhile, we follow the teens as they combat the birds and each other, hoping to stay alive long enough for Garrett to find them.While the CGI and prosthetic work for the birds is pathetic, there's some pretty potent gore involved in this "animals attack" movie, particularly the icky skin diseases that evolve after those harmed by the birds become infected. The most gory moments in the movie show victims being torn into by the birds, gaping, bloody flesh wounds as those attacked scream out in horror. The birds themselves aren't the least bit convincing which might result in unintentional giggles. The plot arrangement for the kids being pursued is similar to the killer bear movie, "Grizzly Park", where juveniles, a group of kids who have broken the law, are given a chance to unify in a cause, learning to work together in an environment as a means of reform. These kids, except maybe the brave, good-hearted, and ultimately resourceful Ava(Sarah Butler), are a loathsome group, particularly Johnson(Jonathon Trent), who is a selfish punk, sacrificing those(..including two who are attacked by the birds, leaving them to die as a means to distract the winged monster while he can get away)that would get in the way of his survival. Johnson has an ugly soul and he barks orders, always threatening those around him with hostile intent if they do not obey him. The decision to make him into a hero my journey's end is laughable when one considers his many despicable acts during the course of the film. Good decision to make Butler the central heroine, because she has a morality and strength that is needed when you look at the others she stuck with. The poor fat kid named Porky has quite a ghastly fate and how he's dealt with so that the others can escape leaves quite a bad taste. I'm not sure this is a ringing endorsement, but Flu Bird Horror(..just the title has me chuckling)could be one of Leigh Scott's better movies! Flu Bird Horror is typical Sci-fi channel fare I'm sure will be making it's rounds for some time to come.