Horrific Inquiry: THE BIRDS (1963)

Welcome back to the scariest, and at times goriest, column here at Film Inquiry: Horrific Inquiry. Twice a month, I will be tackling all things horror, bringing two films back into the spotlight to terrify and frighten once more. And occasionally looking at those that could have pushed the envelope further. Join us as we dive deep into the heart of horror, but warning, there will be spoilers.

“I have never known birds of different species to flock together. The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn’t stand a chance!” – The Birds, 1963

It’s hard to remember exactly which Hitchc*ck film was my first, a family love for the classic Rear Window matched with the fame of Psycho making each a potential introduction to a film master. What I do clearly remember is my English class freshman year of high school. For many, high school is a defining series of moments that both shapes and sticks with a person even years later. For me, this particular English class would introduce me to the likes of Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and Daphne du Maurier. And while Romeo and Juliet and The Cask of Amontillado would remain memorable years later, it was Daphne du Maurier‘s The Birds that would not only leave a lasting impression, but fuel a desire to see it come to life.

And thankfully, in 1963, Alfred Hitchc*ck brought du Maurier‘s story of birds attacking a village to live, becoming a horror of the time, its undercurrents of the balance of nature and the power of human denial running strong decades later. While the visuals and horror may not have stood the test of time, The Birds proves there is still more to be taken away watch after watch.

Fresh Eyes

While I have watched The Birds a few times before, it felt as if I was watching with a fresh pair of eyes. Much of this can be attributed to my growing exposure to classic horror films, but also the sociopolitical environment we find ourselves in. Prior to my rewatch, I remembered the infamous scene of Tippi Hedren being attacked by the birds, the terrifying culmination of birds on the jungle gym, and the attack on the school children as they fled for safety. It was the horrific visual creations of the birds attacking that had truly imprinted on my mind. Yet this time around, while many of the visual effects had lost some of their flare, The Birds gave me more.

As the film begins, a mass of birds flies across the screen. There is no soundtrack to accompany their flight, a soon-to-be reoccurring element within the film. Just the sound of the birds. As The Birds transitions, audiences are brought inside a pet shop, Hedren‘s Melanie Daniels making her way inside and up the stairs to the customer service counter. The birds in the shop are deafening, their sound hindering the balance of the dialogue. At this moment, I found myself thinking back to The Cat People, the loudness of the birds almost a warning of what is to come. Yet, this out-of-balance sound between the birds and the actors not only speaks to the overwhelming power of the birds within this space, it’s own foreshadowing of what is to come, it forces viewers to look at the birds in the cages, especially as Melanie incorrectly attempts to help Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) find a pair of love birds for his sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright).

Beyond the pet shop, The Birds is in no rush to escalate the tension of the birds themselves. Rather, it establishes the strength and prowess of its leading lady in Melanie. With no name to go on, viewers watch as Melanie uses the influence and power of her father to discover not only who the man in the shop is, but where he lives. Determined to deliver the pair of love birds he has inquired for, keeping the image of birds constantly fresh in the minds of viewers, she learns he has left to visit his family in Bodega Bay and sets out immediately to find him there. While many focus on her pursuit of a boyfriend, there is also the need for Melanie to equalize herself to Brenner. He knew who she was before they had met, his small prank on her in pet shop fueling her need to coyly match wits.

Though, the pursuit of a potential boyfriend can not be ignored, as the feelings between Mitch and Melanie are shared – especially as wits are proven matched. The Birds gives them some time to flesh out their traits, pushing both the expectations of the audience and the assumptions of the characters. And as their potential coupling increases, so do the attacks from the birds. While Melanie is briefly blamed as a reason for the attacks later on in the film by a restaurant patron, there is a bit of truth in her claim. As Melanie proves herself a strong, resourceful and independent woman, chasing after the man rather than being chased, the attacks begin to increase. And the closer her and Mitch become, the stronger they are. By film’s end, The Birds feels like a cautionary tale against the woman who would chase after a man, display her power and prove her independence. As Melanie is attacked and left traumatized by the attack of the birds upstairs, only the women who conformed to conventional ideals escape unscathed.

Gilded Cages

The Birds is a slow burn of tension and expectation. We know the birds are going to attack, yet we are forced to watch various individuals continue to carry on as normal. As Melanie is first attacked by the gull as she docks her boat, there is confusion for the reason of the attack, yet it is shrugged off as a weird happening. Slowly, more incidents of bird attacks and gatherings begin to occur, until there is a literal explosion of violence and rage. And as the attacks become more frequent and more violent, it feels rage driven. Where there is the uneasiness of the birds gathering on the power lines and the jungle gym, it is during the attacks, especially when the camera feels like a first-person perspective, the birds lunging and biting in our line of sight, that we feel an anger – a rage.

There is a tension created in the extreme close-ups crafted by Hitchc*ck. A claustrophobic limited perspective of both what we are allowed to see during the attacks and the feelings exhibited by those seemingly trapped. Yet, where the extreme and medium close-ups create tension, it is the feeling of being caged that truly resonates. While The Birds stands as a “nature revenge”, the birds are presented as both contained by gilded cages and freely swarming. Both are confined, compressed into small areas of space – ie cages, jungle gyms, lawns – but their means of entering that space plays off the voluntary and involuntary control of the human species. Where we see the birds invade presumed man-made spaces, we also see mankind become caged themselves. The camera watches as the birds confine mankind within their own gilded cages – restaurants, homes, telephone booths. Where at the beginning of the film we watch Melanie and Mitch look into the cages of the small birds, by film’s end we are looking into confines the birds have pushed our characters into.

Quiet Denial

The Birds reaches even further than cages and cautionary tales. One of the most stand out features of the film is its silence. Many times throughout the film, especially during attacks, there is little to no score. The space is filled with the sounds of the birds attacking and the whimpers of their victims. Looking back at the film, it feels this motive of tension could be attributed as a possible influence for A Quiet Place. And while that could be debated, the effect it has here in The Birds can not. It is precise and eerie, viewers forced to watch in silence as birds ominously gather behind Melanie and glass is shattered as birds hit windows and wood siding. It feels more authentic, allowing the audience to place themselves more within the film, heightening the horror and the tension.

Where this is the first time I truly noticed the lack of score, and even dialogue at times, there was one more element that stood out this time around. Denial and hysteria. Given the pandemic the last couple years, it would seem these moments carried a heavier weight. When you think of The Birds, these are not elements that quickly come to mind. But they are present. Following the attack on the children, both at the party and the school, patrons at the restaurant debate the validity of the threat they may present. One patron at the bar speaks of the doom, while another reassures the crowd that there is no possibility of further attacks. That there is nothing to worry about.

There is a crowd of naysayers vs. alarmists. Even when someone says they saw the birds, asking why no one believes them, denial still rings true throughout a majority of the restaurant. It is not until the birds savagely attack as a group that everyone finally begins to believe. In this moment within the film, listening to the denial, I couldn’t help thinking back to last year’s Don’t Look Up and even our own real-life pandemic many still denying in various ways.

And while the naysayers and the alarmists have a turn, hysteria even finds its way into the spotlight. As the tension within the restaurant quietly brews, one mother’s pleas to stop upsetting the children erupts into hysteria. She speaks of needing to leave now, to getting herself and the children out before it is too late. Yet, it is not her sudden need to leave that fully encapsulates the hysteria, but rather the turn she makes on Melanie. She blames Melanie for bringing the birds on them, stating that the attacks didn’t start until she got there – until she was attacked. There is a desperation within the woman as she tries to rationalize the unexplainable. A desperate need to have an answer and to ease her own worries.

Conclusion

Well paced, The Birds works up to its climatic ending. Where it starts with a brief attack on Melanie and a little blood down the side of her face, The Birds turns into an explosive unrelenting bloodbath. Yet, Hitchc*ck exhibits an intentional restraint of when and where. Moments of gore are confined within their own caged scenes – a victim found in his room with gauged eyes particularly gruesome. This gore is heightened to by the mise en scène that surrounds its central figures with a frame – both dead and alive. When the gore is included, it has purpose, the horror Melanie experiences in the telephone booth and the reveal of the body of Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette) being particular standouts.

While The Birds may lack the endurance of time in its visual effects, it endures as a classic horror that goes beyond just nature’s revenge set to rebalance the world around us.

Have you seen The Birds? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Watch The Birds