Kaw

Kaw is a simple movie about killer birds. And, surprisingly, it's a pretty good simple movie about killer birds. It knows it will never be The Birds and doesn't try to be, although it does wear its homages to the Hitchcock film proudly.

The story is simple; locals in a small Pennsylvania town find themselves running afoul of some killer ravens. Sean Patrick Flannery is the chief of police who tries, along with a small group of citizens, to fight off the feathery menace.

The cast is uniformly good. Along with Flannery (who is both adequately talented and easy on the eyes), Stephen McHattie also graces us with his presence. McHattie is an underrated gem, particularly in genre films, and he is wonderful here as town eccentric, Clyde. Robert Taylor, the square jawed hero of The Birds, is also a nice surprise in the role of the wise town doctor.

Kaw may be just a fun killer animals run amok flick, but it grounds the action in reality by giving us some well developed characters. Seriously, the writers and director of the recently reviewed The Seamstress should take some notes. Even the more minor characters here are portrayed as unique individuals, who end up appealing to the audience by seeming like real, legitimately likable people. This makes it genuinely tragic when any of them die.

The location and atmosphere are also excellent. I love movies set in small towns that feel real and vibrant, and the little Pennsylvania town where Kaw is set feels as real as the characters. The vast farmland, wooded roads, and quaint buildings are shot beautifully, and the overall effect is of a charming place to visit.

My only real complaint is the semi-scientific reason given for the ravens' attacks. One of the reasons The Birds works so well is the ambiguity when it comes to the cause for the birds' behavior. No real answer is ever given for why they've started attacking. In Kaw, the attacks are explained away as the birds having contracted mad cow disease from eating diseased cattle. Note: this is not how mad cow disease works. Yes, it can be contracted by eating infected beef, but it does not immediately develop and would not make birds suddenly antagonistic to humans on such a grand scale.

The movie also contained the death of a dog belonging to one of the main characters. I have expressed on this blog before how much I hate animal deaths in movies, particularly when these deaths are just used for shock value or to up the body count and are in no way necessary to the plot. Honestly, it can ruin a film for me, and at the very least, always seriously mars my enjoyment.

Other than the above expressed complaints, I really enjoyed Kaw. It may not be The Birds, but it's a damned bit better than any other killer bird movie that's come along in the years since. Watch this instead of Birdemic.