I love bad movies. So when I heard that Birdemic: Shock & Terror was premiering in New York City over the weekend I had to be there.  Already proclaimed a cult hit by the NY Times after 2 screenings in LA, I was skeptical slash intrigued. Watching the trailer sealed the deal. As I settled into my seat Friday night at the IFC I eagerly awaited the wonders to behold.

To get you up to speed, Birdemic is a romantic thriller filmed on a budget of $10,000 and no professional film making experience. The movie came about as the sole invention of 43 year old Silicon Valley salesman James Nguyen. Nguyen is a compelling story himself, having fled Vietnam with his family as a child in the 70′s, falling in love with American cinema, and turning into the writer, casting agent, producer, and director who  shot Birdemic on his weekends off from work.

The plot is simple – Just when young tech salesman Rod meets the girl of his dreams, blood thirsty eagles and vultures (although more accurately I’d say seagulls) descend upon the city, attacking everyone and causing explosions.  Now I’ve seen my fare share of terrible special effects but watching the trailer I had never seen animation quite like this.

The birds looked like GIFS superimposed above the actor’s heads… and before I knew it my credit card was out and I had bought tickets to this festival of CGI Fail.

So when Writer/Director/Visionary James Nguyen took the stage at midnight, cast and Videogum’s Gabe Delahaye in tow, it came as a surprise to see Nguyen glowing like a proud father. Prompted to confess if the movie might be sending some sort of message about global warming Nguyen replied that if he wanted to send a message he’d go to the Post Office. Zing! But seriously, all Nguyen really wanted was for everyone to, “walk away thinking.”

On the whole Birdemic had plenty of laugh out loud moments, but does it really live up to all the hype? Sure it had show stopping special effects, but with all the overextended scenes, flimsy characters, implausible script and yaaawn. I couldn’t help but think could this be the Avatar of bad horror movies? Below I have created a handy side by side comparison:

Birdemic Director’s name is James An homage to Hitchcock’s The Birds Worth seeing for the dazzling special effects Romantic leads come from two different worlds (figuratively) Feels really long Director funded the film Subtly questions  negative human impact on the environment Rejected by the Sundance Film Festival

Avatar Director’s name is James An homage to Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke Worth seeing for the dazzling special effects Romantic leads come from two different worlds (literally) Actually IS really long Director funded the film Subtly questions  negative human impact on the environment Nominated for 9 Academy Awards

Birdemic may not take the place of bona fide cult sensation The Room, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to witness yet another example of how people can fulfill their movie making dreams with very little money and a quixotic dose of optimism. With many more screenings planned around the country, you will have the chance to judge for yourself.

Photo Credit: Moviehead Pictures