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Zombie 5 - Killing Birds
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List Price: $24.95
Medicine Alternatives Price: $22.49
Your Savings: $ 2.46 ( 10% )
Availability: Usually ships in 10 to 13 days
Manufacturer: Shriek Show
Starring: Lara Wendel, Robert Vaughn, Timothy W. Watts, Leslie Cumming, James Villemaire
Directed By: Claudio Lattanzi, Joe D'Amato
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781586554378
Format: Color
ISBN: 1586554379
Label: Shriek Show
Manufacturer: Shriek Show
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Shriek Show
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2003-08-19
Running Time: 90
Studio: Shriek Show
Theatrical Release Date: 1987
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Editorial Reviews:
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Night brings out the hunger in everyone, especially a mysterious New York cab driver. As a vampire, working the night shift lures a sultry array of passengers within his grasp. Embracing those ready to die, he controls a vampire underworld. Unexpectedly,
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Killing Birds
Comment: I have to laugh at all these reviews. Some people just take horror movies WAY too seriously.
Killing Birds is by no means a perfect film. The acting is quite awkward, the diolog is quite silly, and the story could be better. But wait, does this sound familiar? Why yes, this sounds like 75% of all horror movies! There's no use in complaining about something that comes with the territory.
I for one think the concept of this film is unique. It has equal parts slasher flick, ghost story, and zombie film. What I mean by that is that it's shot as if were a slasher flick and it takes place in a haunted house, only instead of ghosts there are zombies. Zombies who kill people like slashers, not eat them like... well zombies.
There is a lot of time where there isn't a lot of action going on, but if you can appreciate the unintentional humor that the acting and dialog provide, you should be able to easily sit through it. The special effects are on par with other low-budget Italian films of this era and some scenes do manage to work up some suspense. The picture quality is above average and the music is pretty loud and effective.
If you give this film an honest shot and without expecting a masterpiece, you might find it rather charming and enjoyable for a splatter film. I wouldn't compare this to other D'Amato film because he only had part to do with it. And if you really don't find any of this appealing and/or choose to listen to other reviewers, you might as well watch ol' dependable Dawn of the Dead a couple dozen more times. As for the 5 star rating, yes this is my favorite film. But I think I've been fair, don't you?
Similar movies (in regards to look and feel) include Witchery (aka Ghosthouse 2) and Black Demons.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A VERY KOOL,RETRO THROWBACK TO THE EARLY 80'S!!
Comment: HEY....I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THE OTHER REVIEWS HERE. I PURCHASED 'KILLING BIRDS' ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND TOTALLY ENJOYED IT FOR MANY REASONS. FIRST OFF...YEA, IT ISN'T A ZOMBIE MOVIE..AT LEAST NOT LIKE 'ZOMBIE' OR 'DAWN OF THE DEAD'...BUT AS YOU KNOW, WHEN SEEKING OUT OBSCURE AND LOW-BUDGET MOVIES, THE STUDIO WILL USUALLY TAG THEIR FLIC WITH A VERY POPULAR AND COMMERCIAL BRAND NAME. (the Howling, Witchcraft,etc) to DRAW IN VIEWERS...IF YOU'RE AN AVID HORROR/sSCI-FI fan...well,then YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS BY NOW..? WHAT IS ALSO VERY 'KOOL' AND STILL HAS ME SEARCHING THE MOVIE ARCHIVES HERE ON AMAZON..IS THAT I'M FINDING HUNDREDS OF FILMS THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE...THANX TO THE WONDER OF DIGITAL MOVIES! I GREW UP IN THE 80S AND I'M A TOTAL RETRO-FLASHBACK 80'S DUDE! BUT NOW, I'M WATCHING AND STUDYING ANYTHING I CAN GET MY HANDS ON........THIS BRINGS ME TO MY 'DISCOVERY' OF SOME OF THE ZOMBIE SEQUEALS. TO ME...SORRY GUYS, 'THE KILLING BIRDS' WAS AN AWESOME RARE FIND....THIS WOULD OF BEEN ONE OF THOSE MOVIES ON VHS THAT I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY 'BURNED' UP IN MY VCR PLAYER...LIKE 'CHILDREN OF THE CORN, JUST BEFORE DAWN, NIGHT OF THE COMET...THE FUNHOUSE!!' 'KILLING BIRDS' LOOKS, TASTES AND SMELLS LIKE A 1980 CHEEZE-FLICK. FIRST, IT DOES THAT OPENING 'PROLOGUE' OF A HORRIBLE HAPPENING...THEN...FLASHES SEVERAL YEARS LATER TO A COLLEGE CAMPUS TO INTRODUCE THE BLAND KIDS. THE BOYS ARE VERY SOFT AND THE CLOTHES VERY..the GAP..?..matter of fact, tHE ENTIRE MOVIE HAS THIS REALLY NIFTY HAZE TO IT...EVERYTHING IS VERY PASTEL AND THE KIDS QUIET AND SOFTLY SPOKEN...(think..THE KINDRED..ELM STREET...VALLEY GIRL...APRIL FOOLS DAY,DEFINATELY!!) why wasn't this movie on our VIDEO SHELVES in the 80's.....?....who cares...I FOUND IT NOW. THE MOVIE ALSO MADE ME THINK OF 'EXQUINOX'..'SLAUGHTERHOUSE'..'BLOODY NEW YEAR'...AND A EVIL-DEAD RIP OFF CALLED 'DEMON WIND'. IF YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE LITTLE LOW-BUDGET MOVIES...AND MAY HAVE LIKED THEM..THEN YOU MAY 'ENJOY' 'KILLING BIRDS'...OR AT LEAST, GET A WARM,COZY FEELING INSIDE FROM WATCHING AND REMEMBERING HOW 'SIMPLE' IT WAS TO TELL A DECENT STORY WITHOUT CGI AND BUCKETS OF BLOOD.....MATTER OF FACT, THE 'PACE' IS DEFINATELY SLOW..BUT AFTER REALLY WATCHING THIS MOVIE..IT SUDDENLY HIT ME 'HARD' THAT THE MOVIE'S UNDER CURRENT WAS SORT OF LIKE EARLY JOHN CARPENTER....'KILLING BIRDS' SIMPLY BUILDS AND BUILDS WITH ECHOES OF 'ERRIE' CHIMES AND ALSO ACTUALLY USES WHITE SMOKE AND FOG TO CREATE IT'S ATMOSPHERE. THE PLOT IS SIMPLE..BUNCH OF KIDS GO ON AN OUTING TO GO...BIRD WATCHING...(FOR REAL!)..IN THE FOREST..STUMPLE APOND A DEAD BODY AND END UP STRANDED IN AN ISOLATED HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF 'EVIL DEAD' LAND....THE 'TEENS' MOVE THRU THE MOVIE IN SUCH MELODRAMATIC FASHION, WALKING IN AND OUT OF DREAM-LIKE SITUATIONS..THAT YOU WILL EITHER GO WITH..(LIKE AN OLD GHOST STORY)..OR NOT..IF YOU 'WANT' FAST PACE AND LIGHTNING LIKE SPEED THEN OF COURSE THIS ISN'T FOR YOU.....I HOWEVER, CHEWED IT UP...ESPECIALLY WHEN THE 'PREPPIE' KIDS ARE TRAPPED IN THE VAN..AND THE 'DEAD' START TO CLOSE IN ON THEM....THE CUTS ARE QUICK, THE PRETTY KIDS BREATHING AND SWEATING HARD..THE 'HALLOWEEN' LIKE TECHNO MUSIC IS PLAYING WITH GLEE AND HUGE BRIGHT WHITE LIGHTS OF FOG SURROUND THEM...(echoes of THE FOG and PRINCE OF DARKNESS)...of course, nothing in my eyes come close to CARPENTER or TOBE HOOPER'S THE FUNHOUSE..(my all time wet-dream favorite!!)...BUT I GUESS I JUST ADMIRE VERY LOW-BUDGET FILMS THAT MAKE A 'BUCK' STRETCH AS FOR AS IT GOES. I ALSO LOVE THE CONCLUSION WHEN THE LAST 'KIDS' LOCK THEMSELVES IN THE DUSTY ATTIC AND THE MUSIC PLAYING REMINDED ME OF 'ANGELS' OR A CHORUS HUMMING...SORT OF LIKE A VERY,VERY LOW-BUDGET DARIO ARGENTO.....LOVE THIS SCENE...THE QUICK CUTS OF THE FRANTIC KIDS SEEM TO MELT BACK AND FORTH WITH THE MUSIC...CREATING ONCE AGAIN A VERY DREAMY 'NOT OF THIS' EARTH KINDA ATMOSPHERE..OH YEA..AND NOT THAT IT REALLY MATTERS, BUT THE LAST SURVIVING PRETTY BOY HAS A 'CONNECTION' WITH THE BIRDS..OR 'PHANTOMS'..OR 'KILLER'..OR...THAT'S RIGHT..HE'S RELATED TO THE...OH..it really doesn't matter..IT'S MORE ABOUT THE 'MOOD' of the 'MOMENT!'.....ANYWAY, IF YOU ENJOY EARLY 80'S FILMS.(SUPERSTITION,THE OUTING,SLAUGHTER HIGH,SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK,CHOPPING MALL,the ZERO BOYS)I WOULD GIVE THIS A TRY....OH MY GOD...THAT'S WHO THE BOYS REMINDED ME OF...I JUST FIGURED IT OUT..AHA! THAT POP GROUP AHA.. the''TAKE ON ME..'' MTV MUSIC VIDEO...ya know, when that PRETTY GIRL GETS SUCKED INTO THAT COMIC BOOK AND FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE CARTOON GUY...yea....very,very 80'S...and 'KILLING BIRDS' has that style.....!! thanx for reading....KEVIN BRIAN....be my bloody VALENTINE...or ELSE!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Another Extremely BAD Zombie Movie!
Comment: I was highly disappointed by this movie. They don't even show the zombies toward the end of the movie, and the movie doesn't even seem to be about zombies. It's about these college students going to an abandoned house were some killings took place to learn about birds. NOT COOL!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: I decided to finally watch zombie 5...
Comment: I can't tell you how many times I've picked up zombie 5 in the store and wondered if I should actually add it to my zombie film collection. I mean it truly seems to be a needed film if you already own zombie 2-4... but I heard numerous times that it 1. isn't part of the collection or 2. not truly a zombie film. Well, here is the answer for all of those who wondered as I did...
Zombie 5: Killing Birds is a zombie film and let me explain. If you are looking for an action packed thriller resident evil/28 days later/even a Romero film... this is not exactly it. If you enjoy the slow paced, low budget, bad acting, gore filled deaths like eyes getting ripped out kind of horror like Lucio Fulci made, then this is your ticket. NOT the greatest movie but entertaining. If you enjoyed sitting through "Hell of the living dead" then you might as well watch zombie 5 for some good laughs. Starts out really really slow but as it gets to the end it builds up into a true zombie movie. I say 2 stars... but to a cheesy zombie movie fan I say its a 3.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Zombie 5: Killing Birds
Comment: This movie is the type that makes you wanna rip your eyes out and stab yourself in the ears so you don't have to see or hear anything.
After the movie is over you cannot wait to get it out of your DVD player, but when you look back you'll see it's actually kind of fun, so all is not lost.
Lets face it horror movies aren't know for having the smartest characters, but when in a situation like that it's quite possible to do things you shouldn't. But the characters in Killing Birds are some of the dumbest I have ever seen.
They are just total morons. Normally something like that can be fun, but here it's a bit annoying.
One of my favorite parts is when one guy gets stuck in the generator and his friend just looks on in horror. Seriously the guy just stands there and watches. How about maybe you try and help him?? That is just an idea, but yeah maybe try and save the guy?
Then when he goes and tells the others he says, "they got him." Who are they? Ain't nobody got him you idiot. He got stuck in the generator and you just watched.
The biggest problem with Killing Birds is it's just too damn slow. The movie starts off with some action and after that nothing happens. We meet the main characters follow them around a bit. Still nothing happening, finally towards the very end the action starts up.
I'm all for slow burn movies, but this was just boring.
Claudio Lattanzi is credited as director, but Killing Birds was actually directed by Joe D'Amato. I'm not sure if Lattanzi co-directed, but it was D'Amato. His name was left off due to over-exposure.
Though if you watch the movie in the credit sequence Lattanzi isn't credited, but another name is, that is very common in Italian movies. They often use names that sound more American.
Hard to believe Joe D'Amato who did the classic Beyond the Darkness is responsible for this. Joe D'Amato has had a strange career.
Some classics and a lot of trash like this. Joe D'Amato was also a producer and the director of photography so he has to get a lot of the blame. The script is terrible if you can even call it a script.
To D'Amato's credit he does try and build some tension and had the movie been more interesting with more likeable characters maybe it would have sort of worked. Killing Birds wouldn't keep you on the edge of your seat or anything, but D'Amato does manage some decent tension.
There is a lot of other problems here, for instance what the hell is the deal with this movie?
It starts out as a slsher flick than it seems it has something to do with birds than in the middle it has a little bit of a haunted house style than a zombie flick and finally we go back to the birds. All I wanna know is what the birds had to do with anything?
This was truly a low point in the career of Robert Vaughn; also his character at the end is the hero. Um didn't he brutally kill some people in the beginning?
Also his relation to the character of Steve is quite idiotic. The acting here is quite bad and at times the actors sort of mumble their lines. You might have to rewind a bit so you know what they said. But I suppose it doesn't really matter since nothing they say or do for that matter is worth rewinding for.
The gore here is also rather tame. Killing Birds has maybe one or two decent gore scenes.
Even though this movie is called Zombie 5: Killing Birds it actually came out before Zombie 3 & 4.
A lot of Italian movies are billed as sequels even I they really aren't. So I'm not sure if Media-Blasters through on the Zombie 5 or if that was just one of the alternate titles, which like I said is very common with Italian horror flicks.
Killing Birds is just an idiotic movie, all we get is a bunch of idiots doing nothing interesting than just throw some zombies in there.
Sorry Joe you tried, but it just wasn't working this time.
For those who plan to buy this I suggest you order the Zombie Pack. You get this movie plus Zombie 3 & 4. The price for the set is cheaper than any of the movies on their own.
As I said Killing Birds is quite bad, but when you think back you'll get a good laugh, but won't be in a rush to see it again. I'm very grateful that Media-Blasters is putting flicks like this out, but surly they can find better movies than this.
Don't let this flick make you cold on Joe D'Amato, check out his Beyond the Darkness. That is a classic in the horror genre.
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