Kaw
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Movie Reviews of Kaw
Movie Review: Mad Crow Disease
Summary: 4 Stars
"Kaw" is not Hitchcock, but it's not bad either. The similarities between "Kaw" and "The Birds" are self-evident, although they are denied vehemently in the interviews with cast and crew: the film even features Rod Taylor, from the Hitchcock masterpiece.
Parts of "Kaw" are contrived and stretch the imagination, but who isn't expecting that with a film about hyper-intelligent ravens spawned by the carelessness of antisocial Mennonites? There are typical B-movie plotpoints: it's the last day of work for the chief of police; there are children stranded and exposed to the birds; there's a crazy old gun nut in town, etc.
For no apparent reason ravens start banding together to attack people in a small town (this was actually shot in Canada), leaving the hero cop, Wayne (Sean Patrick Flanery), and the crusty town doctor (Rod Taylor) to figure out a strategy to combat them. In the midst of this is a subplot about Mennonites, who are extremely disagreeable, and who obviously know too much about these happenings for it to be a coincidence.
The special effects were enacted using 11 trained ravens from the Czech Republic, and very good CGI techniques. The extras on the DVD are surprisingly interesting and explain the CGI techniques and show the trained ravens. (Also worth watching are the interviews, especially with Rod Taylor.) Some of the plot is hokey, and several of the situations are fairly ridiculous: the beautiful cop's wife down a horrific well at the Mennonite's farm; the basketball team stuck in the bus (which hearkens back to the skiing team in the bus in "Ice Spiders"); and the lame (and predictable) child rescue from the street come to mind. Still this film is much better than I expected given the genre and budget, and is far more entertaining than most of its contemporary creatures-gone-amok peers.
Although I won't reveal the final plotpoint supplied by the Mennonites, it's a safe bet that it will make your eyes roll, as it did mine. Still, though, for a contemporary nature-goes-wild drama, "Kaw" is actually pretty decent.
Movie Review: Unexpected Gem
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, it's another animals-on-the-attack movie, this one molded from Hitchcock's "The Birds" (and even featuring Rod Taylor)...but a tightly wound, well directed, and surprisingly suspenseful addition to the genre. Here ominous black ravens are in attack mode, for reasons the movie sketchily provides, and it's up to a seasoned cop (Flanery) to save the day. Yes, it's a B-Movie, but it's still exceptionally well done. For starters, it's never boring, moving along at a quick pace. And while dreaded CGI is incorporated into the effects, they also managed to use real ravens with the CGI, to minimalize use of CGI. Truthfully, the effects work is pretty seamless, and just right for this type of film. The performances are more than adequate, and while there's never really a truly frightening moment, this is still ions more entertaining than most straight-to-DVD horror drivel. And refreshingly, the accent is less on needless gore and more on suspense, something seriously lacking from today's horror fare. KAW may not be the Hamlet of horror movies, but should be noteworthy for what it is: an edgy, moody, no-frills humdinger of a horror flick.Movie Review: Amusing silliness
Summary: 3 Stars
Kaw (Sheldon Wilson, 2007)
I should first note that Kaw is not nearly as bad as most Sci-Fi Channel Original Films, and for that alone it deserves to be singled out for praise. Wilson, who was responsible for the surprisingly good basement-budget horror flick Shallow Ground a few years ago, takes on crazy birds, Mennonites, and Sean Patrick Flanery (of Boondock Saints fame), and comes up with something that may not be as good as Shallow Ground, but is still worth watching if you have an hour and a half to kill.
Wayne (Flanery) is a small-town sheriff on his last day on the job. His lovely wife Cynthia (Young People [censored for Amazon consumption]'s Kristin Booth) has just completed her degree in forensic anthropology, and, as Wayne remarks in the opening scene, his small town has no need for a professor of forensic anthropology, so the two of them are getting ready to pull up stakes and head for the big city, over Cynthia's lukewarm-at-best protests. Meanwhile, Clyde (A History of Violence's Stephen McHattie, who's going to get a lot more famous in America come February-- he's one of the main characters in Watchmen), town drunk and bus driver, is menaced by a flock of ravens until he pulls out a shotgun and starts blasting away. Clyde's on the wagon, but no one in town believes him, and Wayne and Clyde have a predictable run-in (both in the way it unfolds and in that the good guy can never believe the horror element within the first fifteen minutes). The birds don't stay under the radar long, however, but we've also got a subplot going on; Cynthia has gone to a farm owned by a Mennonite clan out in the sticks to say good-bye to a friend of hers. While there, she takes a bad step and ends up down a well with the carcasses of a number of dead cattle. Aside from the squick factor, what's up with all the dead cows?
The main way in which Kaw fails in comparison to its superior older brother Shallow Ground is that Wilson was doing something interesting and original there (and the micro-budget didn't show at all), whereas Kaw is your basic killer-bug movie except with ravens. Still, I can't bring myself to dock it points for that, partially because I'm fond of Wilson's seemingly lackadaisical but actually pretty sharp directorial style, I'm fond of Sean Patrick Flanery's scenery-chewing, I'm very fond of Megan Park (Diary of the Dead), who plays the daughter of one of the Mennonite families, I'm fond of Stephen McHattie's acting in this movie... well, I'm a lot fonder of just about everything there is about this movie than most folks, judging by the IMDB ratings. I still think Sheldon Wilson is a guy to watch. Don't take this one too seriously and you'll have fun with it. ***
Movie Review: Entertaining movie
Summary: 3 Stars
KAW
I remember watching the Birds and even the second one when I was real little; I never understood why people thought it was so scary. Of course that film came out way before I was born and it was only when I was older that I understood that the film was all about the tension. So when I walked by this movie and noticed not only was it a film like the birds it also featured an actor from that film, and stared one of my favorite actors. So naturally I picked this up and popped it in and was ready to go, I even watched this with my grandparents who had took my mom and aunt to see "The Birds" when they were kids. Like I thought, they like my self liked it but agreed that The Birds was the better film. Still this was agood film and worthy of a rental at least, glad I bought it though.
The story is all about a sheriff that is about to leave town to go else where in life but is confronted with a big problem. After he is called out to an old mans house because of reports of shots being fired he learns a little something about why those shots were fired. Of course others in the town are attacked by these ravens most interestingly is a group of kids on a school bus, there is one girl on the bus that you will wish would get taken out. Now if you have seen The Birds or any other nature running amuck type of film you will know that the characters will all end up together inside one confined place. The ending of this film actually makes sense though; in fact how the characters act in this film makes sense. Sadly that is not always the case with these types of films.
Director Sheldon Wilson keeps things interesting and creates a nice pace; things actually move along nicely and make sense. I wouldn't say that he crafted a masterpiece but there are some really good moments that take place during this film. Benjamin Sztajnkrycer wrote an interesting take on this concept, and while not much is new in this film it still seemed fresh. Acting wise Sean Patrick Flanery [great actor Dead Zone the series and Bonedock Saints anyone] did a great job on this film and makes for a good lead hero against these ravens. Rod Taylor [The Birds] who is making a return to this type of movie is great as well as Doc, who is well the town Doc. Rod was in The Birds and now makes a great return to form in Kaw, get what I am saying. Everybody in this film does a good job with their role and really makes it seem believable, that is real hard to do in these types of films.
This film is not in any way a classic film but it is still an entertaining flick that would at least warrant a rental.
Movie Review: Entertaining
Summary: 3 Stars
Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's famous THE BIRDS, KAW is a modern examination of the classic horror premise of animals attacking people. Set in a small town in the northeastern United States, KAW follows Sheriff Wayne (Sean Patrick Flanery) on the last day of his job as sheriff. Wayne is moving with his wife, Cynthia (Kristin Booth) to the big city and is leaving the town of his childhood behind. A bizarre murder, a midday shooting, and a tragic traffic accident all seem to be caused by a large flock of ravens that have suddenly infested the area. Ravens are highly intelligent animals (smarter than some mammals the film says) and Wayne has to figure out, with the help of the local doctor (Rod Taylor), what is causing the birds carnivorous behavior and how to stop it before the birds kill everyone in the town.
KAW is a B-movie that originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. The film's director vehemently denies that KAW isn't supposed to be like THE BIRDS, but there are far too many similarities between the two pictures, including having Rod Taylor (he co-starred in THE BIRDS) co-starring in the picture. Movies that are shown on the Sci-Fi Channel are hit-and-miss with there being more misses than hits. Fortunately, KAW is more of a hit. It's a B-picture and the filmmakers knew that when they were making it. The movie doesn't pretend to be something that it's not. There are a few plot holes, but overall KAW is a decent movie. The acting is really good and has some good special effects, especially since this is a low-budget direct-to-cable release. The movie has been marketed as a horror film, but there is very little gore and it's more of a suspense film than horror. I enjoyed the movie and though there isn't anything new or extraordinary, I'd watch it again. The director, Sheldon Wilson, did a great job with a limited budget and I'd recommend for a rainy afternoon with nothing to do. Also, fans of Sean Patrick Flanery, Rod Taylor, and Sheldon Wilson might have an interest in seeing this movie.
There are several extras on the DVD including a making-of featurette, a conversation with the director and Rod Taylor, and several trailers. I found the making-of extra to be the most informative of all the special features. Part of it explains about the 11 trained ravens from the Czech Republic were used and how the sfx department multiplied these creatures using CGI. Watching the film it's almost impossible to distinguish the real birds from the CGI ones. That's a great feat for any film.