Birdemic 2: The Resurrection
Birdemic 2: The Resurrection is a 2013 American romantic thriller-horror film written and directed by James Nguyen. It is the sequel to the 2010 film Birdemic: Shock and Terror. The film, as with its predecessor, has been considered one of the worst films of all time and features mainly self-referential humor about the reception of the previous film. Taking place two years after Birdemic, the film follows another mass bird attack caused by global warming, this time in Hollywood.
Birdemic 2: The Resurrection | |
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Directed by | James Nguyen |
Produced by | Jeff Gross |
Written by | James Nguyen |
Starring |
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Music by | Michael Gordon Shapiro |
Cinematography | Bobby Hacker |
Edited by | Joe Pascual |
Production company |
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Distributed by | Chill |
Release date |
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Running time | 79 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Plot
Bill, an independent film director, discovers waitress Gloria in a Hollywood eatery and casts her in the lead role of Kim in his new film, Sunset Dreams, which is financed by his friend Rod a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and Rod's wife, Nathalie. Shortly into production of Sunset Dreams, a toxic rain falls on Hollywood which causes preserved killer birds and cavemen to emerge from the La Brea Tar Pits and zombies to come to life in a nearby cemetery. Bill, Gloria, Rod and Nathalie make their way around Hollywood with a dwindling band of survivors, fighting off the various threats before the birds eventually cease attacking and fly away.
Cast
- Alan Bagh as Rod
- Whitney Moore as Nathalie
- Patsy van Ettinger as Nathalie's mom
- Thomas Favaloro as Bill
- Chelsea Turnbo as Gloria
- Brittany N. Pierce as Jessica
- Thuan Luu as Will
- Aaron Pressburg as Dustin
- Damien Carter as himself
- Rick Camp as Dr. Jones
- Eric Swartz as Bill Stone
- Stephen Gustavson as tree hugger
- Carrie Stevens as tree hugger's wife
- Colton Osborne as Tony
- Sam Hyde as Beach Goer 1
- Charls Carroll as Beach Goer 2
- Nick Rochefort as Beach Goer 3
- Wagandan Wallace as Extra
Production
Birdemic 2 was announced in April 2011, along with news that Bagh would reprise his role from the first film.[1] Production began on February 4, 2012.[2] Nguyen included long scenes of dancing in order to satisfy fans of his first film, who he said wanted romantic content; Nguyen himself sees the film as a romantic thriller. Nguyen was influenced by concerns about global warming, which he said was the cause of the bird and zombie attacks in the film.[3] The film was shot in 3D, which Nguyen said he mastered during shooting.[4] Shooting in 3D slowed down production, but Nguyen said he believed it would bring more people to the sequel.[5]
Release
A tie-in video game was released in October 2012.[6] Starting on April 16, 2013, Chill.com exclusively offered the film via video on demand for 90 days before it was released to other services.[7] It was released on DVD in October 2013.[8]
Reception
Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote, "Nguyen's partial self-awareness of his new movie's camp value ... only makes it an effortful, half-understood in-joke rather than the guiltily pleasurable unintentional joke that was Birdemic: Shock and Terror."[9] Rod Lott of the Oklahoma Gazette wrote, "What keeps Birdemic 2 from reaching the first film's level of fun is Nguyen's penchant for treating this go-round like a greatest-hits reel."[10] HorrorNews.net rated it 0/5 stars and called it the worst film of the year.[11]
Cancelled sequel
In a 2016 Vice interview, Nguyen said that he is hoping to eventually make Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle, which would be his last film.[12] In October 2016, an Indiegogo campaign was raised in order to finance the third film of the series. The funding was eventually closed, with only roughly $596 out of the desired $500,000 raised.[13][14]
References
- Miska, Brad (April 7, 2011). "'Birdemic' Director Reveals Sequel Details, Returning Cast". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Barton, Steve (January 23, 2012). "Exclusive Birdemic II: The Resurrection News Flys In: Casting News, Start Date, and More!". Dread Central. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- de Semlyen, Nick. "James Nguyen Talks Birdemic: The Resurrection". Empire. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Gilchrist, Todd (February 21, 2011). "'Birdemic' Director on Shooting His Sequel… in 3-D". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Webb, Charles (February 20, 2011). "Interview: Birdemic Writer-Directer James Nguyen". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Dyar, Amanda (October 25, 2012). "Birdemic 2: The Game Flys Onto The App Store". Dread Central. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Dickson, Evan (April 16, 2013). "Chill Gets Exclusive VOD Window On 'Birdemic 2: The Resurrection'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Foran, Chris (October 24, 2013). "New DVDs for release Oct. 29". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Harvey, Dennis (April 29, 2013). "Film Review: 'Birdemic 2: The Resurrection'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- Lott, Rod (April 26, 2013). "Birdemic 2: The Resurrection". Oklahoma Gazette. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- The Black Saint (June 27, 2013). "Film Review: Birdemic 2: The Resurrection (2013)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- VICE (August 4, 2016), "The Worst Movie Ever Made? The True Story of 'Birdemic'", YouTube, retrieved March 29, 2019
- "BIRDEMIC 3 - Sea Eagle". Indiegogo. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- Moviehead Pictures (October 13, 2016), "BIRDEMIC 3 - Sea Eagle Indiegogo Fund Raising Campaign", YouTube, retrieved March 29, 2019