Tags:
Film: Birdeater
Year: 2023
Director: Jack Clark and Jim Weir
Writers: Jack Clark and Jim Weir
Starring: Mackenzie Fearnley, Shabana Azeez and Ben Hunter
Review:
This was a film that caught my attention when I saw the trailer at the Gateway Film Center. When I realized this would be borderline horror, I confirmed that Letterboxd listed it that way. I caught this at the theater. Something that I’ll get to is whether this is in genre.
Synopsis: a bride-to-be is invited to her fiancé’s bachelor party, but when uncomfortable details of their relationship are exposed, the night takes a feral turn.
We start this by seeing trees in a red light. It then shifts to what I’m guessing is this couple when they first met at the beach. Louie (Mackenzie Fearnley) is staring at Irene (Shabana Azeez). We see as they hook up, then spend time together to the point where she lives there. This is sped up as a montage where there is something strange that keeps happening. He tells her he is doing different things at night, gives her a pill, she passes out and he goes to the driving range. There is one night where he meets with Murph (Alfie Gledhill).
It is after that visit that Louie invites her to his bachelor party. She pauses and he convinces her that his friends are excited. We see that might not be the case though. Joining them on this trip is Dylan (Ben Hunter), who is wild. Charlie (Jack Bannister) is bringing his girlfriend Grace (Clementine Anderson), so that way Irene doesn’t feel alone as the only woman. Murph is coming as well. There is also one last person to invite, Sam (Harley Wilson), who Irene might have dated in the past or at least was attracted to.
There are odd and tense moments that happen throughout. Louie doesn’t want Irene to reveal to the group about the pills that she’s taken. This gets revealed over dinner and it goes in a direction that none of them could have predicted. Other secrets are revealed here as this becomes a surreal, drug fueled night that none of them will ever forget. There are also things that people here will come to terms with as they’re all pushed to their edge of what they’ll allow.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then is bringing up whether this is a horror film. It isn’t in the traditional sense. What we are getting is a look at toxic people, relationships and like I said at the end of my recap, a drug fueled nightmare as people come to terms with secrets. The tension is high. It is uncomfortable. I’m still going to include it on my lists, but just know that if it wasn’t listed on Letterboxd as in genre, I would leave it off.
Now that I’ve said that, let me treat this as if it was in the genre. I want to first discuss our lead couple. Something happened between them. There was an accident of sorts where Louie has a scar around his ear and Irene no longer drives. A comment gets made about him only marrying her so she can get her visa to stay in Australia. That gets said early on after arriving. As different things get revealed, there is much more to this situation. I love that we see this fateful event that puts this relationship on the path that it is. There are things that get introduced as we go as well, so I’m constantly shifting which side I’m on. It ultimately ends with me in the middle. I’ll say that this relationship is toxic. Louie is a scumbag for something that he is doing and advice that he gives. I also don’t feel bad for Irene with what she decides to do. Credit to both Fearnley and Azeez for getting this reaction out of me.
Let’s then look at other characters that join them. First is Dylan. They present him as this odd alpha male who is ready to party. There is a peek behind that facade that is good. We also have Charlie and Hope. She knows how toxic Louie and Irene are, but stays out of it. She tries to help but runs into an issue with her relationship. Let’s just say that Charlie and her are supposed to be saving their virginities for marriage. I’ll just say ‘pot meet kettle’ applies here. Sam is shocked that he’s invited. He tries to ‘save’ Irene and how he factors into an important event was interesting. Everyone here complicates situations, along with Murph and I’d say that all the performances are good to once again, stress me out.
Since this is a character study and seeing how isolating everyone can raise tension, let me go over to filmmaking. This is where it goes close to falling into the genre. The cinematography and framing to capture how difficult it is to get in as well as out is good. They do excellent things as well to make it feel surreal. I’ll also include the sound design and music. People are drinking and using drugs, so that adds to it as well. We are limited on the effects that are used, but it also isn’t that type of movie. This is the strongest aspect.
There isn’t much more to truly delve into so I’ll say in conclusion that this isn’t a horror movie, in the traditional sense. This will be a divisive one that will split those that see it. I fall into the camp where I don’t necessarily think it is but due to it being listed on Letterboxd, I’m keeping it in. None of that is saying that this is a bad film. It is bleak. It is tense and uncomfortable. I’d also say that it is a challenging film. The acting is good to bring the characters to life and get a reaction out of me. This is also well made with the cinematography, framing and sound design leading the way there. Not one that I can recommend to everyone. If what I said here sounds interesting, then give this a watch.
My Rating: 7 out of 10