Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Birder is a gay thriller about Kristian Brooks (Michael Emery), a dangerous loner who gets his kicks murdering people as he has sex with them.
The film opens with Kristian fishing on a boat with another man, David Sachs (Miles Crawford). He kills David and burns his clothes in a campfire. The film then cuts to Kristian filling up his gas tank as a young family in a car pulls in next to him. The father, David, and mother, Sue (Jill Jose), walk into the gas station, leaving their teenage son, Ben (Taylor Petracek), in the car.
While the parents are away, Kristian flirts with Ben. David and Sue come out and ask what’s going on, and Kristian calmly introduces himself, mentioning that he’s camping nearby. They make small talk, with David telling him that they’re staying at a cabin not far from the camp site.
They leave, and Kristian goes to the site, sets up his tent and meets the other people staying there. Since this is a clothing optional area, many of the people are naked and open to casual sex. So, Kristian slowly befriends the other campers, gains their trust, then kills them.
Some Thoughts:
Birder is a thriller with all the necessary elements except suspense. Any scene with the possibility of tension is so poorly crafted that it feels as if the actors are simply going through the motions. It also doesn’t help that the characters are never fully defined, which makes it difficult to care about what happens to them. It’s a shame because this could have been an interesting movie.
While the supporting cast could use some acting lessons, Emery does a decent job portraying the murderous Kristian. He’s actually the only good thing about the movie. He gives Kristian just the right amount of subtle creepiness, and a skilled director would have latched onto it and used to its full potential. Sadly, director Nate Dushku lets Emery’s talents go to waste.
On top of the lack of suspense, the sex scenes have much to be desired. Sure, there are lots of naked men and the promise of sex, but it all falls apart when they start to get busy. Not only are the body placements off, but there’s no chemistry between any of the characters. It made me question if anybody involved in the making of this movie has ever had sex.
This is not the erotic thriller it promises to be.
The Final Verdict:
Birder is so poorly made that not even a cast of naked men can save it.