I would never have been able (nor had the inclination) to take a silly joke I'd thought up under the influence of marijuana edibles and turn it into not only the star of the channel, but something as robustly brilliant and silly as you have, Mildred. Bless you.
Possible explanation for the name: the film shares its name with a cult classic 1963 anthropological documentary about the traditional way of life of the Dani people of West Papua. The 1963 movie takes its name from a Dani legend featured in the film, about a race between a snake and a bird to decide the fate of humanity. If the snake wins, then humans will be able to shed their skins like a snake, regenerate and live for ever, but the bird wins so they become mortal, age and die. The 'dead birds' title could refer to the humans who become prey to the snake-like immortal vampire monsters in the film. It'd be a pretty obscure and pretentious reference for the 2004 film makers to make, but it sounds like a slightly obscure and pretentious film itself.
I don’t KNOW this, but I suspect that the reason some of the characters don’t react right to the things that they’re seeing is that the effects were “amped up” in post production, like in the script there was just a slightly creepy little boy but after shooting he got a full on demon face put on top? And the same with the monster in the corn, could really have looked like a weird dead pig or something in the design that the actor was responding to.
i mean you're probably right, it makes the most sense to me. But then at the same time how hard, really, would have been for the director to go "no no, you need to look shit your pants SCARED for this scene" ?
TBH I don't think that's it, they're supposed to be losing touch with reality and what they perceive isn't what's really there. Remember what happens at the end, from their point of view they're normal humans running through the field, from the other people's (and ours) they look like the pink monster thing. I think there's some sort of metaphor at work about them losing their humanity because of their actions in the house but as Mildred said, if you try and work it out, it will bother the hell out of you and not make any sense. I've not seen it in forever and I remember it annoying me that it definitely was trying to say something but god knows what it was.
I understand the whole, "these people are so unbelievably stupid" thing about horror movies, but then 2019 and more so 2020 came around with that pandemic and we saw how stupid people actually are. It's enough to make me rethink the stupidity of characters in movies.
I think it’d’ve been pretty funny if William turned to Todd and was like “Hey, does this mean anything to you?” as he points at the book of evil witchcraft, and Todd went “No. Why the fuck would this mean anything to me?” and then they just sort of let that hang in the air and move on.
"You don't have to shout, I just thought..." "What? What did you 'just think?' Finish that sentence. Tell me why you 'just thought' I would know what this is."
I don't know what you're on about Mildred, that was just a very large plucked chicken with pig feet. Just a very weird dead animal. No reason at all to drop everything and bolt for the second-closest church. (Given that the closest one has a 50-50 chance of also being infested by PERFECTLY NORMAL little boys, undead plantation wives, and large plucked chickens.)
I definitely laughed out loud when ol' Mildred described the gulf between a demon with razor sharp teeth and the mild concern expressed by the actors. Classic Scaredy Cats.
Hell, with the magic stuff they could have had Todd talk about how evil the spells in that book are. Or even go further and actually talk a little about stuff like the difference between a houngan (male priest) and bokor (male sorcerer, in some cases considered the evil equivalent of a houngan). And the US Civil War would have been a great period setting to talk about that and the religious discrimination that was happening in Lousiana around Voodoo during that time. If they wanted to really get into it they could have talked about the Loa, especially with the bringing his wife back they could have talked about Baron Samedi, Maman Bridgette (Samedi's wife, and only together can they raise the dead), and Baron Criminel (the 'enforcer' of the Ghede, the Loa of death and fertility). They could have had the evil slave owner bokor invoke only Samedi, at which point they could include something about sexism of him not thinking Maman Bridgette worth while, and in revenge for the slight of not including his wife have Samedi curse the bokor and have Criminel enforce it.
Yeah, work it a little and with almost no effort you end up telling the opposite story. "It's like he just liked the, I dunno, the aesthetics of this magic, without actually understanding what makes it whole. It's like he saw the bit he liked and ripped that off whole cloth without looking into the foundations that are important to how it is understood. It's like he tried to APPROPRIATE a CULTURE without even knowing the heart of it." (turns to camera) "ARE YOU GETTING THIS, AUDIENCE?"
I remember watching this movie, but it took me a long time to realize it was the same one Mildred was talking about. It had completely erased itself from my mind.
13:05 Like, personally, the reason I've ever pointed out shit like this in comments sections, my own online platforms, etc. is because: A) someone might genuinely not have known this and I think it's a good thing for people to have on their radar somewhere, not because they should stop liking the thing but because that way they can think about an aspect of it they may not have thought about previously, AND if someone else hears them go "I like cowboy stuff" (for example) and makes assumptions about their politics from that, they can know where that's coming from and respond to it if necessary. B) Personally, I would rather know the ways in which the media I like could be flawed or have harmful messaging, than be ignorant of that, partly for reasons stated above. I guess this *is* being concerned with how I'm perceived, in the same way that if I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe I'd want someone to let me know that (?). C) I like analyzing media, so this stuff being in there is just interesting to me. D) For the same reason that whenever someone mixes up "your" and "you're" it's a genuine struggle for me to just ignore it; because I'm autistic and probably the most pedantic person I know, and this shit is going to nag at me like a rock in my shoe. If Prairie Duke was right and we labeled things "problematic" mostly because of how we want to be perceived, wouldn't we have stopped doing that by now and caved to the cringe-culture-esque idea that "problematic" is a meaningless/cringy term (like "patriarchy" or "privilege" or whatever) and we're all just being wokescolds for letting anyone know that media has conceptual/semiotic flaws or questionable messaging? Because the way the online space currently works, being the person who points this stuff out will make people perceive you way more negatively than just not saying that.
I agree with most of this. That said, I do think the way we want to be perceived plays into it too: And it isn't so much wanting to be liked, but wanting to claim the moral high-ground and perceive *ourselves* as "better" than others. That said, those other points you mentioned are equally valid and make it more than worthwhile. I'd argue that we should be careful about the ways in which we deliver this information though. To give a rather extreme example of how *not* to do it: Yesterday, in some Star Wars video's comment section, I saw someone trying to denounce all Disney fans as Nazis due to the problematic views of Walt Disney (as in, the man), which... Is honestly some next-level guilt by association, and will only serve to alienate people and make them more sceptical and unlikely to agree when someone subsequently argues Walt Disney was a Nazi (which he arguably was)
I don't know why but I am fucking dying over "This house is full of thousands of demons that are coming to gobble up my soul's entire ass" something about the delivery there murdered me.
You know an script needs a second draft when one of my first thoughts was "Lovecraft once made a slightly less racist version of that backstory' (in one of his stories there was a guy able to teleport his house throught time thanks to a combination of native American magic with Dutch magic... so saying that the slave-owning warlock mixed African magic with European magic to obtain its ungodly results would be a little less problematic. Instead of implying that African culture is dangerous and evil, you would only be implying that mixing diverse cultures thogether is an abomination that leads to unspeakable horror... see? Less problematic)
I cannot believe you were lectured by a fictional character (and star of the show) you developed while on marijuana edibles while it was wearing a cowboy costume and effecting a funny accent. I mean, he's right. But still.
I don't think "Dead Birds" is a bad title for a horror movie. I do think it is a bad title for this particular movie. When I hear "Dead Birds" I think a movie about supernatural retribution for violence against women. Like I picture a movie where misogynists get haunted by undead women. they wronged, and the undead women are omened by the sudden un-aliving of birds in the area. Hey, someone make this movie so I can watch it!
Ooooo I love when you cover an obscure random film that not enough people have seen and it's one I've recommended to people before. Makes me feel like a proper cool kid 😎
Pleasantly surprised this got the Scaredy Cats treatment! An odd little entry in the underutilized war horror genre, but one that I find myself revisiting. Thanks, Mildred! Check out The Burrowers too!
I'm sorry, Mildred, but you realize that by now Bobby actually IS the star of the channel, right? You will have rioting in the streets if you'll ever try to get back to Scaredy Cats videos without him!
I will always enjoy any and all iterations/themes of my beloved Bobby Dook, that character that you thought of when you were high on a marijuana edible. I was expecting more dead birds however.
As someone born in the American West growing up very much in cowboy culture its something I'm really fond of and I'm really excited for this theme month. I'm also really happy to hear about it from your perspective since everything you said about Westerns is very true and something that's always been a big conflict with my enjoyment of them.
Looking at stuff like this one with the boy in the room makes me wish there was an actual movie playing with the audience seeing As Things Are while the characters can't seem to see anything wrong. You could even cumulate it in the audience eventually also losing the ability to see the monsties.
I’m partway through Bob-uhh...Prarie Duke’s (wait, wouldn’t that just be John Wayne?) critique and I thought I’d chip in with my personal experience anecdote that’s completely useless empirically. I didn’t realize I was an anarchist because I saw people directly challenging hierarchy, I realized it through watching RUclips videos that introduced me to it. Like, specifically your videos. According to an 8 values based political compass test that’s been modified to more accurately represent strains of anarchism, I went from a libsoc to an ancom in a couple months of watching every single video you ever made that was still accessible. Including the makeup tutorial and at least 2 Q&A’s. I forgot my point, but thanks. Lol, no pressure. Oh, I member. My point was that 50% of anarchism is education. I personally consider your praxis both valid and useful. Who knows, if you never made a video I might still be subscribed to Jordan Peterson on RUclips... *shudder*
@@Vesperitis Ouch. I knew of him in passing, not putting name to voice/face right away, and someone I know who hosts a meditation group (a psychotherapist and ordained Buddhist monk) played an audio clip of some of his more tame self-help stuff... while I was listening, my brain had to stop a few times and wonder why he stated certain things matter-of-factly that I completely disagreed with or were known to be unscientific myths of "western" social religion, without backing any of it up. I got a similar vibe about the talk to the one I had after leaving the movie theater as a middle schooler wondering if Star Wars Episode 1 was even a movie. I had probably seen a video of JP in the past, and maybe skimmed a critique of him, but I did a deep-dive after I got home from that meditation. It was spurred on by the fact that another member of the group, when we got to discussing the clip, started by proclaiming her admiration of JP, and then started ranting "critiques" of "socialism" that were actually the usual critiques of authoritarianism (and equally valid critiques of late-capitalism), but framed up under the usual language of right-wing talking points. Thankfully the host stopped her for getting off-topic just in time. My point is that anyone with a cursory background in philosophy or logic will usually catch a few rhetorical strategies he uses and then his arguments start to break down. You quickly realize that he will often talk a lot about subjects he has literally no formal knowledge or training in, act like an expert, and expect you to believe his statements. It's sophistry, plain and simple. Another thing that encounter helped me to understand was why a lot of "new age" boomers seem so very conservative and pro-capitalist despite their progressive, spiritual, and empathetic aesthetics. The whole "open minded" perspective sort of catch-all cherry-picking of religious concepts and modes of thinking, general superstitious outlook, and propensity towards conspiracy-theory laden thinking seems to predispose such people to be easily fooled by pseudo-intellectuals and cults of personality. I mean... this lady had been duped into joining a cult in the past, taken part in several multi-level marketing scams, graduated from Trump "university" for real estate, praised the dude, and even voted for him in both of the last presidential elections... really blew my mind since I know the lady pretty well, but it laid bare some truths about "new age" movements that poked a lot of holes in those ways of thinking for me, finally making sense of why I could never really jive with that stuff despite being pretty well-read on religious/spiritual topics and practices.
I wish I could forward the bit at the end to everybody. That was great, I wish more people would be challenged with that viewpoint of "making people feel bad for liking problematic things is just making you feel superior while you do literally nothing useful to help change things."
The ex-confederate soldiers being somehow smarter (saying 'fuck this' to dying in the civil war on the side of the confederates) and dumber (not immediately leaving the haunted house) than the average confederate soldier, is impressive. I'm assuming that the average soldier on either side would just immediately leave the house, btw.
Yeah, burn that shit down Sherman-style or blast it with cannons. Weird that the movie doesn’t contrive some kind of reason why they can’t leave. Like the demons actively preventing their escape or the boundaries of the spirit world creating a barrier that they can’t cross.
I saw a still from this movie on an unrelated google image search when i was like 9 and it got so under my skin it stayed with me forEVER. THANK you for covering this
I am a member of your audience. I remember that scene from batman as a scene, but would never have connected it had you just said his name. Point being: You know your audience.
This movie has lived rent free in the back of my head for years. And for the life of me I was terrified of the monster faces but could remember it so vividly that it made me wonder if this movie even existed at all
Kinda like Bobby's end rant about the mentality some of us struggle with where being one of the smugest skulls on the pile resting on a dead world is the basically the same as working hard for real change. Algorithm fed.
The idea of African magics being stable and good in their own right, but then being corrupted and misused by colonialists would make for a banger of a film, tbh.
Absolutely, taking another's sacred religious rites with an entitlement and greed only colonialism can facilitate, and having that stolen heritage become a curse on the very souls of those who dared to steal it? SIGN ME UP
I randomly clicked on this video and I think I'm addicted. Time to binge-watch everything you've ever done :D Edit: I just binge-watched everything. This is the best channel EVER! I can't wait till there's more.
This description lines up fairly well with my thoughts on Winchester. The first jump scare in that movie got me screaming louder than any other had in a loooong time rest of the movies was fun, not great, but fun. I am willing to watch it again during some spooky movie binge.
I rented this from the Movie Gallery back in the day. I wouldn't have called it a great movie or anything, but it's still managed to stick around in my memory for all this time despite its flaws.
I watched this on Amazon Prime (I think) this past October. I only gave it a 2.5 on Letterboxd, but I did think it was decent. It was just kinda hurt by its low budget. Definitely worth a watch, especially given how limited the western genre is.
I'm glad someone else remembers this movie!! It's imperfect as heck but I dig the concept & always think of it as the quintessential "stretchy-face jumpscare ghost" movie. XD
Those effects harken back to an ancient [early 2000s] genre of viral jump scare prank videos where you got tricked into staring at something for a minute, and then a loud scream would accompany a picture like this- 10:37.
I'd always seen it as implied that the slave-owning wizard fucked up the magic because he's a shitty dude, but it definitely doesn't do a good job of getting that across.
I'd add The Wind to that list. Very interesting take on the horror western subgenre. And also very much so woman focused which I'd say it's a feature that both Mildred and the audience will appreciate.
Hoping (and dreading) to see "Bone Tomahawk" be on here. That movie made me almost vomit from the slaughtering scene, even the foley work in that scene made me nauseated.
Watched this movie several years ago on Netflix, back when Netflix still had stuff worth watching. Aside from the titular dead birds and Michael Shannon, I remember absolutely nothing about it.
I was deeply upset by all the spooky monster faces in this video, but it was worth it for the unexpected reality check at the end. Critical thinking is very important and evaluating media in this way is a fun way to both teach critical thinking and practice it.
I remember renting this movie with a bunch of friends for a sleepover in like... 2007? And we all agreed it was spooky and the creatures were great, but after returning it to Blockbuster I literally never thought about it again until last year. And when I brought it up to the friends from the sleepover I think like... one of them remembered it? But the rest had absolutely no recollection of this film.
I am So friggin late to this video, I love Dead Birds & your video pointing out the hilarity of it was great! For what it's worth I subbed immediately to all notifications 👍 From Australia 🐨
Joke's on you, I got my giggles and guffaws out as soon as Bobby said "dis _turb_ ing _themes"_ with his signature head wiggle even though I couldn't actually see the head wiggle.
Apparently the director kept making last minute changes to the production, so that could explain a few things. This includes the demand to completely redesign and produce the on-set creatures shortly before filming.
Speaking of 00s indie horror movies, I’d be curious on your thoughts on Ravenous, about cannibals/wendigos, where Robert Carlyle and Guy Pearce should kiss but don’t.
I remember seeing this movie ten or more years ago, and seeing this video pop up gave me a "oh yeah, i remember that movie!" After watching this, it turns out i literally only remembered the spooky faces and didn't even remember that it was a period piece.
I distinctly remember how bizarre the editing was in this movie. There would be an over the top horror thing happening and it cuts right in the height of a scream to something benign. The tonal whiplash was crazy - no scary scene was allowed to play to completion, it cuts off halfway each and every time.
Michael Shannon can even elevate this schlock into something better than it deserves to be. Why is Shannon so dang good? If I could just get Michael Shannon, Mads Mikkeleson, and Michael Fassbinder in a movie together then we won't need more movies. All acting will be completed by that triumvirate of bad-ass-thespianism. They could be playing robot alien werewolves and it would still be the best acting the world has ever seen. Those 3 are gifts from actor heaven, which isn't like real heaven because no angel is as perfect as Michael Shannon's acting.
I'm glad you brought up how unsurprised they acted about everything. Ugh, a demon monster...yep, don't see that everyday. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie. But, it's hard to be frightened by monsters when none of the cast are.
I finally watched the movie a few weeks ago and it wasn’t actually too bad, I love western horror though so that might be why I can get past the silly stuff. Also the main ringleader of the group is Henry Thomas, who’s one of Mike Flanagan’s favourite actors to use in his Netflix shows. And more random, the guy from the first Batman is also in Sons of Anarchy and the nurse lady has been in early Supernatural . It was weird seeing so many people I recognized in a movie I’d never even heard of til I saw your video thumbnail a while back.
Dear Prairie Duke, It was nice to see you snap back at your mouthy sidekick and put him in his place for once. I rustled up a like and lassoed me a subscription and a ring of your churchbell as well. Have a great month, pardner.
Bobbie "Elvis" Munson didn't guide Jax Teller on his way to handling the gavel as the president of SAMCRO, losing friends, the love of his life, and eventually his life by getting kidnapped, his fingers cut off, his eye gouged and ripped out, and shot in the head, just to be referred to as the cop Batman says "Swear to me!" in that one Batman movie. Mark Boone Jr is a great actor though, gonna have to find this for him and Michael Shannon.
I love this movie, one of my fav back when it first came out. I lived in Alabama at the time so very close to it, and my brothers and I obsessed over it and to this day I still watch it frequently. ^^
Wonder why they couldn't have made the evil slave master just a regular old wizard? I mean, bringing people back from the dead is not just a black person thing? That is a thing... everywhere. That is one of those vanilla forms of magic that pretty much everyone aspires to.
Nah it's evil necromancy! A vile perversion of the natural cycle of life and death. I'm sure most wizards you ask would agree: Ressurection is forbidden!
After Prairie Dook's taking Mildred down a few notches, I immediately imagined him saying "Aww, don't worry 'bout Multiple Miggs, pardner. I had a lil' chat & I reckon he plum swallowed his own tongue!'
I haven't seen cowboy dialectics at this level since Fallout: New Vegas
Almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter...
@@AtomicBananaPress well ain't that a kick in the head?
I would never have been able (nor had the inclination) to take a silly joke I'd thought up under the influence of marijuana edibles and turn it into not only the star of the channel, but something as robustly brilliant and silly as you have, Mildred. Bless you.
RIP
Possible explanation for the name: the film shares its name with a cult classic 1963 anthropological documentary about the traditional way of life of the Dani people of West Papua. The 1963 movie takes its name from a Dani legend featured in the film, about a race between a snake and a bird to decide the fate of humanity. If the snake wins, then humans will be able to shed their skins like a snake, regenerate and live for ever, but the bird wins so they become mortal, age and die. The 'dead birds' title could refer to the humans who become prey to the snake-like immortal vampire monsters in the film. It'd be a pretty obscure and pretentious reference for the 2004 film makers to make, but it sounds like a slightly obscure and pretentious film itself.
Well dang, that's some fascinating lore right there! Now where am I going to find a copy if thia film round these parts?
Look, the options for the movie’s title was either “Dead Birds” or “Todd”.
I don’t KNOW this, but I suspect that the reason some of the characters don’t react right to the things that they’re seeing is that the effects were “amped up” in post production, like in the script there was just a slightly creepy little boy but after shooting he got a full on demon face put on top? And the same with the monster in the corn, could really have looked like a weird dead pig or something in the design that the actor was responding to.
Now you've ruined the movie for me, I'm never gonna see it (maybe).
i mean you're probably right, it makes the most sense to me. But then at the same time how hard, really, would have been for the director to go "no no, you need to look shit your pants SCARED for this scene" ?
TBH I don't think that's it, they're supposed to be losing touch with reality and what they perceive isn't what's really there. Remember what happens at the end, from their point of view they're normal humans running through the field, from the other people's (and ours) they look like the pink monster thing. I think there's some sort of metaphor at work about them losing their humanity because of their actions in the house but as Mildred said, if you try and work it out, it will bother the hell out of you and not make any sense. I've not seen it in forever and I remember it annoying me that it definitely was trying to say something but god knows what it was.
I understand the whole, "these people are so unbelievably stupid" thing about horror movies, but then 2019 and more so 2020 came around with that pandemic and we saw how stupid people actually are. It's enough to make me rethink the stupidity of characters in movies.
When reality is more absurd that movies.
Honestly, it makes people un movies look Smart in comparison
Yeah honestly, I agree.
yeah, at this point, it's just like "yep. that tracks."
Yeah, it sure changed my perspective of the mayor in JAWS... *sigh*
I think it’d’ve been pretty funny if William turned to Todd and was like “Hey, does this mean anything to you?” as he points at the book of evil witchcraft, and Todd went “No. Why the fuck would this mean anything to me?” and then they just sort of let that hang in the air and move on.
"You don't have to shout, I just thought..."
"What? What did you 'just think?' Finish that sentence. Tell me why you 'just thought' I would know what this is."
Todd should've turned to him and said "You think my slavemaster taught me how to read? Get the fuck outta here, Bill."
that would have been really funny tbh
@@TheGuindo oh shit true
Wasted opportunities.
I don't know what you're on about Mildred, that was just a very large plucked chicken with pig feet. Just a very weird dead animal. No reason at all to drop everything and bolt for the second-closest church. (Given that the closest one has a 50-50 chance of also being infested by PERFECTLY NORMAL little boys, undead plantation wives, and large plucked chickens.)
I definitely laughed out loud when ol' Mildred described the gulf between a demon with razor sharp teeth and the mild concern expressed by the actors. Classic Scaredy Cats.
Hell, with the magic stuff they could have had Todd talk about how evil the spells in that book are. Or even go further and actually talk a little about stuff like the difference between a houngan (male priest) and bokor (male sorcerer, in some cases considered the evil equivalent of a houngan). And the US Civil War would have been a great period setting to talk about that and the religious discrimination that was happening in Lousiana around Voodoo during that time.
If they wanted to really get into it they could have talked about the Loa, especially with the bringing his wife back they could have talked about Baron Samedi, Maman Bridgette (Samedi's wife, and only together can they raise the dead), and Baron Criminel (the 'enforcer' of the Ghede, the Loa of death and fertility). They could have had the evil slave owner bokor invoke only Samedi, at which point they could include something about sexism of him not thinking Maman Bridgette worth while, and in revenge for the slight of not including his wife have Samedi curse the bokor and have Criminel enforce it.
Yeah, work it a little and with almost no effort you end up telling the opposite story.
"It's like he just liked the, I dunno, the aesthetics of this magic, without actually understanding what makes it whole. It's like he saw the bit he liked and ripped that off whole cloth without looking into the foundations that are important to how it is understood. It's like he tried to APPROPRIATE a CULTURE without even knowing the heart of it." (turns to camera) "ARE YOU GETTING THIS, AUDIENCE?"
See THIS sounds like an amazing movie
Omg this is a brilliant idea
I remember watching this movie, but it took me a long time to realize it was the same one Mildred was talking about. It had completely erased itself from my mind.
Prairie Duke is my new adopted father figure. Thank you Mildred for bringing him to my mind palace, where he will not stop talking.
13:05 Like, personally, the reason I've ever pointed out shit like this in comments sections, my own online platforms, etc. is because:
A) someone might genuinely not have known this and I think it's a good thing for people to have on their radar somewhere, not because they should stop liking the thing but because that way they can think about an aspect of it they may not have thought about previously, AND if someone else hears them go "I like cowboy stuff" (for example) and makes assumptions about their politics from that, they can know where that's coming from and respond to it if necessary.
B) Personally, I would rather know the ways in which the media I like could be flawed or have harmful messaging, than be ignorant of that, partly for reasons stated above. I guess this *is* being concerned with how I'm perceived, in the same way that if I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe I'd want someone to let me know that (?).
C) I like analyzing media, so this stuff being in there is just interesting to me.
D) For the same reason that whenever someone mixes up "your" and "you're" it's a genuine struggle for me to just ignore it; because I'm autistic and probably the most pedantic person I know, and this shit is going to nag at me like a rock in my shoe.
If Prairie Duke was right and we labeled things "problematic" mostly because of how we want to be perceived, wouldn't we have stopped doing that by now and caved to the cringe-culture-esque idea that "problematic" is a meaningless/cringy term (like "patriarchy" or "privilege" or whatever) and we're all just being wokescolds for letting anyone know that media has conceptual/semiotic flaws or questionable messaging? Because the way the online space currently works, being the person who points this stuff out will make people perceive you way more negatively than just not saying that.
I agree with most of this. That said, I do think the way we want to be perceived plays into it too: And it isn't so much wanting to be liked, but wanting to claim the moral high-ground and perceive *ourselves* as "better" than others. That said, those other points you mentioned are equally valid and make it more than worthwhile.
I'd argue that we should be careful about the ways in which we deliver this information though. To give a rather extreme example of how *not* to do it: Yesterday, in some Star Wars video's comment section, I saw someone trying to denounce all Disney fans as Nazis due to the problematic views of Walt Disney (as in, the man), which... Is honestly some next-level guilt by association, and will only serve to alienate people and make them more sceptical and unlikely to agree when someone subsequently argues Walt Disney was a Nazi (which he arguably was)
I don't know why but I am fucking dying over "This house is full of thousands of demons that are coming to gobble up my soul's entire ass" something about the delivery there murdered me.
You know an script needs a second draft when one of my first thoughts was "Lovecraft once made a slightly less racist version of that backstory' (in one of his stories there was a guy able to teleport his house throught time thanks to a combination of native American magic with Dutch magic... so saying that the slave-owning warlock mixed African magic with European magic to obtain its ungodly results would be a little less problematic. Instead of implying that African culture is dangerous and evil, you would only be implying that mixing diverse cultures thogether is an abomination that leads to unspeakable horror... see? Less problematic)
I loved that movie when it came out, and it still has a special place in my heart now. Such a weird, fun, scary trip of a film
Still one of my faves, even after rewatching it before watching this video.
I cannot believe you were lectured by a fictional character (and star of the show) you developed while on marijuana edibles while it was wearing a cowboy costume and effecting a funny accent. I mean, he's right. But still.
I don't think "Dead Birds" is a bad title for a horror movie. I do think it is a bad title for this particular movie. When I hear "Dead Birds" I think a movie about supernatural retribution for violence against women. Like I picture a movie where misogynists get haunted by undead women. they wronged, and the undead women are omened by the sudden un-aliving of birds in the area. Hey, someone make this movie so I can watch it!
That is a much better movie idea to pair with that title!
Ooooo I love when you cover an obscure random film that not enough people have seen and it's one I've recommended to people before. Makes me feel like a proper cool kid 😎
Pleasantly surprised this got the Scaredy Cats treatment! An odd little entry in the underutilized war horror genre, but one that I find myself revisiting. Thanks, Mildred! Check out The Burrowers too!
I'm sorry, Mildred, but you realize that by now Bobby actually IS the star of the channel, right? You will have rioting in the streets if you'll ever try to get back to Scaredy Cats videos without him!
Frfr
I love this iteration of Bobby.
Mildread, I love Scaredy Cats. And Bobbie was speaking some damn truth there at the end :)
Thank you!
I will always enjoy any and all iterations/themes of my beloved Bobby Dook, that character that you thought of when you were high on a marijuana edible. I was expecting more dead birds however.
As someone born in the American West growing up very much in cowboy culture its something I'm really fond of and I'm really excited for this theme month. I'm also really happy to hear about it from your perspective since everything you said about Westerns is very true and something that's always been a big conflict with my enjoyment of them.
Looking at stuff like this one with the boy in the room makes me wish there was an actual movie playing with the audience seeing As Things Are while the characters can't seem to see anything wrong. You could even cumulate it in the audience eventually also losing the ability to see the monsties.
*aggressively scribbles cheque*
I’m partway through Bob-uhh...Prarie Duke’s (wait, wouldn’t that just be John Wayne?) critique and I thought I’d chip in with my personal experience anecdote that’s completely useless empirically. I didn’t realize I was an anarchist because I saw people directly challenging hierarchy, I realized it through watching RUclips videos that introduced me to it. Like, specifically your videos. According to an 8 values based political compass test that’s been modified to more accurately represent strains of anarchism, I went from a libsoc to an ancom in a couple months of watching every single video you ever made that was still accessible. Including the makeup tutorial and at least 2 Q&A’s. I forgot my point, but thanks. Lol, no pressure.
Oh, I member. My point was that 50% of anarchism is education. I personally consider your praxis both valid and useful. Who knows, if you never made a video I might still be subscribed to Jordan Peterson on RUclips... *shudder*
I can't believe that for a time I thought Jordan Peterson was a wise man.
It was for about a month, but I still thought it.
@@Vesperitis Ouch. I knew of him in passing, not putting name to voice/face right away, and someone I know who hosts a meditation group (a psychotherapist and ordained Buddhist monk) played an audio clip of some of his more tame self-help stuff... while I was listening, my brain had to stop a few times and wonder why he stated certain things matter-of-factly that I completely disagreed with or were known to be unscientific myths of "western" social religion, without backing any of it up. I got a similar vibe about the talk to the one I had after leaving the movie theater as a middle schooler wondering if Star Wars Episode 1 was even a movie.
I had probably seen a video of JP in the past, and maybe skimmed a critique of him, but I did a deep-dive after I got home from that meditation. It was spurred on by the fact that another member of the group, when we got to discussing the clip, started by proclaiming her admiration of JP, and then started ranting "critiques" of "socialism" that were actually the usual critiques of authoritarianism (and equally valid critiques of late-capitalism), but framed up under the usual language of right-wing talking points. Thankfully the host stopped her for getting off-topic just in time.
My point is that anyone with a cursory background in philosophy or logic will usually catch a few rhetorical strategies he uses and then his arguments start to break down. You quickly realize that he will often talk a lot about subjects he has literally no formal knowledge or training in, act like an expert, and expect you to believe his statements. It's sophistry, plain and simple.
Another thing that encounter helped me to understand was why a lot of "new age" boomers seem so very conservative and pro-capitalist despite their progressive, spiritual, and empathetic aesthetics. The whole "open minded" perspective sort of catch-all cherry-picking of religious concepts and modes of thinking, general superstitious outlook, and propensity towards conspiracy-theory laden thinking seems to predispose such people to be easily fooled by pseudo-intellectuals and cults of personality. I mean... this lady had been duped into joining a cult in the past, taken part in several multi-level marketing scams, graduated from Trump "university" for real estate, praised the dude, and even voted for him in both of the last presidential elections... really blew my mind since I know the lady pretty well, but it laid bare some truths about "new age" movements that poked a lot of holes in those ways of thinking for me, finally making sense of why I could never really jive with that stuff despite being pretty well-read on religious/spiritual topics and practices.
I wish I could forward the bit at the end to everybody. That was great, I wish more people would be challenged with that viewpoint of "making people feel bad for liking problematic things is just making you feel superior while you do literally nothing useful to help change things."
The ex-confederate soldiers being somehow smarter (saying 'fuck this' to dying in the civil war on the side of the confederates) and dumber (not immediately leaving the haunted house) than the average confederate soldier, is impressive.
I'm assuming that the average soldier on either side would just immediately leave the house, btw.
Yeah, burn that shit down Sherman-style or blast it with cannons.
Weird that the movie doesn’t contrive some kind of reason why they can’t leave. Like the demons actively preventing their escape or the boundaries of the spirit world creating a barrier that they can’t cross.
I bet you know very little about that war
I saw a still from this movie on an unrelated google image search when i was like 9 and it got so under my skin it stayed with me forEVER. THANK you for covering this
THANK YOU for having the content warning be out loud. I typically only listen to YT and nobody ever warns me aloud.
I am a member of your audience. I remember that scene from batman as a scene, but would never have connected it had you just said his name. Point being: You know your audience.
This movie has lived rent free in the back of my head for years. And for the life of me I was terrified of the monster faces but could remember it so vividly that it made me wonder if this movie even existed at all
Kinda like Bobby's end rant about the mentality some of us struggle with where being one of the smugest skulls on the pile resting on a dead world is the basically the same as working hard for real change. Algorithm fed.
I watched this movie as a kid and retained no memory of the story, characters, or even the setting. But those faces haunt my nightmares to this day.
The idea of African magics being stable and good in their own right, but then being corrupted and misused by colonialists would make for a banger of a film, tbh.
Absolutely, taking another's sacred religious rites with an entitlement and greed only colonialism can facilitate, and having that stolen heritage become a curse on the very souls of those who dared to steal it? SIGN ME UP
@@TomSmith-hu9eh “Why is this thing we preverted and had no respect for turning against us how could this happen what why”
@@hollandscottthomas That's called Raiders of the Lost Ark.
@@TomSmith-hu9ehyeah we get it. White people are bad in your spoonfed historical mythology
@@TomSmith-hu9eh Try Pet Cemetary.
William "Does this book look familiar to you?"
Todd: "What this Book of Pure Evil (tm)? Nope"
I randomly clicked on this video and I think I'm addicted. Time to binge-watch everything you've ever done :D
Edit: I just binge-watched everything. This is the best channel EVER! I can't wait till there's more.
Always excited when one of my underrated gems ends up on this channel
This description lines up fairly well with my thoughts on Winchester. The first jump scare in that movie got me screaming louder than any other had in a loooong time rest of the movies was fun, not great, but fun. I am willing to watch it again during some spooky movie binge.
I rented this from the Movie Gallery back in the day. I wouldn't have called it a great movie or anything, but it's still managed to stick around in my memory for all this time despite its flaws.
I watched this on Amazon Prime (I think) this past October. I only gave it a 2.5 on Letterboxd, but I did think it was decent. It was just kinda hurt by its low budget. Definitely worth a watch, especially given how limited the western genre is.
I'm glad someone else remembers this movie!! It's imperfect as heck but I dig the concept & always think of it as the quintessential "stretchy-face jumpscare ghost" movie. XD
I appreciate the increasing quality of fake lighting. Your spooky house is looking darker and more realistic every video. Keep it up!
Thank you for this!
I saw this movie in the middle of the night once, and could never remember its name
Those effects harken back to an ancient [early 2000s] genre of viral jump scare prank videos where you got tricked into staring at something for a minute, and then a loud scream would accompany a picture like this- 10:37.
Just discovered your channel and have begun to binge. Love your videos! Subbed and all the stuff, obviously.
I'd always seen it as implied that the slave-owning wizard fucked up the magic because he's a shitty dude, but it definitely doesn't do a good job of getting that across.
That last lecture about media and SKW culture was unexpected but great.
YES so happy to see this video!! My whole family has really liked this movie since it came out and no one else has ever seen it
Bone Tomahawk, Ravenous, The Burrowers, Grim Prairie Tales, and I guess Exit Humanity are all on the bingo card.
I'd add The Wind to that list. Very interesting take on the horror western subgenre. And also very much so woman focused which I'd say it's a feature that both Mildred and the audience will appreciate.
I've been chasing that Bone Tomahawk high for a while now and desperately need Western horror. I'm really looking forward too the next few videos.
Hey, Mildred?
Could we maybe get, like, a series retrospective on Tremors, literally the best horror comedy of all time?
Lol this was awesome sir the entire video from start to finish. Thank you sir you made my day 😀
Holy fuck that Bobby outro was absolutely killer hahaha
12:29 damn Prairie Duke’s dropping some harsh truths on us all here.
Prairie Duke is a wonderful addition to the channel!
A whole month of Western Horror movies? I can't wait for Ravenous to show up!
Western Horror's so underrated.
Hoping (and dreading) to see "Bone Tomahawk" be on here. That movie made me almost vomit from the slaughtering scene, even the foley work in that scene made me nauseated.
@@darknight910 Good movie, but really bloody. I've only seen it once and I'd like to hear Mildred's thoughts on it.
Watched this movie several years ago on Netflix, back when Netflix still had stuff worth watching. Aside from the titular dead birds and Michael Shannon, I remember absolutely nothing about it.
I have no idea why "Broken Flowers" is implied to be a silly title, but interesting video, nonetheless!
I was deeply upset by all the spooky monster faces in this video, but it was worth it for the unexpected reality check at the end. Critical thinking is very important and evaluating media in this way is a fun way to both teach critical thinking and practice it.
I remember renting this movie with a bunch of friends for a sleepover in like... 2007? And we all agreed it was spooky and the creatures were great, but after returning it to Blockbuster I literally never thought about it again until last year. And when I brought it up to the friends from the sleepover I think like... one of them remembered it? But the rest had absolutely no recollection of this film.
Horror movie westerns are so fun. I'm already trying to predict what you will cover next time. Bone Tomahawk? Maybe Tremors?
Goddammit I have such a soft spot for this flick. Checking out the rest of your channel.
I grew up with songs like Dead Puppies so I get how Dead Birds would immediately bring a giggle before context
I am So friggin late to this video, I love Dead Birds & your video pointing out the hilarity of it was great! For what it's worth I subbed immediately to all notifications 👍 From Australia 🐨
This channels a hidden gem
Joke's on you, I got my giggles and guffaws out as soon as Bobby said "dis _turb_ ing _themes"_ with his signature head wiggle even though I couldn't actually see the head wiggle.
Apparently the director kept making last minute changes to the production, so that could explain a few things. This includes the demand to completely redesign and produce the on-set creatures shortly before filming.
Speaking of 00s indie horror movies, I’d be curious on your thoughts on Ravenous, about cannibals/wendigos, where Robert Carlyle and Guy Pearce should kiss but don’t.
Incredibly accurate
I remember seeing this movie ten or more years ago, and seeing this video pop up gave me a "oh yeah, i remember that movie!" After watching this, it turns out i literally only remembered the spooky faces and didn't even remember that it was a period piece.
I distinctly remember how bizarre the editing was in this movie. There would be an over the top horror thing happening and it cuts right in the height of a scream to something benign. The tonal whiplash was crazy - no scary scene was allowed to play to completion, it cuts off halfway each and every time.
Okay, I've been binging on Scaredy Cats, and I think this is the first time I've seen Mil-Dread sitting down.
It's very... unsettling.
Michael Shannon can even elevate this schlock into something better than it deserves to be. Why is Shannon so dang good? If I could just get Michael Shannon, Mads Mikkeleson, and Michael Fassbinder in a movie together then we won't need more movies. All acting will be completed by that triumvirate of bad-ass-thespianism. They could be playing robot alien werewolves and it would still be the best acting the world has ever seen. Those 3 are gifts from actor heaven, which isn't like real heaven because no angel is as perfect as Michael Shannon's acting.
Oh Prairie Duke, you might just be the nudge I need to finally subscribe.
takes me back to working at Blockbuster. This was one of my consistent 5 employee flicks. As was dee snyder's strangeland.
Oh, I've seen this one! Couldn't remember much of it, except that they reused the village set from Big Fish. That was kinda cool.
I'm glad you brought up how unsurprised they acted about everything. Ugh, a demon monster...yep, don't see that everyday. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie. But, it's hard to be frightened by monsters when none of the cast are.
I finally watched the movie a few weeks ago and it wasn’t actually too bad, I love western horror though so that might be why I can get past the silly stuff. Also the main ringleader of the group is Henry Thomas, who’s one of Mike Flanagan’s favourite actors to use in his Netflix shows. And more random, the guy from the first Batman is also in Sons of Anarchy and the nurse lady has been in early Supernatural . It was weird seeing so many people I recognized in a movie I’d never even heard of til I saw your video thumbnail a while back.
Memory unlocked! I watched this film on the scifi channel years ago and has completely forgotten about it until this point.
Dear Prairie Duke, It was nice to see you snap back at your mouthy sidekick and put him in his place for once. I rustled up a like and lassoed me a subscription and a ring of your churchbell as well. Have a great month, pardner.
I like watching Mildo commit themself to a bit and doggedly stick with it
Holy shit Prairie Duke just cow-dunked Mildred there at the end! Absolute savage!
...
Cow-savage.
yee haw!
I needed the end of this video today so, so very much. Thank you from the bottom of my snake skin boots Prarie Duke!
Bobbie "Elvis" Munson didn't guide Jax Teller on his way to handling the gavel as the president of SAMCRO, losing friends, the love of his life, and eventually his life by getting kidnapped, his fingers cut off, his eye gouged and ripped out, and shot in the head, just to be referred to as the cop Batman says "Swear to me!" in that one Batman movie.
Mark Boone Jr is a great actor though, gonna have to find this for him and Michael Shannon.
Correctamundo! 🤘😎🤘
I love this movie, one of my fav back when it first came out. I lived in Alabama at the time so very close to it, and my brothers and I obsessed over it and to this day I still watch it frequently. ^^
Thank you for so artfully articulating what makes me, a different Matt, just the worst.
The scariest thing about this video was Prairie Duke saying some real stuff. Some real fucking existential terror there.
Oh wow i have actually seen this. Back when there was a video rental store at the local shopping centre
Have you featured Ravenous yet? Also Ginger Snaps Back. Good western horror movies.
upon my word and honor, that video left me higher than cat's back.
Wonder why they couldn't have made the evil slave master just a regular old wizard?
I mean, bringing people back from the dead is not just a black person thing? That is a thing... everywhere. That is one of those vanilla forms of magic that pretty much everyone aspires to.
Nah it's evil necromancy! A vile perversion of the natural cycle of life and death. I'm sure most wizards you ask would agree: Ressurection is forbidden!
Nice shout-out to the great Tony Todd!
Thank you for verifying that I wasn't hallucinating a wild Michael Shannon.
Your comments about voodoo and slavery are spot on. Thank you for that.
Holy shit, I remember renting this on DVD.
I totally forgot about this movie. Thanks dude!
"there's spooky goblins running around" Welcome to 2022!
I appreciate Prairie Duke dropping some harsh truths on us there
After Prairie Dook's taking Mildred down a few notches, I immediately imagined him saying "Aww, don't worry 'bout Multiple Miggs, pardner. I had a lil' chat & I reckon he plum swallowed his own tongue!'
Love to hear Scaredy Cats take on the Burrowers
The Ol' Duke-ster, telling it like it is.