Kaw

Unexpected Gem
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...

Mad Crow Disease
"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...

IT'S YOUR KAW
This retake on the claasic Hitchcock's THE BIRDS even features the 1963 movie's hero, Rod Taylor, although this time around the durable actor plays the town's loveable doctor. In the '63 film, all kinds of birds were the predators; this time around, it's just the ravens, who have been infected by feeding on the carcasses of diseased cattle.
The special effects are pretty decent and while there's not a whole lot of new ground broken, the film succeeds in entertaining those of us into the attacking animals venue. Sean Patrick Flanery takes a leave from his villainous role on THE DEAD ZONE and plays the stalwart sheriff.
KAW won't receive raven reviews, but it's a pleasant enough diversion.

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