2. Horror - The Birds (1963)
Another Alfred Hitchcock success, The Birds is a terrifying look into the unpredictable nature of, well, nature. Set in a small England town, the story revolves around several characters who are under siege by seemingly evil birds. The birds start congregating and striking out against citizens of the town, going as far as to swoop and attack, clawing and pecking until their enemies are lifeless in the streets. The few remaining survivors, including a young girl and an ever weakening blonde, hold fast in a house that they reinforce to keep the birds out. I understand that this is not one of Alfred Hitchcocks scariest films because of what we, as a modern audience, have already been exposed to. I could have easily selected Psycho or Rear Window, but I feel like The Birds deserves a chance to come back from where it stands now with audiences. When you break down the terror of this film, it is actually a very scary movie. One bird, not scary. Thousands of birds? Pretty scary. Imagine walking down a street and seeing three hundred black birds swarming your next door neighbor. You see their lifeless body on the ground, moving only as the birds take chucks on meat from the bones, until one spots you. It is pretty terrifying! I think the scariest part about this film is the fact that the assailants are unpredictable. The birds are acting out of character for a reason the characters do not know. All they can do is sit and wait for it to be over, making the birds no different than your average hoard of zombies. The images presented to us, such as bodies in the streets and birds feeding upon human flesh, are spine-tingling. And, of course, the deteriorating mental state of the blonde survivor, played by Tippi Hedren, is enough to heighten the experience for any audience member.