In fact, most people would say "The Birds" marked the beginning of Hitchcock's decline. He couldn't get Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart, so he got a cheap knockoff with Rod Taylor. And Grace Kelly was too busy being a princess, so he settled for Tippi Hedren. The film's construction is nowhere near as elegant as his best work, the screwball comedy setup is — to be kind — challenged, and the gender politics are more than a bit problematic.
What's more, the story behind the making of "The Birds" — specifically Hitchcock's unhealthy obsession with and cruel treatment of Hedren — is well documented and has done much to tarnish the illustrious director's reputation.
I acknowledge all of this. And, yet, it's still my favorite.
So we're back to my endless fascination with pulp horror and "The Twilight Zone."
"The Birds" is based on a superlative short story by British author Daphne Du Maurier. It's probably in my top five pieces of weird fiction ever written.
Hitchcock's treatment of the story is flawed, but when he gets it right he really gets it. There's no single image in "Rear Window" or "Psycho" or that haunts me as much as this. I can't even tell you why. It hits me in my subconscious in a way that provokes all sorts of confused and terrified emotions. The sheer uncanny simplicity of it is, for me, the absolute stuff of nightmares.
The best horror story, for me, does not take place in a haunted castle or the foggy moors of England. It takes place in the supermarket. Or an elementary school. The introduction of the weird into the familiar is the classic recipe for the Uncanny Valley, and for me that's the ultimate sweet spot. That's where the terror hits home.
I won't argue that this is anywhere near Hitchcock's best work. But...boy...does it ever hit me in the feels.
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