Birds and horror go way back. From harpies in Greek mythology to the predatory rocks of Arabic folklore, from Odin's ravens to the one crying "Nevermore!" in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, birds have often been associated with the occult and the grim. In literature, they are frequently portrayed as bad omens, sometimes even harbingers of death. This is reflected in language too: a murder of crows, an unkindness of ravens.

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To be fair, these myths emerged because many birds are creepy. Vultures circle the dying, crows do eat rotting meat, and, perhaps most unnerving of all, some birds like parrots can mimic human speech. It's interesting how many horror films reproduce this symbolism around birds. Even today, movies like Hereditary feature scenes where a bird flies into a window, hinting at more grim events to come. Indeed, our fine feathered foes have made many memorable appearances in horror movies, from the entertaining to the downright terrifying.

The Birds (1963)

Melanie running away from killer birds in The Birds

No list of birds in horror would be complete without Alfred Hitchcock's thriller about an avian attack on a California town. Although quaint by today's standards. The Birds were groundbreaking for its time. In particular, it deserves credit for its use of mechanical birds alongside real ones and for its clever editing.

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The Birds received mixed reviews when it came out, with many comparing it unfavorably to Hitchcock's 1960 hit Psycho. Still, its critical standing has improved in the decades since. Filmmakers Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Guillermo Del Toro, and John Carpenter have praised the movie. In particular, many fans and critics regard the scene where hundreds of birds descend on a playground as one of the most iconic in horror history.

Birdemic (2010)

Birdemic

Birdemic belongs in the "so bad it's good" category. Everything about this movie is low quality, from the writing and performances to the sound and, especially, its special effects. This is unsurprising, given that Birdemic was made on a paltry (poultry?) budget of $10 000.

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Like Tommy Wiseau's The Room, Birdemic has garnered a cult following precisely because it's a trash-terpiece. Numerous critics have called it one of the worst films of all time, and it currently holds a 1.7/10 score on IMDB. Birdemic is still good fun though and is sure to get some viewers screaming with laughter, if not terror.

28 Days Later (2002)

The bird scene in 28 Days Later
Image via 20th Century Studios

Danny Boyle's zombie/virus horror 28 Days Later came out 20 years ago, and it still holds up. Its zombies are scarily fast since they are living people carrying a disease rather than walking corpses. The movie reinvigorated the zombie sub-genre for the 21st century, paving the way for Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and World War Z.

The final scenes are especially harrowing. The heroes reach their destination only to discover that there is no one there to help them. In anger, the main character Frank (Brendan Gleeson) chases away a crow feasting on an infected body. As it flies off, a drop of blood falls from its beak and into Frank's eye - sealing his fate.

The VVitch (2015)

The Witch Raven

The VVitch, directed by Robert Eggers and starring Anya Taylor-Joy in her film debut, is one of the most mature and restrained horrors of the last decade. It relies on slow-burning tension and thought-provoking imagery for its creepiness rather than jump scares.

The moment where The VVitch strays the closest to an old-school horror shocker is the scene where a mother believes she is breastfeeding her baby. But then the camera angle switches, and we see the reality: a crow is pecking at her bloody nipple. It's a haunting image that is sure to linger in the viewer's mind long after the credits have rolled.

Damien: The Omen II (1978)

Damien: The Omen 2 Crow

Damien: The Omen II is the sequel to the 1976 horror hit The Omen, about a young boy who is the returned Antichrist. Damien is not as good as the original, but it's notable for featuring one of the genre's most violent scenes of bird brutality.

Journalist Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shephard) gets suspicious about the satanic goings-on and interviews one of Damien's family members. Immediately after, a raven attacks her, pecking out her eyes. The blind Joan then staggers into the street and is killed by a speeding semi-truck. An unkindness of ravens, indeed.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Someone fighting zombie birds with a flamethrower in Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Extinction is the third installment in the franchise and follows Alice (Milla Jovovich) and her allies as they trek across the Mojave Desert to escape a zombie apocalypse. As with the other Resident Evil movies, Extinction will appeal to the franchise's fan base but offers little for general viewers.

However, it deserves praise for its depiction of murderous flocks of infected crows, supplied by special effects company Tatopoulos Studios. It's like a 21st-century update of Hitchcock's Birds. The birds move as one, looking almost like a toxic cloud. The scene where the heroes battle the crows is a high-octane success.

Opera (1987)

Opera Birds

Opera is a giallo slasher flick by Italian director Dario Argento. In the film, a masked killer stalkers an opera house, picking off victims one by one. The killer even attacks some of the opera's pet ravens, which are being used for a production of Macbeth.

There's a great scene toward the end of Opera where the birds get revenge on the killer. One of the main characters, Marco (Ian Charleson), sets a flock of ravens loose in the opera house during a performance. The birds recognize the killer who assaulted them, so they unleash avian mayhem upon him, gouging out one of his eyes. The early bird catches the eyeball.

The Crow (1994)

The Crow

The Crow is well-known as the movie Brandon Lee was making when he was accidentally shot and killed on set. It has since become a cult film with many devotees. Lee puts in a great performance as anti-hero Eric Draven, supported by stylish cinematography and set design. The Crow is like an even darker and more action-packed version of Batman.

Birds are a major motif of the film, as one would expect. In particular, there's a great scene where a crow wakes Draven from the dead. He has unfinished business to attend to. It's a modern example of birds serving as messengers from the afterlife and escorts to those traveling between life and death.

Dark Skies (2013)

Dark Skies

This sci-fi/horror hybrid is a thoroughly mediocre movie, a pastiche of films like Signs and Poltergeist. It has two things going for it: surprisingly impressive performances from Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton and JK Simmons, and its special effects.

The plot revolves around aliens (known as "The Greys") who are tormenting a family. During one incident, the aliens control a massive flock of birds to attack the main characters' home. It's basically a suped-up, CGI-boosted take on the tropes originated by The Birds, but the filmmakers pull it off with style.

I Spit On Your Grave (2013)

I Spit On Your Grave

I Spit On Your Grave, a remake of the 1978 film of the same name, is trashy grindhouse cinema to the max. It received mostly negative reviews, although it drew some viewers because of its controversial content, as did the original. I Spit on Your Grave is weak on story but offers enough gore and sadism to appeal to fans of hardcore horror.

Violence abounds in this movie - usually in a pointlessly over-the-top manner - but one of the better scenes of bloodshed involves one of the baddies being tortured by ravens. He's left outside, tied to a tree so that the birds can peck at his face. It's one of many disturbing moments in a film that already relies heavily on shock value.

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