The World is Gripped by Birdemic: Shock and Terror! New Theatre Listings, Trailer, and More!

BIRDEMIC, described by Nguyen as “a romantic thriller,” is a horror/action/special-effects-driven love story about a young couple trapped in a small Northern California town under siege by homicidal birds. BIRDEMIC also tackles topical issues of global warming, avian flu, world peace, organic living, sexual promiscuity, and lavatory access.

Nguyen, a 42-year-old Vietnamese refugee, wrote, cast, and shot the film over the course of four years using the salary from his day job as a mid-level software salesman in Silicon Valley. The film pays homage to Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS via location shooting in Mission Bay, California, as well as an appearance by star of THE BIRDS Tippi Hedren. When rejected for an official screening slot at Sundance, Nguyen spent eight days driving up and down the festival’s nearby streets in a van covered with fake birds, frozen blood, and BIRDEMIC posters, while loudspeakers blared the sounds of eagle attacks and human screams. The tactic caught the attention of festival organizers, filmgoers, and local police, as well as executives from Severin Films. Severin’s executives walked into a screening, took one look at Nguyen’s masterwork, and immediately locked up BIRDEMIC’s worldwide rights for the next twenty years. Discussions are currently under way for Severin to add an additional thirty years to the initial agreement.