Trash Horror is a subgenre defined by low-budget, gory, and sometimes surreal imagery. Its over-the-top aesthetic is especially striking considering they generally cost no money to make. The same can be said about Balraj Kang’s The Birdwatcher. This indie treasure embodies the core of schlocky cinema with campy characters and that’s-clearly-a-mannequin deaths.
When a documentary film crew searching for an elusive bird in the English countryside encounter a pair of sadistic birdwatchers, they are hunted for sport unleashing a trash horror fever dream of murderous carnage
The Birdwatcher, Balraj Kang
As the synopsis states, a pair of birdwatchers hunt the forest for victims, including a film crew from which one victim escapes. Taking place over a year (don’t worry, there are time cards denoting how far into the story we are), the birdwatchers stalk their human prey to finish the job. All throughout The Birdwatcher, we are gifted with a trash horror extravaganza of flamboyant killers, eagerly smiling as they hide in the shadows. Each kill shows the best of what you can do with no money — which is surprisingly a lot. There is no shortage of blood spray and even entrails as the film crew are picked off with an ax and pair of giant pruning shears.
You start off knowing The Birdwatcher is absolutely a low budget film and we are reminded so with the sound quality alone. At points I wasn’t sure if my American ears just weren’t trained to understand thick British accents, or if some type of audio mixing could have helped. But these types of things add to the charm, like a little bad acting here and there. Sometimes an actor is hit with an ax and takes a realistic fall, while the next scene has a foot of space between a weapon and a body. It’s these types of attributes that give trash horror films like The Birdwatcher such a cult following.
The Birdwatcher is a fun, playful addition to trashy slashers, making sure to keep the camp and gore while not taking itself too seriously. While I wasn’t around in the heyday of these films, this is most definitely one I would have bought from the family video store, VHS sleeve sight unseen. The Birdwatcher isn’t trying to be any more than what it is, which is a movie you watch with friends while scarfing down a slice of pizza. The film isn’t frightening, but it sure as hell is fun!
The Birdwatcher won best trash horror at CIMsueca, is currently out on DVD/BRVHS in the US and will be releasing on DVD soon in the UK. Follow writer/director Balraj Kang on Instagram and see more from Apotheosis Productions on YouTube.
