Kaw (2007)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Sheldon Wilson

Writer:

Benjamin Sztajnkrycer (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Objects in the mirror may be closer and more terrifying than they appear.

Plot:

A small town is attack by ravens and doesn't know why the ravens are working together.

Plot Keywords:

Raven | Small Town | Sheriff | Farm | Deputy Sheriff

Cast

Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Wayne
Stephen McHattie	...	Clyde
Kristin Booth	...	Cynthia
Rod Taylor	...	Doc
John Ralston	...	Oskar
Michelle Duquet	...	Betty
Ashley Newbrough	...	Doris
Gray Powell	...	Stan
Vladimir Bondarenko	...	Jacob
Megan Park	...	Gretchen
Emma Knight	...	Connie
Amanda Brugel	...	Emma
Wendy Lyon	...	Luanne
Sophie Gendron	...	Tricia
Jefferson Brown	...	John

MPAA:

Rated R for some gory images.

Runtime:

85 min | 92 min (DVD)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA (2007) | USA:R | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cars seem to have the old type Pennsylvania license plate. However they are on the front of the cars. PA doesn't use front license plates.

Nobody is going to be raven' about this movie.

A silly and plodding effort, Kaw (Lame, lame title) is watchable but missable. The attack by animals thing has been many times before and Kaw brings nothing new to the table.

There is a lot of stupidity in Kaw. The explanation for the ravens going crazy is ludicrous- mad cow disease!? How the hell these ravens in Middle America got affected by mad cow disease is never really addressed and nor is the fact that this degenerative brain disease seems to make them way more intelligent and develop a sophisticated societal mentality. There is no scene sillier in the movie than the part in which the ravens attack the besieged school bus by picking up rocks and throwing them at the windows. Surely somebody at some point in the process of making this movie must have been aware how goofy this looked. The subplot about the Amish (Or Mennonites or whatever they were) is lame and brings nothing to the plot. It is hard to make the freakin' Amish look menacing, especially not half-arsed car driving, button wearing Amish like these and Kaw does not meet the challenge. Plus the men are wearing the fakest looking false beards you'll ever see.

The characters are standard horror movie archetypes. How many movies must we see set in a small town where a couple are divided over whether or not to stay, one of them wanting to pursue a career in the outside world and the other preferring quaint, small town life, reluctantly dragged along? The only good character in the movie is Clyde, the gun toting, recovering alcoholic bus driver played by the reliable and ever creepy Stephen McHattie ("Don't get ravens like that in Philly. But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Joey?") Everyone else is bland or annoying. Actually, there is only one really annoying character- the smarmy teen bitch, who sadly survives when most of those around her from the ill fated bus trip die. I'm sad to say Sean Patrick Flannery never grew up to be like Harrison Ford in terms of charisma or screen presence.

On the positive side the special effects are actually quite good, seeming to be a mixture of real birds, perhaps some practical visual effects and some good CGI. The fact you can't always tell how the shot was done is a sign it was well done. Even the more ludicrous scenes such as the one involving the ravens picking up rocks and throwing them at the bus actually looks fairly realistic no matter how dumb what we are seeing is.