Birdemic Fest Keeps Local Moviegoers Squawking

Greeting his guests inside Cameron’s Restaurant and Inn on Friday night, director James Nguyen was eager to shake hands, sign autographs and speak about Birdemic Fest, a celebratory screening of his hit movie Birdemic: Shock and Terror.

Friday's event followed a worldwide promotional tour of 60 cities. In February, Nguyen encouraged fans via the Internet to hold Birdemic Fests throughout the world, and many did in locations such as Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

But the gathering at Cameron’s this weekend was different than the others. Nguyen had brought the movie full circle to Half Moon Bay, the very place where it all began. 

His hopes for Birdemic Fest is that "it will become an annual event,” said Nguyen, who continues to live in San Jose and work at his day job as a software salesman in Silicon Valley, much like the main character of his film.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror enables those searching for the latest cult midnight movie smash hit to look no further. Released in 2008 and recently on Blu-ray DVD, the film offers a tale of budding romance and obtaining the American dream, all wrapped up with warnings of a changing environment and ensuing global warming. The eagles and vultures, who Nguyen calls the heroes of the film, appear later on and let us know that all is not well with the way we’ve taken care of our planet. They bomb targets throughout Half Moon Bay, leaving radioactive droppings on people and places — such as Cameron’s double-decker bus, Sea Horse Ranch, the local gas station, Pigeon Point Lighthouse, and Highway One. Main Street is also highlighted in the beginning of the film, with a peaceful stroll through the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, before the birds attack.

Huddling into the dining area at Cameron’s, as popcorn and beer was distributed, moviegoers had made the midnight trek for a variety of reasons. 

Said a man traveling to Santa Cruz from Oregon in his RV, “I was on my way home and had looked it up online and said, ‘I’ve gotta see this.’”

A young woman sitting a row away had brought a date.  “I’ve seen it two times,” she smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Noting the movie’s intense popularity, Nguyen shrugged and said he had no DVDs to sign. The discs, recently released on Blu-ray, were sold out. 

“You have to go to Amazon or Best Buy online,” advised Nguyen. 

He was more than happy to autograph iconic Birdemic coat hangers, a tribute to those used in the movie to fight off birds when the characters attempt an escape from their hotel room. Nguyen explained that he used the coat hangers on a whim. 

“They were there in the hotel, so we grabbed them. We worked with what we had, and now it’s become an iconic thing,” he said.

Nguyen describes the audience reaction and participation across the globe as a pleasant surprise. Not only do viewers laugh out loud at the special effects, they also sing and dance to the theme song and recite lines. Nguyen said that he hoped beyond a few good laughs, the audience would walk away thinking about the future of the environment. 

He paid homage to Cameron Palmer, who came forward and said that they had become friends while filming, and thanked him for his support.

“When I met James, I knew this would be a fun experience,” smiled Palmer. 

Nguyen says some of his sequel, , will be shot at Palmer’s family-run Long Branch Saloon and Farms. Palmer and Nguyen danced together, to the film’s hit by Damien Carter, “Just Hanging Out”, while it played onscreen.   

“It felt like a vintage 1960s ‘B’ movie; the editing, the choppiness, the sincerity,” said one man who brought his wife to the screening. Nguyen told of how he made the movie for a mere $10,000 and how some media outlets had spent far more just to cover the story. 

Roslyn Ramsey, a resident of Half Moon Bay for 28 years, said, “I like to watch movies filmed here and see familiar faces. My mom wouldn’t let me watch The Birds,” she added. “She said it was too violent.”

The “Hitchcockian” tribute cannot be ignored in Birdemic: Shock and Terror, with an appearance by Tippi Hedren, as well as a nod to Nguyen’s concern with the onset of global warming. He says besides being trained informally in the “film school of Alfred Hitchcock”, former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was an inspiration for the movie. 

In answering questions following the movie, Nguyen says he meant for his film to be a romantic thriller. The idea originated on a trip to San Gregorio Beach. “I love coming here,” says Nguyen. “The character of Half Moon Bay is part of it. If I did not have Half Moon Bay and the beautiful scenery, it would not be what it is.”