Bad Ass Birds

The Plot: A plane carrying nine passengers crashes in the jungle among head hunters. Once the plane is patched up, only five of them can return.

The Exposition: We are s-l-o-w-l-y introduced to the main characters before they are stuffed into the ill-fated plane. They include: Rena, a hooker played by Anita Ekberg, a killer, played by Rod Steiger, and a little boy.  Robert Ryan plays the booze soaked captain.

During a painful layover we get exposition from the characters. The killer offers a graphic description on how heads are shrunk. The little boy wanders about.

The Crash: More of a gentle sliding, really.

Survival: The women are given the task of cooking, while the men form “work groups,” chopping wood. Eventually, they begin to repair the plane, using “rudimentary”welding to fix a cracked cylinder. (Hey, that’s even better the professor’s work on Gilligan’s Island.)

Escape: As the drums of the headhunters draw closer, they pile on the plane. Unfortunately, it can’t get off the ground and they must sacrifice some of the passengers.

That’s the entire film really, if you don’t count the preposterous ending. This film is a limp template for modern disaster movies, but that doesn’t mean you have to torture yourself by watching it. I did it for you and it cost me a lot.