Good luck in trying to make sense of this one: it's a total mess, even by '80s Italian horror movie standards. The free-wheeling, nonsensical plot goes something like this:
Vietnam vet Fred Brown (Robert Vaughn) returns home to Louisiana to find his wife in bed with another man; after killing the adulterous couple, and his in-laws, Fred disposes of the bodies, cleans up the scene, and frees the family's pet birds, after which he is attacked by a hawk, which claws out his eyes.
Years later, the blind ex-soldier's crime somehow remains undiscovered, and he now spends his time at home studying bird song. Hoping to locate a rare species of woodpecker, a group of Louisiana college students pay the old man a visit, and, following his advice, they set out for the swamps. After stumbling across a decomposing body in a car (which they opt to ignore), they finally stumble upon the old, deserted house where Brown's murder spree took place and decide to spend the night, firing up a generator in the basement.
During the night, the friends experience a series of strange, inexplicable occurrences, including grisly hallucinations, after which they are attacked by several zombies and a supernatural force (which pulls one unfortunate victim into the gears of the generator). In the morning, the two remaining survivors escape the house, meeting Brown as they leave. The blind man enters the dilapidated property, where he is attacked by a flock of birds. The End.
None of this follows any kind of logic, there's no explanation for the supernatural goings on, the violence is bloody but unconvincing, and the ending incredibly weak. Although not an official part of the Zombie series, it's easy to see why Killing Birds was given the alternative title of Zombie 5: it's every bit as random, badly acted and shoddily directed as Zombie 3 and Zombie 4—unfortunately, it's also a lot more boring.
Vietnam vet Fred Brown (Robert Vaughn) returns home to Louisiana to find his wife in bed with another man; after killing the adulterous couple, and his in-laws, Fred disposes of the bodies, cleans up the scene, and frees the family's pet birds, after which he is attacked by a hawk, which claws out his eyes.
Years later, the blind ex-soldier's crime somehow remains undiscovered, and he now spends his time at home studying bird song. Hoping to locate a rare species of woodpecker, a group of Louisiana college students pay the old man a visit, and, following his advice, they set out for the swamps. After stumbling across a decomposing body in a car (which they opt to ignore), they finally stumble upon the old, deserted house where Brown's murder spree took place and decide to spend the night, firing up a generator in the basement.
During the night, the friends experience a series of strange, inexplicable occurrences, including grisly hallucinations, after which they are attacked by several zombies and a supernatural force (which pulls one unfortunate victim into the gears of the generator). In the morning, the two remaining survivors escape the house, meeting Brown as they leave. The blind man enters the dilapidated property, where he is attacked by a flock of birds. The End.
None of this follows any kind of logic, there's no explanation for the supernatural goings on, the violence is bloody but unconvincing, and the ending incredibly weak. Although not an official part of the Zombie series, it's easy to see why Killing Birds was given the alternative title of Zombie 5: it's every bit as random, badly acted and shoddily directed as Zombie 3 and Zombie 4—unfortunately, it's also a lot more boring.