Birder

As an erotic thriller it focuses more on the erotic, but even that is somewhat undermined by the silliness of romping about in the buff.

Think American Stranger by the Lake with more dark humour. Michael Emery delivers an amazing lead performance in this twisty queer erotic thriller whose outrageous ending is the cherry on top

Director Nate Dushku encourages the cast to develop lusty connections with each other, which adds a zing of intrigue to to each scene. This keeps things enjoyably engaging even as the body count rises.

By unleashing a serial killer onto the unsuspecting residents of a nude queer campground, Birder turns its characters' safe space into anything but. It's a steamy, sinister erotic thriller.

“Birder” is provocative because of its setting, and it ends on a scene that is quite intriguing. If only the rest of the film had been up to that level.

Birder is one of 2024’s indie hidden gems that deserves love for how daring the entire team was in crafting a smart, devious erotic thriller navigating kink, sex, intimacy, and identity.

Pulls no punches by showing both graphic gay sex and grisly murder scenes.

It’s framed as an erotic thriller, and there are comedic elements, but at it’s core it’s doing something important, reminding viewers to take proper care of themselves and each other.

Maximum respect is due Michael Emery’s (literally) balls-out turn as the titular psycho birder, who screws and murders his way through the cast with a remarkable degree of efficiency.

Nate Dushku's feature directorial debut Birder expresses both the naturalism of a more open sexual identity and the danger that comes from automatic confidence and acceptance of a stranger in a certain environment.