The Birds II: Land's End

Ted and Mary Hocken move to a remote, windswept, tiny East Coast island with their two young daughters. The Hockens are determined to forget losing their son and spend a quiet, uneventful summer, with Ted hoping to complete an important biology thesis.

An immense flock of birds begins massing around the small town of Gull Island. A marine biologist is the target of a mysterious, grisly attack. Before long, the sky is darkened by a hideous onslaught of screeching birds. An old timer recalls a similar, horrific outbreak three decades ago in Bodega Bay, California.

• Brad Johnson as Ted Hocken
• Chelsea Field as Mary Hocken
• James Naughton as Frank Irvin
• Jan Rubes as Karl
• Tippi Hedren as Helen
• Stephanie Milford as Jill
• Megan Gallacher as Joanna
• Richard K. Olsen as Doc Rayburn

The television film received negative reviews. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly slated the production, especially criticizing the writing and acting: "The actors in Birds II have little to do except widen their eyes in terror, and even that seems a daunting stretch for Johnson". He also commented on the fact that it was an Alan Smithee film, the pseudonym used when a director wants to disown the final film.^[1]

Tippi Hedren, who starred as Melanie Daniels in the original film, returned in a supporting role as a different character named Helen. Hedren was disappointed that she did not have a larger part: "I wish that it was more than a cameo. I think they made a mistake by not doing that. But it has helped me to feed my lions and tigers".^[2] When asked about what could have been Hitchcock's opinion, she answered: "I'd hate to think what he would say!"^[3] In a 2002 interview, Hedren described the film as "a horrible experience".^[4]

The Birds II: Land's End was released on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States in 1994 by MCA/Universal Home Video and reissued on VHS in 1997 via GoodTimes Home Video. Because the film was so hated, it never received a DVD release.

In August 2022, Vinegar Syndrome released a 2K restoration of the film scanned from the 35mm interpositive on Blu-ray. The Vinegar Syndrome release also contained all new special features, including an audio commentary track with film historians Amanda Reyes and Sam Pancake, a one hour making-of documentary and interviews with composer Ron Ramin and production assistant Craig Edwards. The release was limited to 6,000 copies.^[5]

• The Birds II: Land's End was parodied as The Crows in the CBC sitcom, Schitt's Creek.

• Birdemic: Shock and Terror

• The Birds II: Land's End at IMDb
• The Birds II: Land's End at AllMovie
• The Birds II: Land's End at Rotten Tomatoes