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"KAW" (2007)
Rod Taylor plays "Doc" -- Walter Wallace, M.D. -- the town doctor in this TV horror movie
that premiered on the Sci Fi Channel on April 7, 2007.
An official KAW Web site was
launched in early December 2006. Rod filmed his role in November-December of
2005 in the
Hamilton, Ontario-area town of Westover. The show originally had been scheduled to premiere
in October of 2006.
"KAW" also includes Sean Patrick Flanery and a cast of Canadians.
It is being directed by Sheldon Wilson, a well-regarded horror-movie-maker
whose most recent effort was "Shallow Ground."
The Toronto Sun column describes the premise of "KAW":
- "The plot involves an outbreak of mad cow disease on a Mennonite farm, with the virus somehow being transmitted to ravens who eat the carcasses. The crazed birds then descend on a small American town, where a heroic sheriff (Flanery), the local doctor (Taylor) and assorted other citizens must band together to survive."
In addition, the Sun notes:
- "The producers say 'Kaw' isn't meant to be a sequel to 'The Birds,' but getting Taylor on board wasn't just a coincidence. The filmmakers sought him out, and were delighted to discover he was happy to do the film."
Actually, he wasn't all that thrilled at first with the idea of working with birds again.
Rod told Playback
Magazine, "When they called and asked me, I told them to fuck off," Taylor says, laughing. "The birds in the original could be so unpleasant. Now you don't have to deal with them so directly."
In an article for Fangoria
magazine, Rod elaborated:
- "I thought the script was fun. But special effects have changed now. Much of it is done by computer, whereas when we did
'The Birds,' there were thousands of real birds used on the set.... They really only have about a dozen real birds on the set of
'KAW.' "
Another difference between "KAW" and "The Birds" is
that Alfred Hitchcock’s classic never really gives a specific reason
to explain the birds’ behavior. Furthermore, "KAW" producer Gordon
Yang said, "This script ties into a lot of popular anxiety around natural disasters and things like the avian
flu." Here is the official plot
synopsis of "KAW":
One last day. That’s all small town sheriff Wayne (Sean Patrick
Flanery), has left before moving away to a better life with his wife Cynthia (Kristin Booth). But what starts as a typical day, soon turns into a deadly battle for survival.
KAW is the story of a bustling community that comes under attack by a conspiracy of ravens. Clyde (Stephen
McHattie) was the first to notice the aggressive behavior of the birds as they attacked his farm. But since Clyde long ago lost his good standing in the town, his rantings and complaints are summarily ignored…until things take a drastic turn for the worst.
As it will soon be discovered, local farmer Oskar (John Ralston) has been hiding some unnatural developments from the townsfolk...and this leads to the deadly assault the town now must struggle to survive.
When the local girls’ soccer team comes under siege by the killer ravens, everyone desperately fights their way towards the town diner. Wayne and
Doc (Rod Taylor) board up the windows and doors, but to little avail. The ravens have a taste for blood and furiously attack the makeshift stronghold trying to reach the human flesh inside.
There is nowhere to run, and no one is safe.
Now Wayne will need to uncover the truth behind the dark flock that waits outside... if the last of the survivors have any hope of making it through the
night.
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Preview photo of Rod in "Kaw,"
from Fangoria magazine.
Screen captures:
At the first crime scene
Closeup
Playing doctor
Questioning
Birds-esque lineup
Rod's picture is on the
wall!
(it's this one, from
"The Glass Bottom Boat")
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