- Later in the night—the fire is still going. Mitch is passed out in a chair.
- Melanie is still awake and seems to hear a fluttering of wings.
- She doesn't want to wake Mitch so she decides to investigate herself, taking the flashlight.
- You've seen horror movies, right? You know this is a bad idea.
- Melanie must not have seen Psycho. Come on, lady. Don't go investigating on your own. Nothing good will come of that.
- She ignores Shmoop's warnings, and off she goes.
- She checks the kitchen, where the lovebirds are still in the cage.
- Then, she heads for the stairs.
- Up, up, up she goes, right to her doom.
- She hears fluttering behind a door.
- She opens it very, very slowly.
- She looks up and sees a hole in the roof. The birds are perched on furniture in the room.
- She shines her light, and they attack her.
- She gasps and thrashes but can't get the door behind her open.
- More gasping and thrashing.
- More gasping and thrashing.
- It goes on for awhile, the gasping and thrashing, with Melanie getting more and more bloodied.
- "Oh, Mitch," she moans, which seems weirdly sexual.
- She sinks to the ground, blocking the door.
- Mitch and Lydia finally show up, and Mitch manages to drag her out of the room.
- Lydia goes for bandages; Cathy brings brandy.
- Melanie wakes up and thrashes hysterically.
- She's catatonic with shock.
- Mitch wants to get her to the hospital in San Francisco. Lydia doesn't think they can make it.
- Mitch says they have to do it.
- Mitch decides to go outside and try to get Melanie's car.
- Mitch goes outside … and this is only the second time in the film that you move away from Melanie's perspective.
- Outside, the ground is covered in birds, birds, birds. Also, birds.
- Mitch walks slowly across the yard, with the birds everywhere.
- One pecks him when he gets his hand too close (it was the anchovies), but otherwise, they mostly avoid him.
- They just sit there and watch him.
- Mitch gets to the car and turns on the radio.
- He hears the announcer say the bird attacks have stopped and that there have been a few attacks outside of Bodega Bay.
- Most of Bodega Bay has been evacuated, and there's been talk of sending in the military.
- Mitch drives the car out slowly, slowly, and you get lots of shots of gulls milling about on the ground. They look like such ordinary gulls.
- Mitch goes to the house, and he and Lydia help a still-unresponsive Melanie to the car.
- Melanie takes a look at the birds and says, "No … no!" And who can blame her?
- She's still wearing that fancy fur coat. But, she's not so smug or sophisticated now, is she? The birds made sure of that.
- Heavy symbolism: all of her wealth and uptown elegance couldn't protect her.
- Mitch goes back to help Cathy, who brings the lovebirds with her.
- Melanie nestles against Lydia in the car.
- The last shot is from the yard with all of the birds—zillions of them—watching as the car slowly drives away into the distance.