The direction by Susanne Biers successfully maintains a high level of suspense without ever resorting to cheap jump scares or massive amounts of gore.
Bird Box, written by Eric Heisserer (Arrival) and based on the 2014 book by Josh Malerman, tells the story of Malorie (Sandra Bullock,) a pregnant artist, who is trying to survive in a world dealing with creatures that take the shape of a person’s worst fear. The mere sight of a creature causes one to immediately commit suicide. The only way to avoid death is to cover one’s eyes at all times when outside.
The movie opens as Malorie prepares two young children for a journey into the wilderness. She implores them to listen to the rules for the trip which, if not followed implicitly, will lead to their demise. They are not to leave her side, they cannot speak, and they must keep their blindfolds on at all times unless otherwise instructed. They dutifully agree.
In flashbacks, we see how this trip became necessary. At first, the news reports of the phenomenon show it plaguing Russia and Asia. Malorie is initially unconcerned as she lives in California. However, the creatures arrive in the United States and Malorie takes refuge in a house filled with other people who have escaped seeing their nightmares become reality.
The survivors are a stereotypically diverse cross-section of personalities and ethnicities. There’s Douglas (John Malkovich,) a probable racist and self-admitted asshole; Tom (Trevante Rhodes), the black alpha male; Felix (Machine Gun Kelly), the white punk; and Lucy (Rosa Salazar), the Hispanic police academy cadet. (There are others but they seem to serve a plot point or two and then they die.)
Gradually, the new housemates learn how to deal with the day-to-day aspects of living in a world where going outside means death. (A particularly inventive scene takes place when a small group of them uses a car’s GPS and proximity warning sensors to blindly drive to the grocery store for a supply run.) As the movie bounces back and forth between two timelines, the reasons for the journey Malorie is taking become more clearly defined.
Sandra Bullock delivers a solid performance as the initially detached but eventually determined Malorie. She is, by far, the most defined character in the film and the spotlight is squarely on Bullock the entire time. The direction by Susanne Biers successfully maintains a high level of suspense without ever resorting to cheap jump scares or massive amounts of gore.
The premise, while reminiscent of A Quiet Place or M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, is original enough to keep one’s interest throughout. Unfortunately, several major plot holes keep the film from reaching its potential to be a truly powerful thriller and the ending only provides more questions.
Bird Box has become something of a viral phenomenon since it premiered on Netflix’s streaming service in December, 2018. At the time of this review, the movie has been viewed over 45 million times. It’s spawned a large number of memes and even a “challenge” that encourages people to spend 24 hours wandering around with a blindfold over their eyes. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a movie worth watching.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
