Apocalypses on the Cheap

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2019)

"Bird Box" is the latest 'apocalypse on the cheap' Sci-fi and some of these features have top-draw names. Robert Duval has a small role in "The Road". This apocalypse is caused by a fire which spreads over the globe. There's no reason given, no aliens, no biological accidents. It leaves one with the burning question of "why". "How it Ends", with Forest Whitaker, has a global power failure apocalypse. So you'll know how it ends but never shocked to know why it ends. It just does. And a similar apocalypse sends Ellen Page and Rachel Wood "Into the Forest" but again, the nagging question of why will stick with you like moss on a tree. "Bird Box" is different in that the apocalypse is caused by some alien lifeform, but you can't see them. How financially convenient. To be fair, all four above mentioned come off as reasonably good entertainment mainly due to the really good performances by the top draw names. Bird Box goes a step further having two: Sandra Bullock playing the central role and John Malkovich whose performance creates the underlying tension which carries through the rest of this feature.
Oddly enough, the problem isn't the stories, dialogues, performances, or anything else which can turn an entertaining feature into a real disaster. What is obvious in all of these 'apocalypses with no name' is that the lion's shares of the budgets of these productions were spent on the well known top-notch names and not a dime on a really good down to earth understandable, imaginative, tangible apocalypses. To put this in context, take the popular series "The Walking Dead". Although not one of the original first season cast could be considered well-known box office draws, (to say the least), this production's budget spared no expense on zombies. Smart! How can anyone pass up a prime time Zombie-Apocalypse-action-soap-opera? Now, the costume designers for TWD had to create really convincing looking HD worthy zombies requiring many extras. Else, had they gone cheap it would have turned the TWD into a high-definition one season laugher. The result of betting on herds of zombies over the famous living: the series really took off. The budget for the whos, whats and whys was well balanced. Make no bones about it.
The moral of the story: balancing the budget and feeding the fears of the viewing audience along the way really matters.
So 'Bird Box' is okay. You might not watch it twice, but having Bullock and Malkovich set the pace makes it certainly worth watching at least once.