Atmospheric, albeit implausible, supernatural thriller

Rating: 7/10 (24 January 2019)

There are things outside that when looked upon, turn the viewer suicidal or homicidal. The sole way to survive is to be unseeing, so the only hope Malorie (Sandra Bullock) has to save herself and two children is to make a dangerous river trip to a potential place of refuge while blind-folded. The story is surprisingly effective (considering the gimmicky concept and the implausibility of the characters' activities while blindfolded), the film is very well made, and the cast uniformly excellent. The ending is a bit predictable, some more exposition would have been welcome, and there are some gaps in the film's internal consistency, all of which that keep the story from being top drawer, but overall, "Bird Box" is an entertaining, supernatural thriller in the same vein as "The Mist" (2007).