The Thriller That Will Make You Fly Higher Than a Bird Out Of Your Seat

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2019)

Based on Josh Malerman's novel, Bird Box is a new Netflix original film. The apocalyptic film is extremely creative and thrilling.
The movie opens with intense music leading to a woman yelling at two small children. This woman, we later discover, is named Malorie (played by Sandra Bullock). The film than jumps back 5 years in time, when pregnant Malorie and her sister are off to a doctors appointment. When leaving the doctors, the world suddenly changes. Creatures we don't know anything about start destroying the human race. If one looks at this creature, their eyes suddenly become red and glossy and they will begin killing themselves with any nearby object. Unfortunately, this happens to Malories sister.
While people are dying left and right, the streets are blowing up with fire, the audience can hear gunshots and people are running around, bleeding, trying to save themselves. The realistic special effects and the gory details help draw the audience deeper into the film and making the mass suicide dramatic.
Currently, the only known way to remain alive is to avoid looking at these creatures. People who survived the first wave of suicide must remain inside and block all windows, doors other accesses to the outdoors. Fortunately, Malorie was invited into a kind lady's house to seek shelter from the creatures.
After recovering from the initial shock of the incident, Malorie begins to cry. Watching her cry, the audience is meant to become more emotionally connected to the film, making them feel empathy towards Malorie. Sandra Bullock does a fantastic job portraying the character Malorie as she truly looks upset in the film.
Later on, Bird Box resumes switching between time periods. The movies continues to flow nicely even with these transitions. Nothing comes across as abrupt or unnecessary.
The remainder of the film is entirely based on survival. Malorie and other survivors must stay away from the lurking creatures. This idea relates closely to the book Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Within Station Eleven, a deadly disease overtakes the human race leaving only a small population alive. The survivors must remain healthy by avoiding the highly contagious plague, but they must also work hard to find food and other necessities. Bird Box, has a similar theme of survival.
Another theme in Bird Box is love. Love is not only said through the words "I love you", it is shown through the characters in many different ways. First, many people in the film take chances and risk their own lives to save others. They are willing to die in order to save the one they love. Also, some of the characters show love through their tears. Many men are afraid to show weakness, so they hide their emotions, but in Bird Box, the male characters cry when a loved one passes away. These deep emotions help the characters seem more relatable, which helps the audience continue to connect with them.
The film is very detailed, has great music, dramatic special effects and relatable characters. There are only a few things I would change within this film. First, some things are very unrealistic. For example, at one point in the film, two different people have babies at the same time within the same household. Also, in the present day portion of the film, Malorie, and the two children from the beginning of the movie, travel for days on a river. Malorie rarely stops rowing the boat and never once stops to sleep. It is very unrealistic to work your body that hard and never stop to sleep.
Overall, the film is definitely worth watching. The unrealistic details do not distract from the amazing thriller. So much thought is put into this creative film, every actor does an outstanding job portraying their character, the transition between time periods is very smooth and the music creates a feeling of horror. This movie is great if you're looking for an intense, late night nail-biter.