10s Movie Review - Bird Box

Director: Susanne Bier
Genre: Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, Trevante Rhodes, Sarah Paulson, Jacki Weaver

Description: Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother (Sandra Bullock) and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.

Review: Netflix brings us “Bird Box”, a post-apocalyptic tale that somehow reminds me of a mix of “A Quiet Place” and “The Happening”. In “A Quiet Place” the creatures aren’t allowed to hear you, in “Bird Box” you can’t see them. And when you do, you will kill yourself (like in “The Happening”).
“Bird Box” is a film with a lot of potential. The central character is Malorie, a woman who tries to find a safe haven for herself and the two children she is traveling with. And it’s difficult, because the have to be blindfolded at all times. If they don’t, they will simply die.
We see that Malorie is pregnant after a one-nightstand and she doesn’t have contact with the father. In the meantime, we hear people talk about mysterious happenings, where lots of people end up dead. Malorie doesn’t believe in it, until she witnesses it herself when her sister kills herself out of the blue. And soon we find out what is happening. If you see ‘it’, you will die. What it is, we don’t know.
After the introduction, “Bird Box” turns into a pretty standard post-apocalyptic survival film. Where a little group of people tries to survive. And we know not all of them will succeed.
Director Susanne Bier succeed in creating that claustrophobic feel. That gives chills. But that’s were the chills stop. This film’s trailer looked a lot scarier. Overall the film has no real scare, jump scares or shocks.
I usually love the fact that you don’t see the monsters or creatures, or at least not too much. For this film, it’s actually a negative. It could have been more scary if you knew a bit more about the creature and you could see what could be so awful that I makes you kill yourself.
Sandra Bullock is very strong in her role, she carries this film.
Like I stated at the beginning of this review, “Bird Box” had a lot more potential, but didn’t live up to the hype. “A Quiet Place” is much better.

Rating: 3/ 5