Book Review - Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Title: Bird Box (Bird Box # 1)
Author: Josh Malerman
Genre: Horror/ Fiction/ Thriller
Published: 2014
 
Description: Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.
 
Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl ar four, it’s time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat – blindfolded – with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?
 
Review: Malorie takes care of her two children. Unlike normal, they have to be dead quiet and are never allowed outside. The windows are covered and the curtains are always closed. It all started with vague news stories on television. People ignored reports of madness because it was happening far from their homes. But it comes closer. And all television went black, the radio went silent and the internet was down. And the outside was no longer safe. All Malorie knows is that, whatever it is outside, it must never be seen. Because opening your eyes will kill you.
 
I saw the film a few years ago. It was fine, enjoyed it, never thought it was very scary. At the time of viewing I didn’t know it was based on a book, let alone written by Josh Malerman. I had never read from Malerman before, I thought this would be the perfect book to start with. And I’m so glad I read it.
 
The book is so much scarier, it gets under your skin and keeps you on edge. The story captivated me. You know just as much as the characters, you have no clue what they are actually afraid of that is out there.
 
The story alternates between the beginning of this apocalypse and the present day where Malorie and her two children are fleeing their home for safety. I can understand why people define this as one of the scariest book they’ve read. I could feel the suspense constantly, because they don’t know what they fear. Like a classic horror rule is, that it’s the things you don’t see that scare you the most.
 
I was only a bit disappointed by the ending. I expected more from this. But overall, “Bird Box” is an amazingly suspenseful horror novel, that I could recommend to any horror fan.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

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