Ho. Ly. Shitballs.
I’ve been waiting months for BIRD BOX to finally be released on Netflix, so I was excited to curl up on the couch to check it out last night after doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Because nothing says holiday spirit like a supernatural apocalyptic movie that has you on the edge of your seat for about 2 hours, amiright? My excitement to see this was heightened after seeing some of the feedback on Twitter about it. I definitely went into it with high expectations and it delivered!
No lie, I felt like I needed a Xanax to calm my anxiety throughout most of the movie — ok, all of the movie. My body was tense the whole time and I just couldn’t stop watching. Unfortunately, it’s easy to compare BIRD BOX to A Quiet Place because they both have similar concepts, but this one took the cake for me.
SYNOPSIS: When a mysterious force decimates the population, only one thing is certain — if you see it, you die. The survivors must now avoid coming face to face with an entity that takes the form of their worst fears. Searching for hope and a new beginning, a woman and her children embark on a dangerous journey through the woods and down a river to find the one place that may offer sanctuary. To make it, they’ll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them — and complete the trip blindfolded.
BIRD BOX gave me a little bit of what A Quiet Place didn’t. I can’t really pin point exactly what that was, but once the movie was done I didn’t feel like something had been missing. The cast was incredible, the plot was interesting and Sandra Bullock’s performance throughout the movie was probably one of her best performances. (Side note: Why the heck is Trevante Rhodes not being mentioned anywhere? Between BIRD BOX and Moonlight, he deserves a bit more recognition.) One thing that I appreciated in this movie was that viewers never get to see whatever it is that causes the mass suicides once it’s seen. The fear of the unknown is brutal, so I liked that we never really had a physical image to go along with whatever supernatural being was causing this mass terror.
It’s definitely worth the watch. Douglas (John Malkovich) will make you want to punch your TV screen, Olympia (Danielle Macdonald) will make you want to scream in her face, Felix (Machine Gun Kelly) will make you wonder why his character was even there in the first place if he wasn’t going to be given any significant importance (not that I don’t like MGK), and Mallory (Sandra Bullock) and Tom (Trevante Rhodes) will make you want to be their besties during any apocalyptic situation.
Give it a chance and, as always, let me know your thoughts!
According to Kristin 