A Quiet Place meets The Mist meets The Happening meets The Road meets I Am Legend (specifically with one of the alternating endings). That’s a quick and easy way to describe the effective Netflix release Bird Box. Many people will compare A Quiet Place to this film because of its proximity to release dates. I would have been upset if this was a cheap rip-off of, perhaps, the biggest surprise hit of 2018, replacing not making noise with being unable to see the change. But Bird Box is based on a 2014 debut novel of the same name by Josh Malerman, years before previews of A Quiet Place were even created. This makes the movie even more enjoyable. You get to wonder about Malerman’s inspirations rather than assuming that it was the novel he was trying to emulate.

Five years prior, Malorie was pregnant. And we learn early on that maybe she doesn’t want to be. There is no man in her life. Sister Jessica (Sarah Paulson – F/X’s American Horror Story) is with Malorie for a routine visit where Malorie isn’t interested in learning the baby’s sex. She talks about drinking alcohol in front of her doctor and showing a genuine disinterest in anything with the baby. It’s enough for her doctor to bring up adoption as an option, handing her a brochure that Malorie intently ponders. Malorie is also out of touch with the world, as she doesn’t pay much attention to the news. So it comes as some surprise to her when Jessica mentions a phenomenon happening in Asia in which people are going crazy and killing themselves. But that’s in Russia, so why worry? However, on their way out of the hospital, they see a woman smashing her head vehemently into a glass window and other events that are out of the ordinary. On the drive, Jessica witnesses something and suddenly goes wild by flooring the gas pedal and not stopping at stoplights or signs before flipping their SUV over. Malorie is temporarily trapped in the car and is helpless as she sees her sister escape from the vehicle to purposefully step in front of a moving semi, meeting a violent death.

Shifting back and forth from this period to the present day (frequently at times), we don’t learn a ton yet, and there is a Stephen King kind of intrigue involved throughout the movie because you aren’t entirely sure of what is causing these people to act the ways that they do. But we learn that it has something to do with what they see. These people seem terrified by whatever they see, which causes their eyes to become mesmerized. Most of the affected, ultimately, end up taking their own lives. But not everybody reacts to the epidemic once they are exposed to it in the same way. And that is part of the fascination, too. It becomes as much about staying away from the affected as figuring out who is affected and who you can trust. There are influences from The Walking Dead.

Malorie escapes into the home of a surly Douglas (John Malkovich – In the Line of Fire, Dangerous Liaisons), disgruntled neighbor Greg (D.B. Wong – Jurassic World, HBO’s Oz), good guy Tom (Trevante Rhodes – 12 Strong, Moonlight), comic relief Charlie (Lil Rel Howery – Get Out, Tag), fellow pregnant woman Olympia (Danielle MacDonald – Patti Cake$), and a handful of others. Like with any group, plenty of dynamics are augmented by the stressful situation in which the group finds itself. Decisions need to be made on food rations, which new people to let in who come knocking on the door, the course of action, etc. They can agree that people become affected by the epidemic through their eyes. They see something, and then it goes crazy. What we don’t know is if it is something in the sky or if it’s by looking at someone affected. So, anything involving the eyes becomes an issue. They block out all the sunlight in Douglas’s home.

When welcoming new people, they make them put a cover over their faces. How they know it’s safe for said individual to take off the cover is uncertain. Yes, there are some plotholes in this film. However, unlike the most recent film I reviewed (2018’s The Mule), this movie flowed. Whereas The Mule repeatedly puts Clint Eastwood in different situations with little relation from one scene to the next, Bird Box feels differently. There is cohesion. There is progress. When there is the need for a break, we transition back to Malorie and the two children on the river, wherewith each visit, we are further along on their trip (two hours on the river, six hours on the river, eight hours on the river, etc.).

I am surprised that Sandra Bullock signed on for a movie that would have a minimal release and be watched mainly by people in the comforts of their own homes. But I’m glad she did. Director Susanne Bier (Serena, Things We Lost in the Fire) could have gone with a lesser-known star. I didn’t watch this film because it had Bullock (though it indeed increased the intrigue). However, after the movie’s first scene, where her version of Malorie brings the intensity and sets the tone for the remainder of the film, I couldn’t have imagined anyone else leading the way.

Plot 9/10
Character Development 7/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 7.5/10
Screenplay 9.5/10
Directing  9/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 8/10
86%

B

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

• A Quiet Place
• The Road
• The Mist
• Knock at the Cabin
• Into the Forest