Whatever You Do, Don’t Remove Your Blindfold!
On Friday of last week, Netflix released its latest horror/suspense thriller, Bird Box, to mixed reviews. The Sandra Bullock vehicle tells the story of Malorie (Bullock) and two young children (Julian Edwards and Vivien Lyra Blair) as they attempt to make their way down a river, rapids included, while blindfolded. What’s with the blindfolds, you ask? They protect Bullock and other survivors from seeing their worst fears, something that comes to fruition when one sees the mysterious entities that have decided to take over our planet.
While Bullock and the children are making their way down the river in hopes of finding a supposed safe shelter, we get to travel back five years to the beginning of the invasion and then see how Bullock and a small band of survivors remain alive. We are introduced to Malorie’s sister, Jessica (American Horror Story’s Sarah Paulson) and learn about the strong bond between the pair as they visit a local hospital for a check up on Malorie, who happens to be pregnant.
When they leave the hospital, the city turns into a chaotic mess, with people intentionally banging their heads into walls, walking into traffic, running over one another, etc. in an apparent mass suicide event. Malorie manages to survive long enough to be pulled into a safe house owned by Greg (the highly underrated BD Wong). Once inside the home, Malorie and a small group of survivors form theories as to what is happening based on news reports, rumors, and the knowledge of some of the survivors who happen to be police officers. They eventually realize that seeing the entities causes one to see their deepest fears, driving them to commit suicide.
As time passes, the group begins to run out of food and must figure out a way to survive. They also encounter newcomers, some of which don’t appear to be affected by the entities at first. People live. People die. Ultimately we end up in the boat with Malorie as she attempts to save herself and the two young children. She does all of this while being blindfolded. I won’t say anything else because I don’t want to spoil the story.
Despite having a cast that includes Academy Award winner Bullock, Academy Award Nominee Malkovich, Tony winner Wong, Golden Globe winner Paulson, and NAACP Image Award nominee Trevante Rhodes, the film never manages to drag itself up from its slow-plodding plot. There are a few holes in the plot as well, such as why the entities can’t seem to get into the house or why certain characters do things that aren’t beneficial to them or anyone else in the film. It’s not a bad film by a long shot, but it seems to be walking through well-worn territory without adding anything new to the story.
Fans of A Quiet Place and The Happening will recognize the plot quite well. Although the book that Bird Box is based upon was released many years before A Quiet Place and the film itself was in the final editing stages when A Quiet Place was released, there will definitely be comparisons to that film. Had Bird Box been released prior to A Quiet Place, it might have been given a more favorable review. Instead, it will have to deal with the comparisons from here on out.
I do mildly recommend the film. As I said before, it’s not a bad movie, but it is definitely missing something. It makes a great rainy day film since the gloominess of the rain will only add to the sensory deprivation.
As always, thank you for reading my post. I will be reviewing a few other films in the very near future and will most likely start my Throwback Thursday posts back up after the New Year holiday. Let me know what you think about Bird Box in the comments and feel free to share this post with anybody that might be interested in it.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 