Netflix aims to make our holidays scarier with Bird Box, the adaptation of Josh Malerman’s thriller novel of the same name. Do they succeed, or is it all hype?
The Beardict: Bird Box is a gripping look at humanity’s struggle when the world finally ends. Although it gives some suggestions, the film does not focus on why the end is happening. Instead, it’s effective in showing how people react to it. Human beings are obsessed with solving problems. But what do you do against a threat that does not seem to have any weakness? You simply survive.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Here are several thoughts I had after watching Bird Box:
- If M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening (2008) and the Quiet Place (2018) had a baby, Bird Box would probably be it. This is probably the best description I can give this movie.
- We take the gift of sight for granted all the time. In the film, Malorie and her fellow survivors can’t use their eyes outside because they’ll become suicidal once they “see.”
- We always think of how the world ends, but not really of what we will do once it does. Bird Box steers us to ask the right questions. Will we discover that we care less about others when push comes to shove? As Malorie said, “the end of the world makes us do things.”
- Is it true that love makes us “soft,” as Olympia suggests, and that the two types of people are simply “the assholes and the dead” as differentiated by Douglas.
- If crazy people suddenly found a purpose, we would be in so much trouble. In Bird Box, all of them only had one mission, and it was to make everyone “see.”
- Trust is something that you can’t give to everyone. With that said, you still need to trust. A lot of bad things happened in Bird Box because the characters tried to see the best in people and it ended in betrayal. However, Malorie and her kids would not have found much-needed sanctuary if they chose to strike out on their own.
- A mother’s love manifests differently. At first glance, Malorie can’t possibly win Mother of the Year award, but then we realize, somehow, she can.
- Birds are beautiful. Cats and dogs are usually our go-to pets, but this film reminds us that from how they look to how they chirp, birds are awesome creatures.
Bird Box is scary not because of the end-of-the-world scenario, but because of how we all know human beings are capable of being very selfish.
How about you? What did you think of Bird Box? Do you think you’ll survive its post-apocalyptic world?
Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock is now available on Netflix.
