Chance's Corner: Bird Box Review

There’s an old adage that goes “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” and this year there’s been two horror films that have toyed with this concept, one being A Quiet Place, which implemented the “speak no evil”, otherwise a creature will “hear” and kill you, and the other being Netflix’s newest release, Bird Box, where if you “see” something you’ll die. To compare these films, or to simply say that Bird Box is a rip off of A Quiet Place, would be foolish, especially considering that Bird Box was released as a novel in 2014, so I’m not going to do that. I’ll just say that there are some commonalities and move on to my review.

Right from the start, Bird Box grabs you by the throat with Sandra Bullock's "this is how it is and you better listen to me" spill, and I assure you that I was listening! She commands the role of Malorie, a reluctantly pregnant woman caught in dire circumstances, and delivers one of her finest late career performances... if not THE finest! Let's be honest, though, she's kind of been coasting since her Oscar winning performance in television's go-to movie of the week The Blind Side. As for the film built around her, Bird Box left me feeling genuinely terrified – terrified of the unknown. The film never dares to explain itself, and in an almost fourth wall approach, we never get a chance to see the entity, as if we too wouldn't be able to bear the sight of whatever is causing “The Problem”, as the novel defines it. “The Problem” is clear, though - if you see whatever It is, you die by your own hand, or if you’re lucky (?) enough, you basically become Its disciple and set out to make the remaining survivors “see”. Sounds more bizarre than terrifying, but you just have to see it (ha) to feel its chilling effect.

What makes Bird Box really unique is the way it unfolds. The film shifts its focus between two timelines - one is set just after “The Problem” begins, and takes place in a house full of strangers, some being John Malkovich, Trevante Rhodes, the lead from Dumplin', and a woman I could have sworn was a thin Sally Struthers (but it's not), and the other timeline is set five years later, which is where Bird Box's main gimmick comes into play - Bullock and two no-name kids (one is her own, but you’re mostly left to guess which one) have to traverse a raging river in a rowboat... blindfolded. This set up could have easily scuttled the film's pacing and tension, but the alternating timelines weave well together and ultimately lend real depth to the harrowing third act. *whispers* I cried.

Overall, I consider Bird Box to be one of the biggest surprises of the year, and if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences weren’t so stuffy, Sandra Bullock could be easily in the running for her third Best Actress nomination. But that’s not going to happen! Anyways, if you’re interested in seeing Bird Box, you can watch it on Netflix, and if you’re interested in the novel, we have it available for check out here at the Franklin County Library!