Director:Â Susanne Bier
Cast:Â Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar, Tom Hollander, Machine Gun Kelly, John Malkovich, Trevante Rhodes, Parminder Nagra
Rating: 15
Running time: 124 mins
Release date: Out now on Netflix
Christmas is an interesting time to release a movie that is so far from feeling festive, that it actually leaves you with a different kind of winter chill. It is clever timing to have this fantasy thriller released during Christmas – those who need an escape from all things to do with the holidays, will not find any cheer in Susanne Bier‘s cracker of a film.
Netflix has already racked up the viewing list for Bird Box with a superb 45 million accounts and more having watched the film – not bad at all for the streaming service who must be bursting at the seams with this news.
‘Whatever you do, do not take off your blindfolds’ is one of the most memorable lines from the movie, but whatever you do, make sure you are watching this chilling film.
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Eric Heisserer, Netflix’s new thriller, Bird Box takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where humans are under attack from an unknown force. This mysterious, chanting, fog-like distortion causes those that see it to be confronted with horrific fears and commit suicide. Exactly, we did say it’s not very festive!
The film kicks off with a distressed woman in front of two scared children, ordering them in a firm tone to never, ever take off their blindfolds. We learn that the woman is Malorie and she is about to take the audience on an epic, chilling journey into a place she hopes has sanctuary for her and the two children, but she’s not sure it will.
Setting the plot in motion are flashbacks that show us how society has been destroyed by the coming of this strange entity that results in her becoming alone in a river, with a paddle boat and two children, rowing with blindfolds on.
Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic thriller which may throw up similarities to The Walking Dead, as the remaining few survivors locked away in a house scavenge desperately for food without falling to the mercy of the mysterious force outside.
As the story unfolds, the audience meets Sandra Bullock’s heavily pregnant Malorie 5 years preceding the opening scenes locked up in a house with all windows covered owned by a drunk played by the brilliant John Malkovich. Hiding from the horrors of the outside world, Malorie grows a strong bond with Tom, a construction worker who helps to look after her and her unborn child.
Fast forward five years, after a lot of gruesome moments and unsurprising deaths (thanks to the handy-work of Tom Hollander), Malorie must make the journey to sanctuary all by herself with the two children named Boy and Girl if she is to survive the end of the world. Â
The performances by the cast are what help to keep the chilling atmosphere throughout and in particular, Sandra Bullock utterly excels herself in this movie.
The screenplay is simplistic and maybe quite predictable, but the threat that looms is forever at the forefront of the movie and it makes you want to know more and invest in the fate of the few survivors.
Bird Box is a very different project for director Susanne Bier, known most recently for calling the shots on The Night Manager. She has done a superb job in bringing to life an apocalyptic thriller that shows the story of the cast members not only at the mercy of the entity outside, but also at the hands of each other.
Overall, Bird Box is an entertaining and engaging thriller for Netflix brought to life through the eyes of the talented director, Susanne Bier and the delivery of the roles by the cast. The narrative may not surprise many and is not that original, but it oozes tension and for the next two hours of your life, you will be completely engrossed in the fate of the few survivors.
