Bird Box

Another attempt at combining horror and social drama, sitting in a corner in the shadow of Darabont’s The Mist. The constant alternation of the two different time planes becomes narratively monotonous after an hour or so. Somehow, with its “relationship content” and all of the clichés it tends to use, it becomes very unlikely that the film may in any way be surprising or bring something new into its subject matter, which resembles that of some recent genre movies. The intriguing premise with a great start fails to fulfill the potential of a decent genre event, leaving only a safe, mainstream drama about the importance of sticking together with a few scary scenes, children at risk and a pleasant Sandra Bullock. It’s not that I didn’t watch it with interest; I just consider it a waste of a great potential. (20.01.2019)

For me, on the same level of A Quiet Place (which I actually liked a little bit less than the average rating would suggest), though it also has some passages that will make a sane viewer facepalm. The behaviour of the characters doesn’t correspond to what would be sensible a given situation (can anyone explain me why nobody paid attention to the guy who in the flashback was experimenting with cameras around the house?). Taken as a whole, however, it’s professionally put together, with solid performances and direction. But expecting a masterpiece would be a mistake. (16.12.2018)

Netflix, a good director, decent idea and actors. That’s becoming a synonym for 2018. I hope that sticks with the years to come as Birdbox is quite a good apocalyptic drama I could imagine as a series. What makes me happy is that Sandra Bullock again proved herself to be a great actress. Not many people appreciate her, still I think she deserves some respect. Similarly to the plot of the movie which kept me on the edge of my seat from start to end. However I know how hard it is to walk blindfolded through the forest – had the honor on a team-building exercise I went to – and the characters in this movie made it seem all too easy. It’s true that the plot is a bit naive yet under Susanne Bier’s baton it works perfectly and the movie deserves attention. (31.12.2018)

One of the best directorial works by Susanne Bier, who has endured the dangers of a film in which a piece of hypersensitive kitsch is definitely dormant. But, folks, Sandra is great and Trevante Rhodes shows that his special fragility is as astounding as his musculature. Screenwriter Erik Heisserer is an aspirant and intends to specialize in female alien encounters ... which is why the structure of the two alternating levels of storytelling works very well. Bird Box has a nice rhythm and does not drag, and moreover, it avoids the absurd escalation that damaged the similarly tuned A Quiet Place. It's a bit unfortunate that the point itself feels a little lost, and the main character, despite trying to question her relationship to unwanted motherhood, never quite goes deep enough. But chattering aside, this is very solid genre work in all respects, also because the creators eventually gathered enough courage not to show the evil at all. I wish their Hollywood colleagues would take an example from them. One of the best Netflix originals and a dignified reparation for ultimate evil from Shyamalan's The Happening. (18.01.2019)

Netflix has been heating up nicely under the boiler for the last quarter of a year and has released another solid genre film that appears to be a little sibling to A Quiet Place. Danish director Susanne Bier, from whom I've only seen the solid thriller In a Better World, is definitely a decent director and add to that a perfect Sandra Bullock, a solid John Malkovich and new discovery Trevante Rhodes, who’s starred in The Predator and 12 Strong. Sarah Paulson is also here in a smaller role. Bird Box is a mix of several films at once, but it takes the best of them and makes a tasty post-apocalyptic cocktail that is top-notch in craftsmanship and acting, engaging in plot, and there are a few surprises. The film manages to build tension brilliantly at certain points and there's a bit of gore too, so I can hardly complain. Solid. It's just a shame that the film ends where it could easily have started. 80%. (20.12.2018)

A similarly conceived atmospheric group survival like A Quiet Place, or the slightly more pompous and louder World War Z, two films dealing with a global apocalypse and the initial inability to locate why, or even how to defend oneself. Unlike its competitors, Bird Box doesn't go the route of flashy kills or massive shots of tons of dead bodies. Instead, it plays an interesting game between a group of people, led by the initially slightly controversial mother Sandra Bullock, and an invisible evil. It's a film that surprisingly isn't about being out there, and to make that very clear, it's very slow and hard to find out what's actually going on. Instead, Susanne BIer plays a rather sophisticated and entertaining game about the fact that the absolutely key clue to victory is family cohesion, dreams and the will to go on no matter what. All this in a non-pathetic, light and perhaps even "fun" way that does not outright bring pain. I would ignore the experts who will bitterly complain that they didn't get the explanation they needed. There's an abundance of it, it can be taken at any time, you just need to watch carefully, because sometimes the greatest danger may not be visible at first sight. (17.02.2019)

I liked it a little more than A Quiet Place, because this film started, continued and ended with a intimate-depressing atmosphere, and never drifted towards action scenes at all costs. Moreover, the evil that was causing all this was even more mysterious, unknown the entire time and thus more interesting. That's great. And the scene with the car ride to the supermarket was truly superb. (05.01.2019)

Anyone could admit  that it is only a facsimile of A Quiet Place, however, Bird Box cannot be denied its own merit and the fact that it goes off in a different direction. From a technical and acting point of view, it is a great achievement (I think that more time and space could have been given to John Malkovich’s character especially, I would have appreciated that). However, the retrospective narration was painful - and, because of it, you could predict how the movie would turn out from the beginning concerning most of the characters, so there are no real surprises when something really bad happens. The audience is thus unnecessarily deprived of suspense, and it is impossible to generate an emotional connection with the characters from the start, which is a great shame with this type of movie. Also, perhaps only those with the sunniest of dispositions could have actually believed the ending. (11.01.2019)

It is impossible not to compare Bird Box with the very similar A Quiet Place. In this case, the creatures sensitive to the subtlest sounds are replaced by creatures you are not allowed to look at, almost like Medusa's gaze; it won’t turn you into stone, but it does make you go crazy. If I had to choose between these two thematically similar films, I would choose A Quiet Place. Bird Box offers a very decent set-up, and since it takes place in two time planes, the story doesn't feel so monotonous. What it lacks, however, is a greater dose of suspense and fear, which I would expect in a film like this. The atmosphere did make me feel a bit uncomfortable at times, but I expected maybe something more in that regard. However, the final scene from the boat was very powerful, as was the following sequence from the forest. The film would definitely have benefited from a shorter running time, a denser plot and more tension. I was obviously curious to see how the story would turn out, but I think it could have been done more effectively. (19.04.2020)

The American movie Bird Box, an original Netflix production, is a good horror movie. It is a very well-put-together horror movie with a pretty good ending that, although I admit I was not expecting it, seems pretty obvious after you first see it. Still, I could not shake the feeling that this was something I had seen before in A Quiet Place, and that movie got to me a bit more than this. (02.10.2019)

I enjoyed this only a hair more than Krasinski's naked monsters in all their glory. A lot of that is due to the insane hype around A Quiet Place, where I had read something about it being the best horror film in years and then was actually quite disappointed. Bird Box is also no highlight in the field of horror in recent years, though neither was Susanne Bier even attempting anything like that. Plus, I have a problem with the horror label, because it's just not as scary as I'd like to think of in an echt horror film. What I can definitely single out is maybe the first 20 minutes. The opening is truly really righteous, and I figured if it were to continue in a similar vein, it would be a pretty badass survival thriller. Of course, after the intense opening, the plot flips into a survival drama reminiscent of, say, 10 Cloverfield Lane. On the other hand, even despite Susanne Bier's quite creative direction, the story doesn't offer any downright powerful moment that could sway you. It's fair to mention Sandra Bullock, though, who is unexpectedly great as the complicated mother/protector, while John Malkovich doesn't fall far behind with his cynical pragmatism, stealing a good chunk of the spotlight for himself. (26.01.2019)

Practically the same in all respects as A Quiet Place, both in terms of positives and negatives. This means a great idea, editing and acting, but full of striking logical nonsense. I get it that authors need to simplify things in order to make their work easier, but here there were complete leaps of logic once every ten minutes or so. It's a shame since the film had great potential, but the only possible reason to watch this again could be John Malkovich’s brilliant performance. (21.01.2019)