LogFAQs > #965039533

30. Bird Box (367 points)

Why I Chose It: The 2010s were a whole different beast when it came to how films were consumed, marketed, and popularized. Bird Box is based on the 2014 novel by Josh Malerman; within 28 days of release, Bird Box became Netflix's most viewed film in its history and held the record until it was displaced last year by Red Notice. Bird Box was a prime example of horror and films spreading through "memes" and "internet challenges", particularly the "Bird Box Challenge" in which individuals would do everyday activities blindfolded, sometimes in dangerous ways. In addition, it showed how powerful at-home streaming was becoming and the ease at which large swaths of a population could consume a film.

Tom Nook: 10
PrinceKaro: 12
red13n: 19
jcgamer107: 20
Inviso: 21
BetrayedTangy: 26
Suprak: 26
fortybelowsummer: 28
rockus: 28
Johnbobb: 29
Lightning_Strikes: 29
Plasmabeam: 29
FFDragon: 30
Snake: 30
thesmark: 30

Tom Nook - Sometimes a gimmick can be a enough to make a movie fun if it's at least competent enough. With a pretty decent cast, led by John Malkovich, it feels better than it would with some randoms. One of the best scenes was when Sarah Paulson came under possession early in the movie, and with a lesser actress, it would have gone to waste. The 'don't look' concept takes people back to the idea of a scary monster being under your bed, so you just pull the covers over your face. There is something about that which resonates with many viewers. The whole journey is a fun ride with a bunch of uncertainty just due to how alien the events are.

PrinceKaro - The world suddenly comes under assault by an unknown entity which if you see it you go mad and die from self inflicted harm. The exact thing is never shown on screen, but I assume it is either an unfathomable elder horror or Donald Trump's naked body.

Anyway, a bunch of survivors shack up in a house zombie apocalypse style, only with no zombies. Or at least none that are shown on screen because you can't handle the truth or something. Now, don't get me wrong, absence of description can often lend amplification to terror, but honestly this just feels kind of cheap in a 'we couldn't afford the budget for the monsters' kind of way.

There is a lot of conflict and betrayal between the survivors on the 'humans are the greatest evil' path, and I always appreciate that.

I just felt I was more invested in the present day story rather than the flashback, and the way the latter almost completely takes over the movie just so it can be a mediocre version of The Walking Dead is a bit disappointing.

red13n - I've probably said this on another list, but I hate the fad of movies starting in the middle. We are introduced to a bunch of characters and with the tone of the movie, we absolutely know their fate. You kind of lose a lot of suspense when you do that. If you are going to do this, there needs to be something gained by using this storytelling format. There is nothing of the sort to be had here. And unfortunately everything after the start point is boring, so the fact that the initial survivors learning to deal with a life without sight is the more interesting part really drags this down. There was some interesting world building to be had there, but it is all thrown away so we can have an adventure down the river and end in happiness. A happiness that doesn't make a lick of sense; how all these people are surviving with what is still going to be very limited supplies is conveniently never going to mentioned, we're just going to end. I'm sure somewhere there was a real ending where this was all an elaborate trap for them to look but someone said was too much of a downer and needed a rewrite.

jcgamer107 - This is kind of a better version of The Happening: unseen force causes people to kill themselves, wacky bunch of misfits band together to survive (the characters and acting are way better here). Kinda liked it despite not really liking Sandra Bullock generally.

Inviso - Bird Box is fine. Its not great, its not awfulits just fine. Honestly, it feels like it took a bunch of the better elements from other horror movies (The Happening, Dawn of the Dead, The Mist) and mashed them together for half the filmwhich makes for a split movie that doesnt quite hit the mark its trying to hit. What I mean isthe movie keeps shifting back and forth between the onset of the monster attack, and five years in the future. The monsters are interesting in the sense that if you look at them, they drive you either homicidal or suicidal, which influences the two plots in unique fashions.
In the present day, the plot centers largely around a group of survivors whove holed up in a house after chaos erupts all around them. Theyre a diverse group with very little in the way of unique connections to one another. Running low on supplies, they prep a car to reach a grocery store without looking outside, and they run afoul of the monsters via their cultists. Later on, their base is invaded by a secret cultist who winds up killing (or infecting to suicide) most of the survivors, and only Sandra Bullock and her love interest survive. If THIS was all we had, it would feel like a weaker version of the 2004 Dawn of the Dead Remake. Nothing special, but passable. But the movie then shifts its tone in an unfortunate fashion.

Fast forward five years, Sandra is raising two kids, and more cultists attack and try to kill her family. At this point (and keep in mind, weve been watching flashbacks and flash forwards all movie long), Sandra loses her love interest, and takes a blindfolded boat trip down a difficult river in search of a sanctuary she heard about over the radio. THIS could have been a really good plot of theyd fleshed it out and consolidated it into its own movie. An unseen and unknown enemy is stalking a family, and they cant open their eyes, or else itll kill them. Thats horror in line with some of the films weve seen up to this point on the list. But because its split with a more generic popcorn horror movie, neither half really gets to live up to its full potential. Thats unfortunate, given how overwhelmingly popular the film was; it couldve been truly great

BetrayedTangy - What a strange movie to become a cultural phenomenon. There were a couple of weeks where you couldnt go anywhere without hearing about it. The fact that some people attempted a Bird Box challenge where they tried driving with their windows covered up is honestly baffling. Of all the movies to inspire stupid stuff, this shouldnt be one. I will give this movie credit though; the first half was honestly kinda fun! The concept was pretty interesting and it captures the B-movie feel very well. Not to mention John Malkovich being in it automatically moves it up on spot in my rankings.