Bird Box

For a world which has become so sight-orientated there are times when the sense of dread you feel whilst watching Bird Box is almost incapacitating.

Much has been said about how this is a 'blind' version of 'A Quiet Place' - it is most definitely not. The source material 'Bird Box' written by Josh Malerman was published in 2014. In many ways this film is all the more terrifying because of society's reliance on seeing the world around them. As you watch and come to understand (although not fully) the mechanics of the horror that is the basis of this post apocalyptic tale you find yourself wondering what would you do in a world where your eyes are your greatest weakness?

Yes, perhaps more could have been done to fill out the concepts of family, parenthood, and connecting. With a run-time of just under 2 hours the film does enough and manages to intertwine these themes with the base horror and makes you care enough to take the journey through the fear with Sandra Bullock's Malorie and the rest of the cast who perform admirably. The way the film is split over different time periods is not a clever gimmick as has been the case with so much output over the last few years. It simply layers on another level of dread as the film proceeds towards it's conclusion.

As is fitting a film who's protagonists are reliant on a life without vision, it is not full of bombastic CGI action sequences and instead wraps itself in a sense of horror that I found both terrifying and refreshing.

This is an excellent film in a theater or at home, with a story that will touch at a core vulnerability that makes many of us uncomfortable. Yet as the 280 million+ people around the world who are classed as having 'low-vision' or 'blind' already know' - if you have the will there is life to be had, sighted or not.

How have human beings become this dumb? Seems like in this day and age, you can't make movies that don't show and explain everything anymore. People don't even trust their own imaginations/assumptions, or people just don't have imaginations anymore. One reviewer said "If I wanted to imagine my own ending I'd just imagine the entire story!" except that he can't. You can't even use your brain to imagine an ending to a ridiculously simple movie, how can you imagine the entire story? Now, the movie itself, to me, was nothing to write home about. It's a post-apocalypse movie, post-apocalypse movies are like zombie movies, they are not to be taken seriously. They usually don't have sensible plot, they exist just for the sole purpose of entertainment (other than to make money of course), not awards season, and one viewing is enough. Just ignore the hype around this movie. Don't expect anything groundbreaking or original. Yes, some characters did do stupid things like characters in post-apocalypse/zombie/horror movies always do, but it's tolerable. If you can sit back and enjoy it for what it is, you might as well be entertained. I think if you watch it with this mindset you won't be disappointed UNLESS you are the type who want everything to be shown and explained to you all the time. In that case, no, you won't get an answer to where the young couple who ran away with the car ended up in, or whether they made it alive or not.

I must have been the right audience for this movie. Before watching it I read several reviews and some of them critized it for being pointless and also for being a waste of two hours. But I decided to still watch it and that was great. Why? Probably because I am a father to a two year old son that I love more than anything. So I could relate to Sandra Bullocks character throughout. The decisions she took, the dedication she showed throughout was based on the love and protection for her child and loved ones. I don't want to write more than that. I thought the movie was great thoughout. Two hours felt like one hour. It was intense and interesting. Perhaps predictable as well but for this movie I didn't mind that. My curiosity was still on the highest level throughout.

One thought though is that perhaps some bad reviews comes from people watching this on a small screen. This movie is probably best viewed on a big screen with a good sound.

I don't want to write reviews for good movies because I think a good movie should be seen without any previous knowledge. But since this in my opinion is underrated and many of the negative reviews will scare viewers I felt I needed to say something.

I liked it,,,

Although it certainly has it's flaws,, it's an enjoyable suspense/horror/thriller with a great cast.

Watch it if you're not squeamish

Started off with a great premise, but dragged on far too long for such a weak finish.