Spoilers ahead!

The new Netflix original movie Bird Box has taken the world by storm. Every time I open a social media app, I see posts about this movie. It seems like every single human being has seen this movie, but some people are still hesitant. Up until last week, I was hesitant too. After avoiding it for as long as I could, I couldn’t put it off any longer.

The movie sets the scene by showing a woman, Malorie, sternly talking to two children about a dangerous upcoming journey. Then, it shows the three of them packing for the journey and the woman putting three birds in a box. Then, they start walking through the woods with blindfolds on, feeling their way to a rowboat. All three of them climb in and make their way down the river.

The movie is filled with flashbacks, which are honestly done very well because I was not left confused about the timeline at all. The first flashback is five years prior to the first scene. The same woman, Malorie, is shown in an art studio, pregnant and talking to her sister.

The plot focuses on a creature that causes those who set eyes on it to end their own life. In the movie, we never see what the creature looks like, but it is inferred that when characters see this creature, they see their biggest fear.

To ensure that they do not see this creature, the survivors wear blindfolds when they travel outside. Society has completely shut down and the streets are littered with rubble and death. The people who have survived the initial attack attempt to survive without seeing the creature, and soon Malorie gives birth to a boy. She has to look after another newborn that was born at the same time as her son because the mother died shortly after childbirth. Malorie and Tom, the man who has helped her along the way, are shown five years later having raised the kids themselves and having fallen in love.

Tom dies saving the kids, and Malorie, with the two children, make a treacherous journey along the river blindfolded until they find a safe house where they can live safely from the monsters.

The reason it is called Bird Box is because birds are able to sense the presence of these monsters, so Malorie decides to put three canaries in a box and have them on hand at all times. Since they cannot see, the birds help to signal when they are nearby.

Plot (8/10)

I think the plot was believable and very creative. The use of flashbacks help to provide backstory and make the audience feel sympathy for the characters. They provided dimension that was needed to make the movie more than just your average horror film. The only issue I had with the plot was that they jumped ahead five years to show that Tom and Malorie were in the forest somewhere, nowhere near the house that they were camped out in when the creatures first came. How did they get there safely? I was a little confused, but besides that I thought the plot was well thought out and executed.

Characters (9/10)

I really enjoyed the characters in this movie, they were diverse and developed. You become very attached to the characters because you see how they care for each other, especially the relationship Malorie and Tom have. In a time of such distress, they still come to love each other and stick together until the very end.

Message (9/10)

There was a very meaningful message in this movie, even though it is a horror-thriller. Towards the end of the movie, Malorie has an epiphany. In the five years that they had been trying to survive these creatures, she was focused on staying alive and not being killed. She did not even give the two children names, she called them “boy and girl” because she did not want to get attached to them. Tom one night tries to tell the kids a story, and Malorie gets mad because to her, he was giving them “false hope.” Tom tells her that they are not living. Running and hiding is not living life, and he asks her “What is this all for?” Malorie realizes that love and family are the most important part of life. A life without love is not worth living. So, at the end of the movie, she names the girl after her mother and her son after Tom.

Overall (9/10)

Overall, I thought it was a very good movie. Some of the other Netflix original movies that have come out have been mediocre at best, but Bird Box was entertaining and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I love Sandra Bullock, so the fact that she was the lead made it so much better. The only thing I would change is make it not as graphic. They could have made the movie without the blood. Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone.