Birdbox on Netflix

[ShockTheCistern]

So I got round this week to finally getting a chance to watch Birdbox on Netflix, mostly because I’m a Sarah Paulson fan but also because I quite like Sandy B and the trailer looked somewhat interesting. I was also intrigued in how it compared to “A Quiet Place” having seen a number of people make similar comparisons to it prior to me seeing it. All in all, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. 

First of all, I confess that one of the things with movies like this is that I’m always paranoid that I’m going to have to see an animal die. I realise that might seem weird that I’m worried about an animal getting harmed in a story where there are cataclysmic apocalyptic events happening but that is just how I roll. Luckily, I didn’t have to suffer any of that in this movie. Besides that, I thought the movie was good. The acting overall was really solid and I thought the story was quite compelling which at its very core was one of survival. Besides the main star, I think it is fair to say that the remaining cast were excellent with John Malkovich standing out for me personally. And sure, while this movie and A Quiet Place both were based in end of the world like scenarios, I think both were sufficiently different and entertaining in their own right. 

If you haven’t seen it already, I recommend you check it out. 

[Your Mom]

I think Birdbox gets a bad rap. It was a fun and interesting movie. I'm not sure I'll ever rewatch it but for the 2 hours or whatever I was invested in it. Didn't really care for the ending but that's the worst I can say about it

[Gabriel]

Birdbox was good, but wasn't nearly as good as A Quiet Place for me personally. I watched it, liked it and will recommend it, but I highly doubt I will ever turn it on again. A Quiet Place, on the other hand, will find a home in my bluray collection at some point.

Still, very good though. Bullock, Malkovich and Paulson all do a very good job in their roles, and I was hooked all the way through. A little disappointed that the creatures themselves weren't shown or explored more, but after seeing the test makeup, they absolutely made the right call not showing them. The ending was a little bit too bright for me, and I definitely would have preferred the original ending...

When they get to the safe haven, they find out that everyone inside has been blinded so as to keep them safe from the creatures. So, they DO find a place they can be safe, but only at the cost of their eyes.

[ShockTheCistern]

I definitely can see your point about the monsters. For example:

Spoiler

When they were in the car and something was surrounding them as well as the scenes when she was in the abandoned hospital, I had somewhat hoped to see a manifestation of the monsters but alas they were invisible which was somewhat anti-climactic for me.   

That being said, I can’t fault the film too much. I also controversially thought A Quiet Place was slightly overrated. Sure, the movie was definitely tense and I thought the creatures were cool, the story was very primitive and I am still perplexed as to why anyone would get pregnant in that environment. 

[C-MIL]

35 minutes ago, ShockTheCistern said:

First of all, I confess that one of the things with movies like this is that I’m always paranoid that I’m going to have to see an animal die. I realise that might seem weird that I’m worried about an animal getting harmed in a story where there are cataclysmic apocalyptic events happening but that is just how I roll.

There is a website for this.

https://www.doesthedogdie.com/

[ShockTheCistern]

4 minutes ago, C-MIL said:

There is a website for this.

https://www.doesthedogdie.com/

It’s funny you mention that site as I use it religiously these days. 

[Your Mom]

I liked that they didn't show the creatures. I would rather imagine what they looked like rather than the weird spider babies they developed and almost used

[ShockTheCistern]

Just now, The Chiksrara Special said:

I liked that they didn't show the creatures. I would rather imagine what they looked like rather than the weird spider babies they developed and almost used

I didn’t see that design until recently and I can concur I am glad they didn’t use those. 

[=BK=]

The monsters don't have a singular appearance.

It's possible that they appear as they want or need to. The baby monster was specifically for Mallory as she's afraid of motherhood.

[Gabriel]

49 minutes ago, The Chiksrara Special said:

I liked that they didn't show the creatures. I would rather imagine what they looked like rather than the weird spider babies they developed and almost used

I feel like, if you're not going to show a creature in a film, it's important to at least establish what it is in some sense. They never really did that in the movie. There were allusions to people seeing different things, like the drawings of the one madman, but there was no exposition about it.

I'm all for horror films that don't show the monster, but it seems lazy to not show anything or explain anything. Was it something religious? Ancient? Evil? Where did it come from? What was the inciting incident that led to their arrival and attack? Literally nothing is explained about them, which would be fine if there was a series planned, but it's a standalone movie about a woman dealing with undesired motherhood, masked as a creature flick. In that sense, I definitely felt a bit misled as we got to the end, but it wasn't a gamebreaker. The movie was solid, but there was just so much untapped potential to make it more.

[Benjamin]

I would have liked to be able to see the creatures as well, specifically because they're labeled as such in the movie, but in the end I'm glad I didn't, mostly because I would have subconsciously tried to compare it to the marvelous creation in A Quiet Place (which I did for other aspects of both movies). 

I thought it was okay, certainly not a waste of movie time. The home invasion was nice, and to be honest, I really liked the ending, even if it might be considered a cop out. I don't mind happy endings even if it's just for the sake of sending the viewer home happy. 

[Gabriel]

20 minutes ago, Benjamin said:

I would have liked to be able to see the creatures as well, specifically because they're labeled as such in the movie, but in the end I'm glad I didn't, mostly because I would have subconsciously tried to compare it to the marvelous creation in A Quiet Place (which I did for other aspects of both movies). 

I thought it was okay, certainly not a waste of movie time. The home invasion was nice, and to be honest, I really liked the ending, even if it might be considered a cop out. I don't mind happy endings even if it's just for the sake of sending the viewer home happy. 

I want to see the version with the unfinished FX. I want to see everyone being terrified of a monster that is just Jim Halpert in a spandex onesie, wearing Chuck Taylor's.

[ShockTheCistern]

I think I need to watch A Quiet Place again. The monsters were pretty cool but I honestly thought it was overhyped. 

And I found the whole pregnancy thing crazy!

[=BK=]

A Reddit post I made

Spoiler

I thought about the whole "What spaces are actually safe" thing when they went to the store. Like, had the doors been busted out or pushed open would that not have been a safe space? In that situation how would you know the creatures aren't in there? You know the house is clean because you've been in it Since the start and locked it down tight. You don't have that kind of info about just any building though.

Then again to me this all suggests it is demons rather than monsters or aliens. Spiritual not biological. In religious and spiritual views Demons and evil have to follow all sorts of rules to do harm because whatever supreme good entity there is is only allowing them to do so much.