Bird Box Review (Film, 2018)
Content Warning: suicide, self-harm, violence against women
I don’t believe there is a wrong approach to making a horror film. I have preferences of what I like, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by horror films that value shock value and gore over plot and characters before. I prefer a more honest approach to the genre, with films that take the time to develop characters and a plot beyond “look at this scary thing.”
Bird Box is the kind of horror film that happens when horror is not used as an excuse to ignore good filmmaking techniques. Critically acclaimed filmmaker Susanne Bier steps into the director seat for an apocalyptic horror film with a concept requiring a subtle, sensitive approach to the subject matter. It’s a success in most ways.
Bird Box jumps between the present and the past. In the present, Malorie is traveling with two children by river to somewhere she believes is safe from something dangerous. The children are told they need to keep blindfolds on at all time and stay quiet to be safe. In the past, Malorie is pregnant with her child. Something is causing a mass epidemic of people dying by suicide. She winds up in a house with a variety of strangers who quickly realize if you see whatever is causing the violence, you will die.
It’s taken me a long time to review Bird Box. The subject matter is upsetting. The plot hinges on suicide, establishing the severity of the epidemic with graphic depictions of death by suicide. The initial action sequence has incredibly disturbing imagery, but never feels exploitative. Bier grounds it in reality and makes it feel real. Later instances are handled with a quick cut and reactions from the cast. It’s the source of fear in the film, a world in which we can lose control of our own actions by opening our eyes.
Without going into spoilers, the film also deal with mental wellness. It’s a problematic concept from the novel that is important to the plot of the story. That’s not an excuse for how it used in the story, but an explanation. Horror has a bad history of mistreating people with mental health conditions onscreen and Bird Box, in either form, is incredibly problematic on that front.
There’s a clear comparison to be made to another horror film. Bird Box is the horror film The Happening wishes it was. Subtlety marks the biggest difference between the films. Bird Box is filmed and performed like a prestige drama; The Happening is over the top in everything. There is nothing cartoonish or campy about Bird Box. The violence that is shown feels real, which is important to help the audience overlook some of the absurdities and more problematic elements of the story. The Happening played at one level—extreme—the whole way through, resulting in something simultaneously over the top and boring. Bird Box lives in the gray area, for better or for worse, and is far more engaging for its ambiguity.
Sandra Bullock carries the film as Malorie. The character has a wonderful arc on the page and Bullock finds every moment in it. Malorie, before the outbreak, is a depressed and disconnected artist, choosing to live alone and do her best to not focus on the upcoming birth of her child. Bullock’s depiction of depression is beautiful and honest. I know not everyone will immediately connect to the character, but it’s part of what made the film so challenging for me. I saw myself in her mental state and really struggled to watch when her life was in danger. Her arc is slowly learning to interact in a healthy way with other people and it, again, feels real.
I keep using the word “real.” Susanne Bier’s strength as a director is making beautiful dramatic texts filled with all the bumps and bruises of everyday life. Nothing is perfect because the world isn’t perfect. She does not back away from her signature vision or style to tell a horror story and it’s wonderful. The literal text of the film has some problems, but her interpretation of the text feels as grounded and honest as In a Better Life or Thing We Lost in the Fire.
The sound design of the film is what adds the final level of authenticity to the story. The characters in the film try to shield their eyes from whatever is causing the violence. Ben Barker and Glenn Freemantle, the sound designers and supervising sound editors, did an incredible job selling the risk of the monsters’ tactics in luring survivors to look at them.
The presence of the monsters is created through sound. A rustling wind through the trees darts around you. A recognizable voice suddenly appears, clear as a bell, directly addressing one of the characters onscreen. As the conversation goes on, the voice starts to lose focus, distorting and echoing as it loses its way. The characters learn soon enough what the tricks sound like and use time as a defense against the monsters. A real person’s voice will not deteriorate like the monsters’ voices. The result is a truly immersive cinematic experience.
Bird Box is terrifying. There are moments that are hard to watch because of the choice of subject matter, but they are mostly handled as well as they can be. The overall effect of the film is incredible and worth watching if you feel comfortable engaging with the material in the content warning.
Bird Box is currently streaming on Netflix.
