With the completion of Beneath London's Fog, I have taken a step back to recharge and reconnect with non-book related things. In doing so, I have decided to include movie reviews since I am constantly watching Netflix's ever growing horror/thriller section. This time, I would like to feature Bird Box - a film based on the popular novel by Josh Malerman. Title: Bird Box Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Supernatural Rating: PG-13 (guesstimate) Brief synopsis: Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety. Review:
Let me begin by saying I am an avid Sandra Bullock fan. She never disappoints when it comes to acting and Bird Box is no exception. I cried so hard in so many scenes (which is incredibly rare). Bird Box follows the story of Malorie, a pregnant woman who obviously has no desire to connect with the child she carries. Following a check-up with a gynecologist, Malorie loses her sister in a violent case of suicide after her sister sees what is known in the horror genre as the "faceless foe." Malorie then finds herself in a house with numerous other survivors, one of which is a woman named Olivia, who is pregnant as well (this will become significant as the movie progresses). After losing her lover, Malorie is forced to take a journey down-river to a place known as the Refuge. Now, I loved this movie. For much more than the fact that Sandra Bullock was in it. As a horror author, "faceless foes" capture my intrigue more than monsters and demons. It leaves a sense of terror unlike a described foe. This movie did the most beautiful job utilizing this concept. The main character was one I could identify with as a mother of two: one boy, and one girl who suffers detachment issues at times. I loved this flaw because it is not something one often sees in movies but is a very real condition. In the end, Malorie connected with her children and showed the motherly side of herself she long denied. One thing I found hard to swallow was the shallowness of the world. However, I believe the author probably narrowed it down to put the focus on the human condition. It was obvious to me Bird Box was character-driven. As an appreciator of worlds and the journey rather than the destination or action, I found it lacking. The characters tried to be relatable but it fell short aside from Bullock. Again, it might have been the intention to disallow connection due to the violent deaths and short amount of time each got. All throughout the movie, I kept seeing a connection to M. Night Shymalan's The Happening, only with demons instead of the trees. That too, is something that bothered me. It was almost the exact same story, only with a different foe and a different set of characters. Despite all of this, Bird Box does indeed live up to the hype. I am in stitches to read the novel, which I finally bought from Amazon. I encourage anyone who has not seen this movie to devote a couple of hours to doing so. It is worth the watch. The ending is beyond beautiful and very powerful.
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