Everyone's heard of Bird Box — but how deep have you really dug into it?
We've gone and gathered up some moments in the movie that you may have missed, so take
off that blindfold.
Here's a look at all the small details you missed in Bird Box.
The first flashback in the film opens on Malorie's apartment, where her sister Jessica brings
her groceries to restock her fridge.
They also discuss the painting Malorie is working on.
The artwork is filled with people standing next to each other in the darkness, close
but not interacting.
Before we even get to know her, it's a telling clue to Malorie's mindset.
The painting reflects Malorie's fear that she won't be able to form a loving attachment
with her unborn child, foreshadowing her later struggles with the nameless Boy and Girl.
It also suggests the bigger impending problem of being isolated from civilization in a world
ravaged by monsters.
"I see a bunch of people sitting together but they feel incredibly lonely.”
“The loneliness is just incidental.
It’s really about people’s inability to connect.
Right before Gary reveals himself as a servant of the creatures, he lays out a series of
drawings, showing what seems to be his personal take on what the monsters look like.
Several of the drawings have distinct features hinting toward specific supernatural designs,
including one of the most famous cosmic horrors in the history of literature: Cthulhu.
The cephalopod head of one of the monsters is subtly threatening and immediately distinguishable.
While the monsters are probably not literally cohorts of Cthulhu, the drawing seems to be
a shoutout to one of the founders of modern horror, HP Lovecraft.
The writer was a master at crafting cosmic nightmares, often leaning largely on the fear
of the unknown.
Bird Box takes inspiration from a lot of horror stories that came before it, but the idea
of a monster so otherworldly that it's impossible to show on screen owes a major debt to Lovecraft,
likely inspiring this nod to one of the author's most infamous creations.
When Malorie first reaches the house, society is in the middle of falling apart.
As the phone and cable networks begin to fail, one call manages to get through, leading to
a heart-wrenching scene between two despairing parents and their child, who clearly sees
one of the monsters while on the phone.
After rushing out the door without a thought for their own safety, the couple isn't seen
again in the movie.
Or, at least, they're not seen alive.
When the group heads out in a car with blacked-out windows to gather supplies, they run over
several speed bumps in the road — one of which turns out to be the couple's bodies,
lying in the street not far from the house.
While their faces are hard to recognize, their clothes are the same, providing some closure
for their gruesome fate.
"Just a speed bump"
The scene in Malorie's apartment is actually a gold mine for little teasers of the apocalypse
to come.
Another painting, next to the larger piece she's working on, sports a number of elements
that eerily foretell the events that are about to unfold.
A deer can be seen being hunted down by a wolf while a ghoulish form hovers over them.
Add to that the appearance of a bird above it all, and the whole piece seems to scream
out with some kind of prophetic foreknowledge.
Malorie can't tell the future, but it's interesting to note that this specific scenario seems
to be on her mind.
One way or another, her subconscious saw this coming.
Sandra Bullock carries Bird Box on her shoulders, but she's helped by some stellar supporting
actors, including John Malkovich, who plays the abrasive Douglas, who wants to survive
at any cost.
While Douglas' character was made up for the movie adaptation of the original book, that
didn't make him expendable in fact, he ends up playing a pretty crucial role in saving
Malorie and the children's lives.
Even though he ultimately becomes a hero, no one really likes Douglas.
But you have to give him credit the man is never wrong.
Everything he says ends up happening.
He's against his wife leaving the house, and she dies.
He resists allowing Olympia in, and she ends up letting in Gary.
He doesn't trust Gary, and Gary ends up killing people.
Even his frivolous lawsuit against his neighbor who wanted to build a glass house ends up
being the right call.
"It's his property, why do care what he builds?"
"Because I have to look at it."
Douglas may come off as annoying, but you have to admit that he's right.
Imagine covering up that many windows with newspapers without getting a glimpse of the
monsters.
Fat chance.
"I think it's huge mistake."
"Well you would, Douglas.
You think everything's a huge mistake."
Much of Bird Box revolves around Malorie and her kids taking a desperate trip downriver
in a rowboat.
The trip takes over two days, and comes with an incredible number of challenges.
Making the feat even more impressive is the fact that the character is fairly new to rowing,
only getting better as she goes along.
Bullock does a great job showing this evolution of skill, as we see her initially flailing,
whipping the oars around and trying to get her sea legs as she launches the boat.
By the end, however, she's seen rowing with focus and determination, like an old pro.
It turns out that this wasn't just acting: Bullock actually had no experience rowing
when she stepped into the boat, purposefully leaning on her lack of know-how to make her
performance more realistic.
The river scenes were filmed in order, so her rowing would naturally improve as the
movie progressed.
You can almost see it as a metaphor for parenting — you kind of just fake it till you make
it.
"We are going on the trip now, it's going to be rough."
Malorie's paintings really are the gift that just keeps on giving.
One extra off-the-wall Easter egg comes in the form of Catfish host Nev Schulman and
his wife Laura, who inexplicably appear in one of Malorie's pieces of art.
Shortly after the movie came out, Schulman share a post on Instagram that highlighted
the similarities between the artwork and his real life.
He wrote, "Bird Box was scary and all, but the creepiest part is how much the couple
in Sandra Bullock's painting looks like me and Laura."
The resemblance is indeed remarkable, and it didn't take long to find out why.
Turns out, the resemblance is entirely intentional.
In a follow-up post, Schulman admitted he knew more than he was letting on, writing,
"Ok ok.
We actually know the artist who did the paintings for Bird Box and posed for her."
It's a playful touch from artist Lily Morris, putting a bit of a fun spin on a more serious
film.
Maybe Malorie's just a big Catfish fan.
"Turn on the news, dumb-dumb."
"Dumb-dumb."