Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've probably seen or at least heard of Bird Box.
The conceptual, post-apocalyptic thriller from Netflix has taken social media by storm,
sparking internet memes, jokes, and even a potentially dangerous social media challenge.
For many viewers, the most interesting aspect of the movie involved the creatures in the
film, monsters that either drive people to kill themselves or to become fanatics who
kill on their behalf.
The mysterious creatures drive people mad on sight, but in the finished movie, they
go completely unseen.
Neither Bird Box nor the book it's based on ever show the creatures in physical form,
only adding to their mystery.
Now, thanks to creature designer and sculptor Andy Bergholtz and special effects studio
SFX Atlas, we finally know what Bird Box's monsters would have looked like on screen,
had plans for the movie gone differently.
Bergholtz, who is credited as the special effects makeup lead for Bird Box, took to
Instagram in early January 2019 to share several pieces of concept art.
Together, the pictures work to reveal the creature design that the filmmakers almost
used in the final movie.
According to Bergholtz, the intention for the movie was for no two people see the creatures
in the same way, with their physical forms changing depending on who is looking at them.
The design featured in the photos he shared is how one of the creatures would have looked
to Sandra Bullock's character, Malorie.
The images show a baby-faced monster with a bulbous, vein-covered head, swollen ears,
and a snake-like body meant to be created using CGI.
Reportedly, the creature is what Malorie would have seen in a nightmarish dream sequence
that was ultimately scrapped from the final cut.
As Bergholtz describes it, the custom-made creature design was inspired by Malorie's
pregnancy, playing on the anxieties and fears of an expectant mother.
He wrote on Instagram, "...the producers felt Sandra's nightmare would have something to
do with a twisted, demonic baby creature attacking her."
Bergholtz says he designed several different takes on the monster design before settling
on a final product.
He wrote, "I sculpted at least 3 or 4 variations on the design before it was approved, which
began as a more aggressive, monstery look and was revised to be a bit more subtle in
the end."
After the release of Bird Box, the company SFX Atlas also took to Instagram to share
what the monster design might have looked like in action.
The company's post shows special effects artist Stephen Prouty applying prosthetics and makeup
to actor Dirk Rogers, who would have stood in for the creature during the shooting of
the nightmare sequence.
Allegedly, not everyone who helped create the designs for the monsters is happy that
their work ended up getting cut from the movie, especially after the film proved to be so
widely-seen.
Howard Berger, the co-owner of KNB EFX Group, where the designs for the Bird Box creatures
were crafted, seemed to air his complaints in a since-deleted Instagram post, writing,
"It's always a bit disappointing when so much effort goes into something that ends up in
the cutting room floor, but I get it and it's always what is best for the final product."
When Bird Box was released, some viewers found it annoying that the movie never shows what
the monsters actually look like, making the unused creature effects extra interesting.
But despite how unsettling the designs appear, some fans have argued that the decision to
keep the monsters off screen was to the movie's benefit, letting viewers come up with their
own interpretations of what lurks beyond the blindfolds.
Sandra Bullock seems to feel the same way.
Speaking in an interview with horror movie site Bloody Disgusting, Bullock said she couldn't
help but laugh at the creature in action, which she described as, quote, "a long fat
baby."
Turns out, the choice of whether to show the creatures or not held a lot of importance.
If viewers found the monsters funny, it could have ruined the whole film.
Director Susanne Bier apparently agreed, and pushed to remove the nightmare moment from
the movie.
As she put it to Bloody Disgusting,
"It so easily becomes funny.
We actually shot that [scene] and spent a lot of energy on [it], but every time I saw
it, I was like, 'This is not going to be tense.
It's just going to be funny.'"
Now that the movie is out in the wild, people seem to agree that keeping the monsters off
screen was the right choice.
As Bergholtz wrote in his Instagram post, "I actually really liked the movie and think
it was better off NOT showing the makeup.
Kudos to the director for sticking to her guns on that one."
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