Alright guys - you may or may not know - well, you’ll definitely know, because I’m not
necessarily saying that there’s a meme conspiracy about this film, but there is definitely a
meme conspiracy about this film - and Netflix’s new original feature flick, Bird Box, has
become the hottest thing since - well, Netflix.
Now the internet is awash with tongue in cheek parents taking photos of themselves and their
kids wearing brightly coloured blindfolds in the forest.
But is it just a hype train?
Does this film actually stand up as a decent cinematic experience?
Does it even make sense?
Well, let’s find out.
Hello horror fans - and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube - as always, I’ll
be your horror host Jack Finch - as today we try and figure out what on Earth all the
fuss is about - and explain the brand new post-apocalyptic blindfold thriller - Bird
Box.
Roll the clip.
Poof - that's it.
Sarah Paulson was in this film for a grand total of ten minutes and then done.
See ya later Sarah.
Well, that’s what you get for a Netflix budget, eh?
Obviously guys - it goes without saying, but there’s going to be some pretty major spoilers
in this video for those of you that haven’t yet seen Bird Box - so if you’re not in
the business of having it’s somewhat confusing plot ruined for you - then look away now.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Before we rummage through this metaphorical box of Birds - you know the drill by now horror
fans, if you’re a fan of this video, Bird Box, Sandra Bullock’s stellar performance
- or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general - then please, be a dear and hit that thumbs up button
- as well as that subscribe bell so you can stay up to date with our latest and most terrifying
uploads.
Also, make sure to stick around all the way to the end - where I’ll be reading out some
of your more creative comments from over the past few days.
On with the show.
Kicking off at Number 5 - They Filmed The Monster.
This is where I believe a lot of confusion about this film began - because although the
sub-genre of post-apocalyptic thrillers definitely falls under our remit, Susanne Bier’s cinematic
interpretation of Bird Box is somewhat of a split infinitive of a movie.
It wanted to be a post-apocalyptic thriller, but it also wanted to be a horror film - and
with that, it wanted to deliver a horror monster.
The strange, supernatural force that plagues the fictional world of Bird Box - that drives
anyone that looks at it to madness and an instant impulse to commit suicide.
But the thing is - we never actually see it as an audience.
And to only add to that failed suspense - is the fact that the production team behind Bird
Box actually filmed a monster, but those scenes were taken out by Bier as she felt it would
have been the wrong decision.
And I’m not entirely sure if I agree, but there you have it.
Sandra Bullock, who may I add - was absolutely incredible in this film - actually filmed
a few scenes with the monster, describing it as snake like - and a long fat baby.
She said that initially she was scared by the creature, but then found it so hilarious
that she had difficulty filming her scenes.
Which in that case, I’m glad they removed it.
Maybe just get a scarier monster, though?
But - hold up there, because we did see the monster, didn’t we?
When Sandra Bullock’s character Malorie is attacked on the boat in its physical form
- so maybe, just maybe, they were on to something all along…
Because coming in at Number 4 - Gary’s Drawings
Ah - if only this film had given us more Gary, just a smidgen more and I think I would’ve
been satisfied.
Maybe that’s because he’s played by Tom Hollander, who in my opinion is one of the
most underrated British actors going - and if you know anything about his role as Cal
Richards in The Thick Of It - you’ll know that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
From Gary’s scene where he unveils his chalk drawings of the entity - we understand that
the supernatural force plaguing humanity has various forms, but whether these forms are
individually interpreted is another question and is purposefully left ambiguous.
And I actually prefer that.
Through Gary’s character, and later on in the film - we learn that some people aren’t
affected in the same way as others by the entity.
Instead, they worship the supernatural force like some terrifying death cult - and make
it their short-life's purpose by corrupting the worlds survivors in succumbing to suicide.
Guys!
Here’s the monster of the movie, we already have a vilain.
Not only one - but hordes of them, roaming the post-apocalyptic wasteland trying to get
Malorie, Boy and Girl to take off their blindfold and slip away from their mortal coil.
So then answer me one question.
Why in the film’s climax - purportedly the scariest part of the film - do we have a leaf
rustling sequence?
So close guys - so close.
Which leads us to our Number 3 point on this list - The Monster’s Gravity
In both the metaphorical and literal sense, the monster weighs heavily on the post-apocalyptic
world of Bird Box.
We know next to nothing about them - whether they’re a single force or a combination
of entities - but we’re also thankfully afforded a few hints as to how they operate.
We know that in Susanne Bier’s interpretation, they’re invisible when no one is looking
at them - but they’re detectable by the way that they affect gravity.
As I said previously - gusts of winds, rustling leaves - causing Girl’s hair to stand on
end when directly confronted in the middle act of the film - I felt that part of Bird
Box was the team trying to convince us that there is actually a monster, we just have
to put our own spin on it - which in all fairness, is a lot to ask an audience.
But do you know one horror film that already did that, really, really well?
2014’s It Follows, written and directed by David Robert Mitchell.
A similar, sinister supernatural entity, that slinks from the shadows and stalks its victims
- and yet it has no form.
Buttt - you know what the remedy is for that?
The Monster takes a multitude of humanoid forms while chasing down it’s many victims
- and it works.
Scary old ladies in gowns and weird little kids.
It Follows is a scary film because it lets us visualise threat.
Something we rarely get in Bird Box.
You see - I told you we needed more Gary.
Next up at our Number 2 point - The Monster’s Myth
Oh Charlie, you brave, brave man.
If only we had more of your mythologically accurate interpretations of what on Earth
is actually going on in the world of Bird Box, maybe things would have been easier.
But, Charlie’s character played by the awesome comedian Lil Rel Howery, may prove to have
been more insightful than anyone first realised.
Throughout the first part of Bird Box, Charlie suggests to Malorie that the entity is demonic
in nature, pointing to his research on the topic of the apocalypse.
He cites several Zoroastrian myths about the demonic Aka Manah, the Christian demon Surgat
- who we’ve covered in our Demon series - the Chinese fox spirits known as the huli
jung - and the nefarious Celtic spirits known as the puca.
For all intents and purposes, Bird Box is a story about the demonic apocalypse - an
entity that has many names, yet when it’s all boiled down - they’re the same exact
thing.
A supernatural force that brings death.
Judgement Day.
The End Times.
It would make sense then, that the entity has supernatural knowledge of people’s weaknesses
- played out in the films climax when Malorie is confronted by Tom and her sisters voice,
trying to convince her to take the blindfold off.
It’s also reinforced by the films name, and the significance that Bird’s have in
the film - being able to sense the entities presence.
In many mythologies and religions, birds play the role of the psychopomp - a creature of
Greek mythology that guide people from the land of the living to the land of the dead.
Which when you think about it, makes it a little bit more sinister.
And finally, at our Number 1 spot - The Book’s Ending
As many of you will know, Bird Box is based on the novel of the same name written by Josh
Malerman and published in 2014.
And if I’m being completely honest, if the Netflix version would’ve taken on the books
ending - I would’ve been so much happier, and a lot of the plot’s shortcomings would
have been justified.
Spoilers - but in the original book ending, Malorie, Boy and Girl arrive at Rick’s location
- to find that the 108 people under his care have all made themselves - and their children
- blind, as a means to defend themselves from the entity.
It’s purposefully left ambiguous, and Malorie refuses to do the same to her kids - but seriously,
why was this left out from the Netflix version?
That would’ve put everything else into perspective.
Look, I get it - Bird Box is a film about trying to find hope even when you can’t
see it, but in the land of the blind - the one eyed man is king.
The books ending is exponentially better, because sacrifice has ensured survival - and
in a post-apocalyptic world, you have to pay a price to keep on living.
Well - that’s the way that I see it horror fans, how about you?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment box down below.
Before we depart, let’s read out some of your more creative comments from over the
past few days.
Why are we always yelling says - Blimey chap you never cock-up you’re the dogs bollocks
always watch you before I take a kip, absobloodylutely love the content. -- and then added the caveat,
I hope I used all those colloquialisms correctly.
Well my good buddy, let me tell you - you knocked it out of the park.
10/10.
That’s exactly how everyone in Blighty speaks.
Sterling work.
Jack says - I miss your long hair.
Well Jack - are you me?
Because I also miss my long hair, and I’m going to re-grow it, so get used to some hat-wearing-toque
action for a while.
I’m going all the way.
Sometimes you just gotta shave your head, you know what I’m saying?
Well - there we have it horror fans, cheers for sticking around all the way to the end.
Make sure to hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell - and I’ll be
seeing you in the next one.
As always, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary
Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.