BY MARCUS EMMEL
The Sandra Bullock-starring horror movie has left critics cold, but since its release, it's become a magnet for memes and racked up the platform's best film numbers ever. The film, led by Sandra Bullock, was seen as one of Netflix's better original offerings of 2018 with a juicy set-up, an in-demand director, and a high-profile pre-Christmas release. However, a last minute marketing campaign left people dismayed, calling the trailer an ill-timed, sense-swapped copy of A Quiet Place. While the John Krasinski/Emily Blunt thriller focused on monsters who used sound to hunt their victims, in Bird Box, a demonic force targets sight. For those unlucky enough to catch a glimpse, their greatest fears become realized.
While it has become notoriously hard to judge the success of a Netflix drop, given how the platform refuses to release viewership figures, it was clear that within days, Bird Box was an unlikely phenomenon. Not only did it start trending on Twitter but it soon became an unlikely meme-magnet. The reaction was so unexpected that it led Netflix to reveal that over 45 million accounts had watched Bird Box in its first seven days, the biggest first week for any of their original films to date. Reactions to the movie reach a new fever pitch with the "Bird Box challenge" which has seen fans blindfolding themselves before taking on various tasks from petting dogs to playing basketball to, most worringly, driving. It all led to the official Netflix account tweeting:
As a consumer, the in-home premiere of a film with a snappy high-concept and an appealing A-list lead would seem like an early Christmas gift, requiring no greater commitment than pressing play. Bullock is a notoriously picky actress, even more so after her Oscar win for The Blind Side in 2013 and her cannily chosen projects since have mostly proved just how wide her appeal remains. In 2013, she scored two major hits with Gravity and The Heat and while 2015's Our Brand is Crisis was an Oscar misstep, her lead role in last year's Ocean's 8 was a resounding success, at least commercially, with almost $300m in the bank.
While some critics suggest the film's success is a direct result of Bullock's star appeal, it's worth sharing the wealth with her ensmble, a strategically assembled cast of easy-to-place faces with amazing talent. There's Moonlight's Trevante Rhodes, American Horror Story's Emmy-winning Sarah Paulson, veteran Oscar nominee John Malkovich, Get Out's Lil Rel Howery, rapper-turned-actor Machine Gun Kelly, two time Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver, British stage and screen star Tom Hollander and Jurassic World's BD Wong. It's a diverse, impressive cast with broad appeal and the constant unfolding of cameos makes it a hard film to turn off.
In short, Bird Box is an unsatisfying thriller that captured the attention of millions, and although not seeing the monsters is a bit of a let-down, the Netflix sci-fi thriller adapted from Josh Malerman's novel offers both an interesting take on the end of the world and riveting, emotional insights on survival, parenthood, and humanity itself. The supporting ensemble brings a unique pesonality to the mix, giving the movie a very strong cast. Bird Box is not the jump-scare thrill machine that some might expect when they hear "post-apocalyptic thriller." It's quiet at times and quick in others. Much like the film's creatures, it digs into our deepest human fears and opens a world that lives in fear. And when it asks you to remove the blindfold and watch what happens, it really is beautiful.
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