Review of Bird Box (2018) by Wiscojoe — 07 Jan 2019

Manipulative, shallow, and thoroughly unpleasant, 'Bird Box' takes a deeply unsettling premise and filters it through a lazy story filled with cliched situations and one-dimensional characters. The film is not without its effective set pieces and suspenseful moments, but sustaining that suspense with the building threat of seeing two children commit suicide just makes the entire film seem cheap and exploitative.

Rather than embrace the tawdry 'B-movie' shocks bubbling beneath the surface, the director and cast instead insist on treating the material like they're in a prestige pic while never finding the emotional heart, psychological depth, or cultural significance of its central premise.

Because of this jarring disconnect between tone and material, the film fails to work as a literary art film or as a genre thriller. Ignore the anonymous voices online telling you you have to see this movie to understand the phenomenon.

I recommend taking the advice of the movie itself and keeping your blindfold on.