By Dylan Stanford

Since everyone was buzzing about it on social media with too many different memes, Bird Box should have been pretty good. The movie was trending thanks to all the teenagers and their fast-moving fingers; however, it did not live up to my expectations.

Bird Box starts off introducing two great actresses: Sandra Bullock and Sarah Paulson. With this at the start of the movie, I couldn’t help but think that the acting and cast would be phenomenal, and it was. It quickly turns dark, as an enigmatic presence kills off half the population. The only thing the characters know is that if they look at whatever the malevolent force is, they will commit suicide. Those who are left have to go face-to-face with their worst fears and have to do so blindfolded.

To me, the film felt off-brand with more plot holes than I cared for. The idea behind the movie was okay, but I can’t help but point out that a very similar movie (and honestly better) had come out not long before it. A Quiet Place is about a family who couldn’t make noise, otherwise, monsters that had an outrageously heightened sense of hearing would track them down and kill them. Bird Box was the same thing except with another one of the five senses: sight.

Looking past the similarities to A Quiet Place, there were still some things that I felt could have been explained better. Oftentimes with movies like these, there are plot points that are very interesting and need to be explained. In this movie, it was those who were affected differently by the evil entity. Instead of giving the audience some insight, we were left completely in the dark. I wanted some intellectual revelation behind what made them different, but instead, it was just brushed over and not given a second thought, almost like it was just added in last minute.

Even though there are some elements that needed improvement, I do think that some things were done well, like the emotional intensity of some of the scenes. At one point, I definitely had an “oh crap” moment when the mother was being forced to make a horrific choice no mother should ever have to make, and I actually got a little anxiety wondering what was going to happen next.

Honestly, I would give three out of five stars. It definitely kept me entertained for about two hours and an extra bonus is that the memes were about 10 times funnier after I finished watching the movie. If you’re someone like me who is quite picky when it comes to movies, you may have picked up on some of the things I have, but, if you’re someone who likes to get in on the latest memes and watch all the trending movies, then I would say to go for it. Just don’t expect to actually get an explanation as to why anything is the way it is because you won’t get it.