NOTE: This is a NETFLIX movie that you can only watch on the Netflix channel or through the Netflix system. It is not playing in the theaters.            

   

 BIRD BOX  2.5***

     How could they go wrong making a movie about certain death from seeing invisible entities? The idea of making a movie about having to blindfold yourself whenever you walk outside or else you will die in seconds seems pretty cool on the surface, but when each death is expected, predictable and almost 'set-up', you struggle to connect with characters as the characters seem to have many choices, but never choose the right ones.

The concept for the story is good and could have maybe worked. But many of the scenes are dragged out and unnecessary. Even the name of the movie, "Bird Box" has almost nothing to do with the story (the birds freak out when the invisible entities are near; but if you keep your blindfold on, the need for the birds is obsolete). The opening scene gets your attention, a mother ( Sandra Bullock) is warning  her children of the dangers of taking their blindfolds off as they start a boat trip down a river; then it cuts back to the beginning five years earlier  when the killing entities arrive on earth and what happens when someone 'looks' at the invisible entity… they automatically commit suicide or turn into a normal looking killer of the normal.

There are all the typical end-of-the-world cliches. Do not expect anything new. The characters are the same generic group that you would expect.  The plot progresses pretty much as you'd expect with very little suspense and not even a single jump scare. While engaging at times, it never quite is enough to make you care about what’s  happening on the screen. And it moves slowly while it goes nowhere. When the end finally comes, it's pretty much what you'd expect . As you see too much of “as you would expect”.

“Bird Box” can be described as a halfway decent effort in the horror genre that fails to rise to the occasion.  It is an acceptable manufactured outing, graced by a major movie star, Sandra Bullock, who is impressive as usual, and by a way-too short turn by the wonderful Sarah Paulson.  

Rated R (for violence, bloody images, language and brief sexuality)