I must have been the right audience for this movie. Before watching it I read several reviews and some of them critized it for being pointless and also for being a waste of two hours. But I decided to still watch it and that was great. Why? Probably because I am a father to a two year old son that I love more than anything. So I could relate to Sandra Bullocks character throughout. The decisions she took, the dedication she showed throughout was based on the love and protection for her child and loved ones. I don't want to write more than that. I thought the movie was great thoughout. Two hours felt like one hour. It was intense and interesting. Perhaps predictable as well but for this movie I didn't mind that. My curiosity was still on the highest level throughout.

One thought though is that perhaps some bad reviews comes from people watching this on a small screen. This movie is probably best viewed on a big screen with a good sound.

I don't want to write reviews for good movies because I think a good movie should be seen without any previous knowledge. But since this in my opinion is underrated and many of the negative reviews will scare viewers I felt I needed to say something.

Netflix produced movies always seem to have a touch of not quiet being the final product about them. A star vehicle of a slightly over the hill star with a third rate script, an expensive bomb sold to Netflix or something low key that might had done well in the independent film circuit.

Bird Box has provided them with hype and an Oscar winning star in Sandra Bullock.

Malorie (Sandra Bullock) is a pregnant woman in a society that has fallen apart as people inexplicably commit suicide.

It seems something the victims see causes them to harm themselves.

Malorie hooks up with other survivors and shut themselves off from the world.

The film goes forward and back in time. In the future, Malorie and two young children, all blindfolded try to find a safe haven. They have a bird box as birds chirp when an alien danger is nearby.

You get a sense that in this society that the blind man is king. Like the film A Quiet Place, you sense there is an alien presence. Instead of not making a noise, you need to avoid seeing them.

The initial scenes are shocking, horrifying and mesmerising. Then it has all the tropes of a zombie movie as the survivors are holed up and one of the character's is played by John Malkovich and he dislikes everyone.

The bits with Malorie and the blindfolded kids did not work for me, it takes a serious leap of logic as to how they got to the river and go whitewater rafting while blindfolded. It is hairraising to do the rapids while you have your eyes open.

'If you look, you will die' Mallory sternly tells the two children. It reminded me of David Tennant's tenth Doctor telling people not to blink.

Elements of the film is clunky, silly, it does not always add up. Why do some people see the monsters and not top themselves? Instead force others to open their eyes. Surely not all of them can be insane. Madness in people have different layers, here they become the alien entity fan club.

Susanne Bier showed she is an interesting and effective director in the BBC television series, The Night Manager. Here she does well with a script that is rather cumbrous and derivative of similar themed films.

BIRD BOX is a new sci-fi/horror movie from Netflix, heavily derivative of the likes of A QUIET PLACE and THE HAPPENING. The film stars an ageing Sandra Bullock as a rather unlikely pregnant woman who gets caught up in a weird apocalypse that causes people who witness invisible monsters to become instantly suicidal. She takes refuge in a large home with the usual assorted characters before going on a quest to find safety.

The major issue I had with this film is the narrative chronology, which is all over the place. The repetitive flash-forwards to adventures on the river really take you out of the flow of the main story. The earlier half is the better, with some sub-NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD shenanigans in the house and good performances from the likes of John Malkovich. I found the CGI eye effects to be a bit superfluous and the performances to be rather shrill at times, but overall this is an effective enough thriller.