He talks about mythological creatures, believed to be the destined seeds of destruction at the end of days in various cultures. In one of the first scenes after Malorie (Sandra Bullock) and the rest of the survivors take refuge at the home of Douglas (John Malkovich), grocery store employee Charlie ( Get Out’s Lil Rel Howery) explains to the group his own theories, based on research he has done for his own amateur novel. There are clues sprinkled all throughout Bird Box that suggest what it may be. We never see what this apocalyptic force driving people to take their own lives really is. (Image credit: Netflix) What Exactly Are The Monsters in Bird Box?Īlthough it seemed to frustrate many viewers, one of the most intriguing things about Bird Box is the air of suspense surrounding its main obstacle. Bird Box is looking pretty unique now, huh? More than a year after the release of A Quiet Place, the streaming service dropped an original film called The Silence, based on Tom Lebbon’s novel about a world fallen prey to creatures that hunt by sound. However, Netflix is not completely off the hook. John Krasinski’s film happened to still be fresh in audiences’ minds upon the release of the Netflix’s apocalyptic sensory thriller, leading viewers to draw comparisons. A Quiet Place conundrum is likely an incidental product of proximity. Night Shyamalan has not brought up Bird Box in regards to similarities to his 2008 “thriller” The Happening.

Monsters that we can see who hunt on sound and an unseen force that drives people to suicide by sight sound like two differing concepts to me, at least. In fact, it might be easier to make an argument that A Quiet Place ripped off Bird Box, but even that would be far-fetched given the clear distinction between the characters, the construction of the narrative, and the greatly differing rules of the apocalypse.

So, obviously, evidence of Bird Box’s direct link to A Quiet Place cannot be proven, although the timing of both movies is interesting. The film rights to the book were originally optioned by Universal Studios in 2013, a year before the book’s release and two years before John Krasinski was sent the first draft of the script for A Quiet Place. Bird Box is actually an adaptation of a novel by Josh Malerman, which was published in 2014. Seems fair to call out Netflix for wanting to cash in on the commercial and critical success of A Quiet Place by developing its own survival-by-sensory-deprivation thriller, right? If you have really bought into that assumption, now might be a good time to take off your blindfold.

Malorie from bird box