{"id":195730,"date":"2018-12-29T06:19:50","date_gmt":"2018-12-29T11:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=195730"},"modified":"2018-12-29T06:19:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-29T11:19:50","slug":"santa-romance-and-horror-bird-box-bucks-holiday-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/12\/29\/santa-romance-and-horror-bird-box-bucks-holiday-trend\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa, romance and horror? ‘Bird Box’ bucks holiday trend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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But even though Netflix declines to release viewership numbers, \u201cBird Box\u201d seems to have struck a nerve, triggering the creation of memes and online chatter for a very dark film dropped into the festive period. (File Photo<\/a>: @birdboxmovie\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 For so long, movies around the holidays have been merry and bright. Lately, more and more seem murderous and designed to fright.<\/p>\n

Take this winter, where, of course, sugary options abounded, such as \u201cMary Poppins Returns\u201d on the big screen and \u201cA Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding\u201d on TV. Then there’s the post-apocalyptic survival story \u201cBird Box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Released just days before Christmas on Netflix, the Sandra Bullock-led thriller is about monstrous entities that compel any human who sees them to quickly try to kill themselves. Not exactly the stuff of sugar plum fairies.<\/p>\n

But even though Netflix declines to release viewership numbers, \u201cBird Box\u201d seems to have struck a nerve, triggering the creation of memes and online chatter for a very dark film dropped into the festive period.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never ever had as much attention or as many page likes, post likes\/ shares and comments on any of my other pages as I have had on this one,\u201d says Heather Drake, who started a Facebook page for fans of the story and is not affiliated with the film or distributors. \u201cIt’s been insane. I can’t even come close to responding to all the feedback, if that tells you anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics have been mixed toward \u201cBird Box,\u201d with many noting similarities to John Krasinski’s \u201cA Quiet Place.\u201d Variety complained about the \u201cinexplicably bland ensemble\u201d and The Hollywood Reporter sniffed that it was \u201cnot all that it might have been.\u201d The Guardian declared it \u201ca bird-brained mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some ways, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a film about monsters attacking people showed up on the online video streamer on Dec. 21. Alternate Christmas movies are all the rage these days, from \u201cDie Hard,\u201d \u201cIn Bruges,\u201d \u201cKiss Kiss Bang Bang\u201d and \u201cLethal Weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drake thinks the holiday timing of \u201cBird Box\u201d isn’t that important, noting the need for fresh and intriguing movies during the holidays far from usual stale fare like \u201cIt’s a Wonderful Life\u201d or \u201cRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t honestly think it would have mattered if it was Dec. 21 or July 21,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, Dec. 21 would give an advantage as many people are on vacation from school and work. And who doesn’t want to cozy up and ‘Netflix and chill’ on a cold night when they don’t have to worry about school or work the next day?\u201d<\/p>\n

Netflix’s decision may also be an attempt to replicate last late-December’s hit \u201cBright,\u201d starring Will Smith and Joel Egerton. That supernatural cop drama also wasn’t received well by critics but garnered strong word-of-mouth interest and a sequel has been promised.<\/p>\n

Bullock has been one of Hollywood’s top stars since her 1994 hit \u201cSpeed\u201d but had never made a horror movie until \u201cBird Box.\u201d She told The Associated Press before a special screening in New York this month that the risks she and the cast undertook were somehow appealing.<\/p>\n

To evade the movie monsters, Bullock and two young children are blindfolded while navigating through a forest and a treacherous river. The title refers to a literal box of birds that her character carries \u2014 the birds begin to chirp when the unseen evil approaches. Like the timing of the final film, it seemed to be a fresh challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime that they yelled ‘Stop!’ we knew we knew we had gotten to a place where we could all get injured,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cAnd we fell. And I said don’t stop the camera unless I say, ‘Stop!\u201d’<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporter John Carucci contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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