Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for Bird Box.

Netflix’s “Bird Box” was great in some respects while coming up short in other aspects.

The recent rise in sensory thrillers such as “A Quiet Place” and “Hush” has been an odd but entertaining new film genre to hit the big screen.

In “Bird Box,” the characters must blindfold themselves in order to not see some unknown monster/force in order to ensure their survival.

If a person sees this monster, they either instantly kill themselves or become a recruiter for the monsters, so they can force other people to look at said monsters.

The film mainly follows the main character Malorie (Sandra Bullock), and the film is non-linear following Malorie at the start of the monsters’ invasion and five years later at the current timeline of the story.

A defining trait of Malorie’s character is her inability to connect with people, and she tries to isolate herself from the real world.

While Bullock did a great job with the character, one of the film’s worst aspects is the presence of an unlikable main character.

By the time of the current story line in the movie, Malorie cares and raises two children (one she gave birth to and another that she is raising due to the birth mother dying during the monster invasion), and she names them “Girl” and “Boy.”

This is due to her fault with the inability to connect with people, but it comes off to the viewer that she simply does not want to care for these children in this post-apocalyptic world.

Of course, Malorie’s character is developed, and by the end of the movie she truly cares for the children and gives them both real names, but after two different storylines spanning over five years in the movie, the character development is just shoved in at the end.

It is not a natural progression towards development; it is sloppily shoved right before the climax of the film.

Other than that, the premise of the sensory horror is an interesting one.

How would people survive in a violent post-apocalyptic world with no vision?

That’s what the film tries to convey to the viewer.

There are other aspects worth noting, like the non-linear storyline.

In this film’s case, it is more interesting to tell the story this way, and the premise will overtake the short aspects of the film.

Other film reviewers tore this film apart, but I feel that “Bird Box” does not deserve this criticism. I give the film 3/5 stars, and if you have a Netflix subscription you should check it out.

Jordan Boyer is a senior history major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].