Bird Box Barcelona
Director: Álex and David Pastor
Year Released: 2023
Rating: 1.0
A spin-off of 2018's Bird Box once again has the entire planet wearing blindfolds outdoors because of creatures that, if "looked at," force people to end their own lives - in this case, engineer Sebastián (Mario Casas) and a few other survivors, including psychiatrist Claire (Georgina Campbell) and little German girl Sofia (Naila Schuberth), seek out a windowless safe haven. It gets the grimy post-apocalyptic atmosphere right, but that's about it: it lacks star power (Sandra Bullock is nowhere to be found), it's inefficiently told (the script skips around entirely too much) and doesn't take the time to develop its characters. The single "new idea" it flirts with is the ability of some individuals to keep their eyes open outside and "tolerate" the horrible "visions" and intrusive voices ... but that isn't really explained either. Is it possible that humans can suffer so greatly in real life (like Sebastián losing his wife and daughter) that they can become immune to supernatural horrors?