Genre Research: Bird Box

 

CAMS: The movie features many pans to show scenery. Bird Box also likes to use close-up and extreme close-ups to show the morphing of the character's eyes when they see the "monster". This movie also uses wide shots to show the aftermath of the "monster" hitting initially. Then it is followed by low angles to show bodies on the ground and how lifeless the scene is after disaster hits. Medium close-ups and close-ups are used to show reaction especially fear. Throughout the film, they use a POV shot where the camera is covered with a blindfold. Over the shoulder, shots were also prevalent throughout to show vulnerable conversations between people. Lastly, throughout the film, they cut back to the river with an aerial shot to show how long the journey is on the river.

CLAMPS: Costumes are normal everyday clothing but some people are highlighted in a more blue-toned outfit to show the significance of their characters. Lighting is very bright because the outside is very important to highlight as it accounts for all the deaths in the movie. Actors are all very diverse with different personalities to show the end of the world unlikely opportunity that these people would ever meet. Makeup is very natural or in the later scenes they emphasize how dirty the people are from being out on their own for so long. Props include blindfolds as they hold a deep significance to the plot. Additionally, there are other normal survival props for the plight they face in the movie. The setting is barren California with some post-apocalyptic houses and other infrastructure.

Sound: This movie featured many examples of diegetic sound in outside scenes like wind, leaves rustling and water rushing down a river. Non-diegetic sounds are also featured like a whispering noise that is supposed to represent the presence of the "monster" in the film. In addition, birds chirping are also a significant part of the plot where if the birds go crazy with shrieks then the "monster" is present. The dialogue was used throughout this movie to illustrate the disagreements, pain, and spread of ideas in the midst of a disaster.

Editing: Bird Box is full of many abrupt cuts between shots to add suspense and speed in scenes of action. This movie also features added text during the river shots to show how much time has passed. In the middle of the plot, they used a cross cut-in to show what's happening on the river and related activities in the past. Cut-aways show the build-up during the rapids scene.

Elements of the genre:  This movie is considered a thriller because, it displays scenes of action, drama, and fear. This movie shows characters to you and makes you close to them as they face the perils of this unknown "monster". Bird Box gives the audience a sense of uncertainty as the plot unfolds. There are aspects of terror and tension with certain scenes that are compensated by sweeter and more vulnerable scenes for character development.

Things I liked: I enjoyed this movie very much as I felt it was unconventionally quaint. As horrible as some of the scenes were with graphic tragedies the movie stilled ended with a happy and hopeful ending even though the main character truly went through it all and lost so much. I also enjoyed the cinematography of some of the shots with how beautiful they were. No shot was too over the top as it was simple but showed the truth to the characters shown. Finally, I enjoyed that they never showed the “monster” which added to its mystery and terror because you can never fully understand it’s capabilities. 

Things I didn't like: I did not enjoy some of the decisions the character's made in the plot as I felt they would've learned their lesson with some of the previous tragedies experienced. In the end, I feel that this was more of a personal issue and the directors added things like this to frustrate the audience in the spirit of a true thriller.