Bird Box

The movie begins as a woman named Malorie  Hayes gathers her children and informs them   that they are going out on a journey. The  2 children, whom she calls girl and boy,   quietly listen as Malorie explains that  they will be rowing through a river for   several days. The plan is to reach a secluded  house in the forest, where they can meet other   ‘friends’. But there’s one catch. During the  entire trip, they will be wearing blindfolds,   and if the children take it off, even by mistake,  they will be in trouble. After the instructions,   Malorie leads them outside, whilst being  blindfolded. She also brings along her   pet birds. Soon, they reach the bank of a  river, where a boat is waiting for them.   Malorie tosses it into the river, jumps  in with the kids, and begins the journey. Following this, the movie flashes back to five  years in the past. Malorie is an aspiring artist   who is 8 months pregnant. She recently  got divorced and is still struggling to   cope up with the post breakup stress. One  day, as she is busy painting, her sister;   Jessica arrives with some news. She mentions  that while she was at the department store,   everyone was stocking up on groceries as  the ‘thing’ is approaching them. Malorie,   who has been disconnected from the world  after her divorce, is unaware of it. So,   she turns on the TV. To her surprise, all the  news channels are reporting about a mysterious   outbreak that has ravaged parts of Eastern Europe.  The symptoms of the virus are very strange. Anyone   infected will immediately want to commit the  unthinkable. The virus apparently takes control   of their brain and turns them into monsters.  However, Malorie doesn’t take it seriously,   thinking that the outbreak is far from the US.  After a while, Jessica takes her to the doctor. At the hospital, the family physician; Dr. Laphan  conducts some tests on Malorie and inquires if she   is ready to be a parent. Malorie hesitates for  a moment before saying ‘yes’. On the way back,   she witnesses a strange sight. A woman is  continuously slamming her head on the glass   pane. This makes Malorie realize that the outbreak  from Europe has arrived in the States. So, she   rushes outside and explains to Jessica that they  have to get home immediately. However, by the time   they prepare to leave, pandemonium has already  set in. Hundreds of people have become infected,   and are attempting to end themselves one way or  another. Cars are colliding, people are falling,   and other shocking events are taking place.  Jessica steers her car through the chaos and it   appears as if they will reach home. But suddenly,  her eyes become still, and she starts staring into   something only she can see. Malorie tries her  best to bring Jessica back to awareness but to   no avail. The next second, the car gets involved  in a deadly accident. The sisters somehow manage   to escape unharmed but unfortunately Jessica,  who is still in shock, commits the unthinkable. Malorie doesn’t even have time to mourn as  by this time, the city has turned into some   sort of a warzone. People are dying left,  right and center. Malorie tries following   some people to safety but she trips and  falls to the ground. Seeing her struggle,   a woman leaves her residence and tries to help  Malorie, despite her husband protesting against   it. Unfortunately, her decision turns out to  be fatal, as the evil entity possesses her.   The woman stares at the invisible entity for a  while and then walks inside a burning car. Soon,   it explodes, killing her on the spot.  Following the horrific encounter,   Malorie is finally helped up and rushed into the  house by a man named Tom. There are several people   inside the house including the owner; Greg,  his friend; Douglas and Machine Gun Kelly. In the next scene, everyone gathers in the main  room and discusses the supernatural entity that   has been wreaking havoc throughout the world.  A grocery store worker; Charley, theorizes that   it is the end of the world, while others believe  that it is an act of God. At this point though,   everyone is aware that the entity is untouchable  and that staring at it will result in their   demise. Meanwhile, Tom consoles Malorie, who  is still distraught over the untimely demise   of her sister. An hour ago, she was living  a happy life, free of problems and stress,   but now, the world around her has turned upside  down. Later, the entire group gets together and   boards up all the doors and windows. They  want to make sure that no one peeks outside. In the present, Malorie and her kids have  been on the boat for six hours now. At times,   they cover themselves with a blanket so  that they can take off their blindfolds.   Malorie tries her walkie talkie  to check if someone’s nearby,   but all she can hear is the  invisible entity whispering her name. Back to the past, Malorie and the other survivors  have started co-existing in the house. One day,   a survivor named Olympia arrives at the door  and begs to be allowed inside. Douglas refuses,   but the others eventually persuade him  to let her in. When Olympia enters,   it is revealed that she is also pregnant. Later, Greg comes up with an idea. He decides  to inspect the CCTV cameras to see what's going   on outside. The others are skeptical about  the idea, but none of them object. Soon,   Greg sits in front of his computer  and observes the footage. Suddenly,   he notices something and instantly freezes.  It appears as if the entity has possessed him. After a while, the others hear a loud bang  from his room, and when they rush to inspect,   they find Greg lying in his own pool  of blood. This makes them realize that   the entity can possess them even via the  computer, so they destroy it immediately. In the present, it’s been 14 hours since the  family has been rowing in the river. Suddenly,   Malorie hears a man’s voice, saying it’s okay  to take off her blindfolds. Realizing that the   person might be infected, she orders the children  to stay low and keep their blindfolds on. Soon,   the voice, which appears to be coming closer,  mentions that he has food. He also claims   to have seen the entity, which he describes as  ‘friendly’. Just then, he lunges towards the boat,   but Malorie is prepared. She strikes  him with a machete and finishes him off. In the next scene, we are again taken to the past,   where the group has run out of food. Since  help is unlikely to arrive, Malorie, Tom,   and a few others decide to travel to a  nearby department store, where Charlie   used to work. They cover the car windows  with black paint and use GPS to direct them. In the midst of their journey, the GPS begins  to beep violently, indicating that the entity   is nearby. However, Tom manages to get them  out of harm's way, and into the store. The   group immediately rushes inside and stocks up on  whatever they can get their hands on. Meanwhile,   Malorie notices some pet birds and decides to take  them home. The group is almost done scavenging   when suddenly, a guy starts screaming from the  freezer. He mentions that he has been trapped   inside here for days, and food is running out. Tom  and the others buy his story and open the door,   and at the same time, the birds start making  noise. It seems as if they can sense the possessed   people nearby. The man inside the freezer  suddenly changes his behavior and starts acting   like a demon. Tom and the others try to hold him  inside, but the man seems to be just too powerful.   Realizing that everyone will die if he comes out,  Charlie sacrifices himself to rescue the others. That night, as Malorie and Douglas are discussing  in the kitchen, they hear a noise from the   garage. Unfortunately, Machine Gun Kelly and his  girlfriend have escaped with their only vehicle. Back in the present, the family has spent  24 hours on the river. Malorie has become   so tired that she ends up colliding  the boat against an old truck. This   results in the boy tumbling into the river,  along with all their supplies. Fortunately,   Malorie rescues the boy, and  docks the boat near a shore. She then warns the children to stay put before  heading inside the woods to look for supplies.   Using a thin rope, she locates an abandoned  hospital, where she collects some food items   and clothes. As Malorie hurries outside the  building, the entity can be heard calling her   name. Meanwhile at the shore, the little girl  becomes anxious, as it has been an hour since   her mom left. So, she disobeys Malorie’s order  and heads inside the jungle to search for her.   Unfortunately, the entity starts talking to her,  suggesting she remove her blindfold and see the   green forest. The little girl becomes convinced,  but right before she can do it, Malorie arrives   and takes her away. Together, the three then  get on the boat and resume their journey. In the next scene, Olympia allows a suspicious  looking man named Gary inside the house. The   others are livid that she took the decision  without consulting with anyone. Nonetheless,   they examine Gary and let him stay. After  a while, he claims that there are other   people outside, who are not wearing  blindfolds. They have somehow learned   to co-exist with the entity. Everyone  trusts him except the old man; Douglas,   who brings out his gun and asks him to leave.  However, he is quickly subdued when Greg’s mom;   Cheryl, knocks him out with a vase. The  group then locks Douglas in the garage. Afterwards, Olympia profusely apologizes for  causing all the trouble and being a burden,   but Malorie reassures her that she did  nothing wrong. As the two pregnant women bond,   they promise to look after their  children in the event that one of   them dies. Malorie even gifts Olympia a  Hello Kitty toy as a baby shower gift. In the present, the little girl is holding the  same toy, which reveals that she is Olympia’s   daughter. Malorie wraps herself and the kids  in a blanket as they approach the rapids,   warning them that this will be the most dangerous  part of the journey. She then mentions that one   of them will have to remove their blindfold and  navigate the way. Both the innocent kids want to   volunteer but Malorie is caught in a dilemma.  She is not ready to give up on either of them,   so after a bit of consideration,  Malorie decides that no one will look;   they will simply battle the rapids  and let God decide their fate. Back in the past, both Malorie and Olympia  have gone into labor at the same time. While   Tom and Cheryl assist the women upstairs,  the suspicious man; Gary, is doing something   creepy downstairs. He brings out his collection  of monster drawings, revealing that he is also   possessed. It turns out his main agenda to arrive  here is to infect the others. He is one of the   few messengers of the entity. To begin with,  he puts Malorie’s birds in the refrigerator,   so that they don’t warn the others. Then, Gary  starts tearing off the newspapers from the window. Meanwhile, Olympia gives birth to a girl  and Malorie to a boy, making everyone happy.   Unfortunately, the happiness is short lived  as Gary barges into the room and raises the   window shades. Malorie quickly looks away  but Olympia is not so lucky. She becomes   possessed and decides to commit the unthinkable  from the window. But before she can do so,   she somehow hands over her daughter to  Malorie. After she dies, the old woman;   Cheryl, is forced to open her eyes,  and she too, dies a painful death. Just then, Douglas arrives with his gun  and manages to shoot Gary in the arm. The   two tussle for a while, but in the end,  Douglas is also terminated. Fortunately,   before the freak can kill more people, Tom  finishes him off with the help of his gun. Now,   it is just him, Malorie and the children left. Five years pass by, and the four have been living  in a secluded house in the woods. Even the birds   are alive and well. They have been away from the  evils of the city and the children have become   used to the new environment. However, they  still don’t have any names. Tom criticizes   Malorie for the same, but she believes  that it is not a priority now. One day,   they hear some noise outside, and on checking,  find a bunch of infected people in cars,   looking for the uninfected. This makes the couple  realize that even this house is unsafe to live in. That night, as they are sleeping, Malorie’s  walkie talkie suddenly comes to life. A man   by the name of Rick starts speaking from the  other side. He claims to be in a secure complex   with lots of supplies and food. However,  reaching there will not be an easy task.   Rick explains that they will have to travel along  the river for several hours, while battling the   dangerous rapids. Before hanging up, he makes two  things clear. The river is not safe for children,   and the birds are key to finding the complex. The next morning, the couple discusses the  matter. Tom wants to visit the compound,   but Malorie is skeptical. After the last incident  with Gary, she does not want to believe anyone. The same day, as the couple is scavenging at  a nearby house, the infected people again show   up. Realizing that they don’t have enough time,  Tom urges Malorie to take the children and go,   while he takes care of the problem. The  latter is almost brought to tears, but she   agrees for the safety of the children. After a  while, Malorie packs her belongings and leaves   with the children through the back door while Tom  grabs a gun and goes to face the infected people. He takes down a few of them, before getting shot  himself. So, in order to finish them all off,   Tom decides to take off his blindfold.  Once he does, he turns into a monster   and eliminates all the people one by  one. Then, he commits the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Malorie and the kids reach home. There,   she starts briefing them about their  journey, as shown at the start of the movie. In the present, it’s been 42 hours and  they have finally reached the deadly   rapids. Malorie tries her best to navigate  through the waves but the boat capsizes and   everyone tumbles out. Fortunately, she is able  to grab her kids and reach the shore, unharmed. Following this, the three slowly start walking  through the woods. The entity also appears in   its invisible form, and tries to manipulate  Malorie and the children into opening their   blindfolds. However, they ignore him completely,  and instead follow the sound of the birds. Soon,   they reach a large compound, and Malorie starts  banging on the door like a maniac. Fortunately,   someone opens it and lets them in after  confirming that they are not infected. Inside, they finally meet Rick, who explains  that the compound used to be a school for   the blind. That’s why the people here were  never infected. Dr. Laphan is also there,   who approaches Malorie and congratulates her for  having such cute children. She asks their name,   and after a bit of thinking, Malorie  says ‘Olympia’ and ‘Tom’. The movie   ends as she opens her bird  box and lets out the birds.