“Don’t believe the lukewarm reviews”: the viral horror movie that riveted Stephen King
Many horror fans would be more than happy to follow Stephen King’s viewing suggestions over anything a film critic might have to say. As the pre-eminent horror writer of his generation and all-around expert on the genre, his two cents go much further than the average movie reviewer, even when his sentiments directly contradict the critical consensus.
King’s taste in horror movies hasn’t always been in lock-step with most movie-viewing public. He’s a huge fan of the 1999 Jaws knockoff The Deep Blue Sea, for example, and has repeatedly praised the little-known horror flick The Autopsy of Jane Doe as one of the greatest horror movies ever made.
One of the films he’s willing to defend to the hilt was neither a creature feature nor an under-the-radar gem that needed digging up. It’s Netflix’s 2018 hit Bird Box. Directed by Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, it stars Sandra Bullock as a mother trying to save herself and two children from a mysterious force that causes everyone who looks at it to commit suicide.
It became almost immediately controversial after its release. Some reviews criticised it for stigmatising mental illness, particularly through the plot line that villainises patients of mental institutions who are set free to help the monster kill off the rest of the population. Even more concerning, however, was that the popularity of the film prompted people to attempt the so-called “Bird Box challenge” in which they emulated the main characters by blindfolding themselves and attempting to do basic tasks. Trying to tie your shoes is one thing, but driving a car, as one YouTube star did, is another thing entirely. Netflix eventually issued a plea for viewers to stop participating in the challenge, though not before the media had done a fair bit of hand-wringing.
In addition to the very real public health fallout from the film, the critical consensus was ambivalent to negative. Many griped about the two-plus hour runtime, while others complained that, despite a promising premise and strong performances, it fell apart in the final act. Stephen King wasn’t interested in the poor reception. As far as he was concerned, it was worth all the hype.
Writing on X (then known as Twitter), the author said, “I was absolutely riveted by Bird Box (Netflix). Don’t believe the lukewarm reviews, which may in part have been caused by reviewers’ ambivalence to the streaming platform, as opposed to theatrical releases.”
He may have had a point. That year, the increasing number of major releases that went straight to streaming platforms became a topic of heated debate. Most of the controversy revolved around Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, which was wildly popular among critics but which some filmmakers argued should not be eligible for Academy Award nominations because of its vanishingly brief theatrical release.
Since that debate began, however, Netflix has received no fewer than 150 Oscar nominations for movies it either streamed, distributed, or produced, and won 23 of them. The debate, whether Stephen Spielberg likes it or not, is over. Whether Bird Box holds up to scrutiny now that the controversy around Netflix’s distribution has been put to rest is less clear.
