Netflix’s Bird Box Barcelona follows a father and his daughter navigating the empty dystopia that came about after humanity is decimated by invisible creatures.
Story
Sebastian and his daughter Anna make their way through the dystopian cityscape of Barcelona after a mysterious race of creatures has decimated humanity. They find a group of survivors and Sebastian goes to see if they’re good people or not.
He meets them and all and mixes seemingly well, while Anna remains outside, waiting, as told to by Sebastian. The father later wakes up and takes a drastic decision, shocking and terrifying the survivors with his identity, before most of them meet tragic fates.
Sebastian then fixes his gaze on another individual survivor, but as he sneaks up on her, he’s surprised by the rest of her teammates, including the dogs. He feigns innocence and manages to convince them to let him join their group. At their refuge, he meets a little German girl Sofia.
He knows German, and so he has something to contribute as others there don’t know the language. He asks Sofia about how she ended up there and she tells them all about her mother and how she got separated from her. She also tells them about this safe place up the Montjuïc Castle that they were heading towards.
The group of survivors decide to migrate to Montjuïc and Sebastian puts on his saboteur hat once again. His actions lead to the survivors dropping out one by one until only Claire and Sofia are left, with the former learning about Sebastian’s real identity.
Meanwhile, Sebastian has a breakthrough as his faith in who he considers angels is diminished, with the fog in his mind in the form of his daughter dissipating. He decides to save Sofia and Claire and does so by fighting off the priest who once crossed paths with Sebastian and took away from him someone he loved most dearly.
While Sebastian makes a sacrifice, Claire takes Sofia to safety. They arrive at Montjuïc and Sofia is reunited with her mother. Claire learns from the people there about people like Sebastian and how they’re working with their DNA to hopefully develop immunity against the creatures.
Performances
Mario Casas renders a beautiful performance of a father driven blind by the grief he’s suffered at the hands of inexplicable forces and manipulated humans.
He commits horrible acts but there’s always a glimmer of sorrow in him and even if his devotion may come across as sadistic glibness, one must not conflate the two. He’s tortured through a traumatic incident that makes him vulnerable to manipulation.
Doing the bidding of the creatures, dwelling on the past, mistaking manipulation for the messianic mission, defying his hallucinations, and gaining redemption are all that Casas does a great job portraying.
Georgina Campbell isn’t given much to do and the writing for her character is far less compelling. And yet, Campbell manages to do good with what few scraps she’s given.
Naila Schuberth as Sofia is believable, as is Alejandra Howard as Anna. The two children actors do their level best and deliver strong performances.
Positives
Bird Box Barcelona expands upon the world of its original and the elements involved in this expansion are all fascinating to watch, even if most of them arrive at the very end.
Sebastian’s manipulation produces visions that align with his religious beliefs, which at the start of the film make for some cool visuals, as the creature being Seraph seems right up that fantasy horror alley.
Negatives
The sequences in Bird Box Barcelona seem repetitive, especially how Sebastian goes to one group of survivors, wreaks havoc, and then to another and wreaks similar havoc there, but it becomes a problem only because these sequences take so long to unfold.
The flashback sequences also seem stretched out and the key highlights could have easily made for one single flashback later on, instead of dispersing it throughout the runtime.
It makes little sense as there’s no mystery or suspense there. The developments and revelations are all so easily predictable, as the film works with all too familiar beats and storylines.
Verdict
Bird Box Barcelona builds on the world created by its original while its familiar tropes and predictable developments drag the story down. There are moments of intrigue and effective imagery, but the film also looks away from the horror and hence deprives the audience the dread of the unknown as well.
Bird Box Barcelona
Director: Álex Pastor David Pastor
Date Created: 2023-07-14 12:30
2.5
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