Summary
In many ways, Bird Box: Barcelona is a better movie. It expands on the dystopian nightmare and offers more details about the terrifying creatures, all while still keeping the mystery going.
Here is our review of the 2023 Netflix film Bird Box Barcelona, which does not contain spoilers.
A spin-off to Sandra Bullock’s 2018 hit horror flick, Bird Box: Barcelona, tells a story of the terrifying invasion of unseen creatures from a European perspective.
Written and directed by Álex and David Pastor, the film is a multi-lingual exploration of grief, religion, and redemption.
Bird Box Barcelona Review and Plot Summary
Set in the titular Spanish city, the movie opens with Sebastián (Mario Casas) and his young daughter, Anna (Alejandra Howard), enjoying a rare moment of joy among the dystopian wreckage of the city.
Not long after, the pair is attacked and robbed by a group of blind people. An injured Sebastian leaves his daughter behind to seek shelter and medical assistance with a group of survivors.
READ: Is Bird Box Barcelona a sequel to Bird Box?
Within the first 15 minutes of the movie, we get the film’s big twist. It works well at shifting the tone and establishing that Bird Box: Barcelona is more than just a rehash of Sandra Bullock’s highly successful original. There’s more to the father-daughter duo than meets the eye.
Sebastian does eventually come across a group of survivors, and they all decide to go on a dangerous trek to a potentially safe space. Among them are British psychiatrist Claire (played by Barbarian’s Georgina Campbell) and her protege Sofia (Naila Schuberth), a young German girl who got separated from her mother when the creatures first attacked.
Other survivors include Octavio (Diego Calva) and the old married couple Isabel (Lola Dueñas) and Roberto (Gonzalo de Castro).
Leonardo Sbaraglia plays Father Esteban, a priest who’s among the few who can see the creatures without hurting himself. And he believes it is his mission to ensure everyone else gets to experience sight.
Like the original Bird Box, the movie takes place in two timelines, nine months apart. In flashbacks, we see what happened to Sebastian in the immediate aftermath of the creature’s arrival.
The cast ensemble is not as Hollywood flashy as in the first film. Instead, this movie features some respected and up-and-coming International actors. Watching them use several different languages to communicate in the remnants of a known multicultural city adds a terrifying level of realism to the film.
There’s also more to the story. Where Bird Box explored survival and motherhood, its spin-off takes a look at blind faith and grief. We get to see more from the perspective of those who don’t instantly take themselves out after seeing the mysterious creature, and the film asks poignant questions about personal responsibility and autonomy.
Is Bird Box Barcelona good or bad?
It’s hard not to compare the 2023 Bird Box with the one released 5 years ago. In many ways, Bird Box: Barcelona is a better movie.
It expands on the dystopian nightmare and offers more details about the terrifying creatures, all while still keeping the mystery going.
Is Bird Box Barcelona worth watching?
Whether you’ve seen the first film or not, Bird Box Barcelona works just as well as a continuation of the original and as a stand-alone Spanish horror film.
It’s scary, thought-provoking, and features just enough gore to keep things interesting.
What did you think of the 2023 Netflix film Bird Box Barcelona? Comment below.
