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S2:E13 - Bird Box (2018 Film)
18 Plays3 days ago
In the kickoff to our MAYhem theme, we’re blindfolding our fears and diving headfirst into Bird Box – both the 2014 novel by Josh Malerman and the 2018 Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock. We break down what worked, what differed, and what absolutely wrecked us emotionally. Whether you love psychological thrillers, survival horror, or just Sandra Bullock in a blindfold rowing a canoe, this one’s for you.
Hosted by Lindsey with co-hosts Crystal and Keri.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
Question of the Episode:
- Would you rather live in a world where you can’t open your eyes or one where you can’t close them?
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Intro/Outro Music - Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!)
Thanks for listening to Based on a Book - see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:52) Ratings
(09:50) Book vs. Movie Breakdown (SPOILERS)
(57:53) Final Verdicts
(1:01:37) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction & Book Overview
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Based on a Book, the podcast where we read it, we watch it, and then we try to survive talking about it. I'm Lindsay, and if this podcast were a post-apocalyptic journey, I'd be the one insisting we stop for snacks.
00:00:22
Speaker
I'm k Crystal, I'm klutzy with both eyes open. And I'm Carrie, and curiosity would 100% the end of me. This month, we're diving into stories full of danger, destruction, and a little bit of mayhem.
Premise & Themes of Bird Box
00:00:39
Speaker
Starting with a tale that dares to ask, can you survive the end of the world without ever opening your eyes? In this episode, we'll be covering the 2014 post-apocalyptic horror novel, Bird Box, by Josh Mallerman, which is his debut novel, and its 2018 Netflix adaptation starring Sandra Bullock.
00:01:04
Speaker
So... Bird Box poses the question, what happens when the scariest things aren't the monsters you see, but the ones you can't? And in a world where simply seeing the wrong thing can drive you to madness and death, survival depends on one terrifying rule.
00:01:24
Speaker
Don't look. When an unseen force decimates the global population, Mallory must navigate a post-apocalyptic world blindfolded to stay alive. With two children in tow, and danger lurking around every corner, both seen and unseen, she embarks on a harrowing journey towards safety and relying solely on her instincts, her will to survive, and sheer determination.
Host Ratings & First Impressions
00:01:52
Speaker
So i want to go ahead and get into ratings. Carrie, I know this was a reread for you. So I'm going to start with Crystal. You're only saying that because you you have no idea what I'm going to say.
00:02:05
Speaker
It's true. It's true. You're like, she's going to hate this. She was scared. The mom and her hated the story. The mom and me loved this story. ah This is a solid four and a half tipped over canoes for me. Ooh.
00:02:20
Speaker
Yep. I'm excited. Yeah. Carrie? I gave this four bells, which actually, when I first, when I read this the first time, old Carrie had no idea what she was talking about.
00:02:38
Speaker
but All right. And you know, I always say I never changed my rating from my previous rating. We don't know her. We don't know her. Never seen her.
00:02:49
Speaker
Don't know her. She gave it a three. And I don't agree with her. But listened to the audio. I think at the time when I originally read it, I watched the movie and then immediately read it.
00:03:04
Speaker
At that time, that may have affected my rating. This time, read it, watched the movie. And it had been a really long time since I'd watched the movie.
00:03:16
Speaker
I really, really enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook. It's narrated by Cassandra Campbell. I thought it was really good. I loved it. That's awesome. I'm so excited.
00:03:27
Speaker
I originally watched the movie when it came out, but this was my first time reading it. So I actually gave 4.5 survival rules. Oh, wow.
00:03:39
Speaker
Lindsay's coming back. She Lindsay's coming back with the books. I was nervous. I went into this super blind. Not only had I not read it or watched it, I literally had no idea what
Book vs Movie: Tension & Suspense
00:03:51
Speaker
it was about. i knew there was a Netflix movie.
00:03:53
Speaker
I knew Sandra Bullock was in it. I knew she wore a blindfold. That is all I know. Because remember, like, the promos for it were just, like, her in the boat. So, like, I didn't know there were kids involved. I didn't know there were...
00:04:04
Speaker
I don't know, creatures involved. I didn't know anything. All I knew was Sandra Bullock wears a blindfold. And so this was like a like full on, I had no spoilers. I had no idea. I didn't read the back of the book first, nothing.
00:04:20
Speaker
And i was really thrilled by the suspense building in this book because it's not the kind of suspense that like leaves you like freaked out that the the you know chainsaw massacre is behind you or anything. it's It's just creepy. It's just slow building tension.
00:04:43
Speaker
And it's written so well. First, as someone born and raised in Michigan, um the author Josh is from Michigan as well. So loved that.
00:04:55
Speaker
Also, the places in the book are places that i know of. So that makes it, you know, i love that. But the seriously, the tension in this book is top notch.
In-depth Story Analysis
00:05:06
Speaker
Absolutely top notch. Having seen the movie before and then reading the book, I was still nervous for for how they were going get from point A to point B. Like I knew the ending. I knew it. But I was like, oh my God, what's going to happen? already know.
00:05:19
Speaker
Literally have chills right now because I'm just thinking about it, just talking about it. the suspense building in this book, like you said, Lindsay, and this was a reread and a rewatch for me.
00:05:33
Speaker
And I, at the time I had watched it multiple times. Cause I remember when it first came out, I watched it and then I watched it like two more times immediately because I was like, you guys got to see this movie. And I had watched it with like different people at different times.
00:05:47
Speaker
And it still had the same effect as like seeing it and reading it for the first time. yeah, I mean, that's a pretty damn damn good book to me. Absolutely.
00:05:59
Speaker
I read the the physical paperback. And I think after hearing you say that you listen to the audio, i might I might go back and do that at some point. Yeah. The narration is excellent, in my opinion. I think it's really good.
00:06:12
Speaker
I do think it's interesting that this book, it was written. i think the author kind of like notes on this. I don't know if you guys remember this, but the movie, The Happening.
00:06:24
Speaker
Yes. That came out. It was scary. I didn't see it. yeah like come long Is it? I think so. It has like Mark Wahlberg in Dichanel. Yeah. It kind of has the same elements. Yeah.
00:06:38
Speaker
as This is a very much an M. Night Shyamalan story. Yeah. It has the same elements where it's like this thing in the air that they don't understand that's making them do something similar that's happening in Bird Box.
00:06:55
Speaker
And I think he's the author talks about they were writing this rough draft of this book while that movie came out. So I think it's like very bizarre that these concepts are very similar. i think though that we saw a lot of that happening, honestly, like post nine eleven when you think about a lot of the unseen threats that we have, like thinking of leave the world behind, thinking of, you know,
00:07:25
Speaker
What's the one that we read? but ma The Max Booth or whatever. Yeah, we have to do something. There you go. Like all these unseen threat type stories.
00:07:37
Speaker
You know, I like those so much better than a slasher, than a gory. like the ah And honestly, considering there's a crap ton of blindfolds in this story, the more I don't see...
00:07:52
Speaker
Usually the more I'm going to like it like I like that unknown. That suspenseful. That kind of creepy. it's That's the spooky stuff that I'm into.
00:08:02
Speaker
So this is... I'm... I'm so excited, Lindsay. You're doing so much better with that. Just do it. to Are you thinking back to the ruins? Well, wait a minute. I'm just kidding.
00:08:17
Speaker
just Just one bad one recently. The rest have been great. That one wasn't terrible. My peak. It's going to all go downhill from here.
00:08:29
Speaker
oh my god no i really enjoyed it i do want to point out this is sandra bullock's first horror movie since the vanishing in 1993 because apparently she doesn't like horror movies so that's my girl i think she did amazing think she did so good this is another one those though where the cast was Interesting.
00:08:54
Speaker
it was really, honestly, I was kind of excited by the cast. like Because I did, I had, again, I went in blind, I had no idea. And there were a lot of bigger names in here that I did not expect.
00:09:09
Speaker
hu Or at least recognizable. So, no yeah. The movie was also scored by Trent Reznor. We got another one. You can tell, and it's really good. He also said that he felt like scoring the movie was a waste of time because they mixed the music so low you couldn't hear it.
00:09:25
Speaker
so Yeah. Sounds about see that, yeah. ah But before we get into it, was there anything else we wanted to bring up? No. i'm I'm ready to dive into this because I'm excited. Mm-hmm.
00:09:42
Speaker
All right, listeners, this is your final warning. Just like Mallory and Bird Box, you do not want to accidentally stumble into unknown territory unprepared because from this point forward, spoilers are lurking in the shadows.
00:09:56
Speaker
We're about to dive into every twist, every unsettling moment, and yes, even that ending. So if you haven't read the book or watched the movie, now's the time to pause, blindfold yourself from spoilers, and come back when you're ready.
Spoilers & Apocalyptic Setup
00:10:11
Speaker
And as always, this is a Lindsay episode, and it wouldn't be a Lindsay episode without a novel's worth of content trigger warnings. Absolutely. no Both the book and the movie contain depictions of suicide, mental illness, and psychological trauma.
00:10:30
Speaker
There's also scenes involving violence, death, child endangerment, animal death, and childbirth under extreme stress. Sensory deprivation and claustrophobic moments are also key elements of this story.
00:10:45
Speaker
If any of these topics are sensitive for you, please take care while listening and feel free to skip this episode if needed. Your well-being always comes first.
00:10:57
Speaker
And I don't know why I continue to cover these adaptations where the movie changes so much from the source material. know. As we were going through and I was watching the movie and characters were changing and I was thinking of how the ruins was. was like, poor Lindsay.
00:11:15
Speaker
They couldn't even keep the character names the same. No, they could not. Nope. So we're going to try to break both stories down and discuss the differences between the two.
00:11:29
Speaker
We're going to open in a bleak post-apocalyptic present time. Mallory is preparing to take two young children, boy and girl, on a dangerous journey down a river in a rowboat.
00:11:45
Speaker
Her instructions are clear. Do not remove your blindfolds. Not ever. If you do, you die. That's where both the book and the movie begin. It's a desperate moment of escape, blindfolded against some invisible horror.
00:12:05
Speaker
But now we're going to rewind to five years earlier. Which is how this book and movie, like how it starts. Yeah. So like, so good.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yeah. I cannot physically express how good it is. Because you're just like, what is happening? what And the I love when a book does that.
00:12:27
Speaker
Like, just throw me in and like start me off with like, like a freaking... clusterfuck basically but especially going in blind yeah yeah that's what i want i want that especially in like a horror novel or like if you could call this a horror i'm assuming this is a horror novel maybe yeah yeah horror suspense yeah threat thriller i just really loved how the book and the movie go back and forth from like present time to the past to show us how we got to present time i think it was done so well
00:13:05
Speaker
I agree. yeah Yeah, definitely. Like how we're going between them. There is an urgency in the present. Something bad is happening. And we are at our last resort between only but one person and two kids.
00:13:26
Speaker
Yep. And that's it. And then we go back and we have like a bunch of other characters, different circumstances. i just I love that because we're now we're trying to connect. Okay, but how did we get to this point?
00:13:40
Speaker
Even knowing... even knowing When you're in present day, you see who is present in present day and you're like, what's going to happen? Yeah. Go back to the past. We ah have all these people. What's going to happen? Yeah.
00:13:54
Speaker
Especially the two kids, the two kids part. Oh my gosh. I love that. I just love it. that i was like on the edge of my seat about that. She leaves with two kids and then we flash back to five years ago or six years ago. i can't remember.
00:14:10
Speaker
And she's pregnant. But that's all we really know. Yeah. um So in the movie, Mallory is a somewhat reluctant mom to be.
00:14:23
Speaker
And she is visited by her sister, Jessica, in the movie. yeah A news report warns of mass suicide sweeping through Europe and Asia.
00:14:36
Speaker
But like many Americans in a horror story, they brush it off. and In the book, things feel even more isolated. Mallory is actually already living with her sister, Shannon.
00:14:48
Speaker
And the strange suicides feel more like more like a whisper than a scream at first. But both versions escalate quickly until the horror is literally outside their front door.
00:15:02
Speaker
And in the movie, Jessica, played by Sarah Paulson, I was like, oh that's when you know it's going to be good. Oh, I know. That's how you know it's going to be a good horror movie. Yeah.
00:15:13
Speaker
ah But she sees something in the movie. And in this moment, she just calmly walks into traffic.
00:15:25
Speaker
we don't We have no idea what's going on. Yeah. And before that, in the movie, they're in the hospital and they see someone like smashing their head into like a window.
00:15:36
Speaker
And it's like, it goes from in the movie compared to the book, which I get why, you know, we got to speed things along in the movie because we're trying to make it super fast paced.
00:15:48
Speaker
yeah It went from zero to a hundred. Absolutely. and the movie. And I feel like in the book, that build of like, we heard there was something happening in Russia. Yeah. And then we slowly hear more stories about it it spreading to other parts of Asia and Europe.
00:16:08
Speaker
And then there's the we hear about there's a case in Alaska. That's And they're worried, like the the sisters, you know, Mallory and her sister are worried about their their parents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
00:16:18
Speaker
i think the movie takes place in California. Yes. um But in the book, it's in Michigan. So they're worried about the Upper Peninsula, which is close to Canada. And so, like, they start here, you know. and so we we see that progression over the course of a couple of weeks.
00:16:32
Speaker
And then they eventually don't want to leave the house anymore and they want to stay. Exactly. And so we kind of like, we get the news talking about it and the radio station that they're listening to. It's just, it's such a slow build, but in the most like tension building sort of way, like you feel yourself.
00:16:51
Speaker
Like I couldn't put this book down because I kept like, what happens next? What's coming next? What's coming next? It's kind of like, it's, it's there. I'm almost to the the good part. There's gotta be around the corner. like that feeling of needing to know what's going to happen builds so well. i I had this read so fast.
00:17:08
Speaker
like And honestly, I was a little disappointed in the movie because it literally went from like nothing to full on creature and everyone's suiciding in the streets screaming. There wasn't a huge, giant, massive thing like that in the book. It was a slow build.
00:17:27
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it was like all of a sudden there was nothing happening and then they were hearing about it.
Character Development: Book vs Movie
00:17:34
Speaker
Then all of a sudden it was in the area and it was present and everyone, it was like pure chaos in the street. There were explosions.
00:17:42
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Like yeahp it was explosions and people screaming and... It turned into War of the Worlds. It yeah really did. It really felt like. yeah It was...
00:17:54
Speaker
Like, and I'm not going to say that the movie was bad, but that was not what I expected after having read the book. You know what i mean? like Yeah. So in the book, it's Shannon who sees the creature, ah but she sees it out of the window of their home and she takes her life in their home.
00:18:17
Speaker
ah Different scenes, same impact. Mallory is now completely alone and pregnant. but So Mallory eventually makes her way to a house with a group of strangers who've boarded up every window and established strict rules.
00:18:32
Speaker
No looking outside, ever. ah But there's basically where the book and the movie really start to part ways. Mm-hmm. Even the way that they don't look out the windows is like, in the book, they have the windows...
00:18:47
Speaker
completely like taped up and nailed up with blankets so that you can't see out at all in the movie they like close the blinds yeah you know um they did have newspaper at some point they put up newspaper yeah it was a little bit also Mallory in the book when she shows up at the house is like three months pregnant Mallory in the movie is like eight months pregnant like she got a couple of weeks you know so like the building of the relationships in the house is kind of cheapened a bit ah in the movie but again you you have to cut for time you know what i mean so i kind of get it but also that was really to me key to the story yeah i agree
00:19:34
Speaker
In the book, the safe house survivors include Tom, Jules, his dog Victor, Felix, Cheryl, Dawn, and another pregnant woman named Olympia.
00:19:48
Speaker
the movie is played by the same person who plays Dumplin' in the movie called Dumplin'. And she is a she reluctantly joins a pageant kind of as a way to like...
00:20:00
Speaker
like Proved to her mom that even big girls can be in a pageant. And it's like a joke to her. Kind of like Sandra Bullock was in Miss Congeniality. And it was not of her. It wasn't really her idea. And it was all a joke to her. So I just thought that was interesting.
00:20:14
Speaker
I really like Dumpling. and it's It's a good movie. It's also based on a book. So you might see that later. don't know the list. yeah There's even a detailed subplot about recording the creatures through a camera to view them safely.
00:20:31
Speaker
um Which, as you can guess, doesn't work. And George is the one who tries it in the book and ends up dead. and So. who In the movie, the housemates are different.
00:20:43
Speaker
um Tom is there. But. Wait, the guy who plays Tom. Oh, my God. Okay. Yeah. Oh my god. This man.
00:20:53
Speaker
i was like, I was crushing on him the entire movie. Yep. I had, but I had like the hard eyes like a cartoon the entire time. was like, oh my gosh. And then MGK would come in. and I'm give him the stink eye. I'm like, what are you doing here?
00:21:11
Speaker
go away. yeah So Tom is there, but so are Douglas, Cheryl, Charlie, Greg, Felix, who is played by Colson Baker, a.k.a. Machine Gun Kelly.
00:21:27
Speaker
Nice government name.
00:21:31
Speaker
Lucy and Olympia. She is still there. so Greg tries the surveillance camera experiment and basically meets the same fate as George.
00:21:43
Speaker
It's a major moment in both versions. It's the realization that there is no safe way to see these creatures. And your only hope is to never look at all.
00:21:54
Speaker
But this is the science part. there's Because this is a little science fiction-y, which is another reason I love it so much. Because i love that Greg or George, depending on the version...
00:22:06
Speaker
It tries to be really scientific about it. Like we know we can't look at them. Maybe we can look at them through a filter. Maybe we can look at them indirectly. Maybe we can use other tools to look at them.
00:22:17
Speaker
Because like and and legit there was a part of me that was like well they have to work with what they have. But like could they use infrared cameras? Would that have worked? Or maybe use sonar to like.
00:22:29
Speaker
tell where they are like even my science brain was like yes greg george let's figure this out and and then of course you know he comes like his first official experiment in this kills him yeah and and they stop trying after that which don't get me wrong i don't advocate for killing yourself but also Like, I was really sad to just kind of see that go.
00:22:55
Speaker
But I do love that even after that, Tom the book and in the movie was like, okay, we can't look at them. We're just going, you know, we're not even going to worry about that. We are, however, going to figure out as as many ways as we can to try to detect where they're going to be so that we can, like, make go on runs and get food. with stuff like like Tom was my dude.
00:23:17
Speaker
Yeah. And it didn't hurt that he was nice to look at. Yeah. Yeah. so I will say Sandra Bullock was 54 when she made this movie and Trevante Rhodes. Such a queen. Tom was 28. Hence the gross babysitter comment.
00:23:35
Speaker
Yeah, I get it. oh I didn't know that. Well, even she was like in like the character in the movie because he was like all flirty with her and she was like, I'm old enough to have been your babysitter. Like, uh-huh.
00:23:46
Speaker
And then he was like, my hot babysitter. And it was like, yeah, Sandra Bullock is gorgeous. Did not know she was 54 in that movie. Yeah, I did not know that. Nobody would ever have guessed that. She was playing a pregnant woman.
00:23:59
Speaker
Well, that's why when I heard that comment about her being the babysitter, I was like, what's the age difference? And I looked it up. I was like, 26 years. Are you kidding me? She's so gorgeous for her age. I wish i I like I want to look that good. I i look older than her already.
00:24:16
Speaker
I'm sorry. I was so distracted. i i had a crush. Okay. I couldn't, I didn't see anything else. I didn't hear anything. Who's Sandra Bullock? I have no idea.
00:24:28
Speaker
just see tom like clearly I was with the people I was watching with. I kept turning to them. I'm like, I have a crush on this man. i I'm Lily. A crush is activated at this moment.
00:24:39
Speaker
And I know what's going to happen to him in the end. And I'm scared. Yeah. yo
00:24:47
Speaker
There's also a scene in the movie when Charlie talks to Mallory about a book that he's writing. ah he He makes the comment, it's not one of those kids stories where they all got crossbows and they're killing each other to survive or running around some giant maze. Yeah.
00:25:05
Speaker
all Rosa Salazar plays Lucy in the movie. ah She played Brenda in the Maze Runner, the Scorch Trials, and the Death Cure. but That was really funny.
00:25:16
Speaker
That's hilarious. I liked Charlie. That was a good character. i loved him. Yeah, I don't want to talk about what happened, but... Yep. We just pretend we say that didn't happen. It's fine. Yeah, he's fine.
00:25:33
Speaker
But yeah, they, in the movie, they end up going to a grocery store. they They do a run for food and supplies.
00:25:44
Speaker
but What they do is they black out the windshield on the car. Which, honestly, this whole thing... doesn't make sense to me. feel like this could not happen. In the book, it didn't make any sense to me, right? Like, they just put bumpers on the car and, like, painted all the windows and then drove by feel and watching the odometer using a map.
Mallory's Survival Tactics
00:26:08
Speaker
In the movie, they used the GPS. Now, even, like... slightly more future technology, my car and I know a lot of other cars can, like, sense the lines the lines on the road and tell you when you're, like, out of your lane and stuff.
00:26:25
Speaker
So, like, I'm thinking that could be done, especially if you're one of the only cars out there. Well, my issue is, is that it was, like, literally – World War Z up in here.
00:26:38
Speaker
oh yeah, you're driving over bodies. Whenever we were done. Well, not only were they driving over bodies, we had cars blown up in the middle of the street. yeah Huge but like things in the middle of the street that you can't get around.
00:26:50
Speaker
Yeah, you'd have to be lucky. Things were left. yeah you You would have to be lucky. Also, and this is where like there's no GPS in the world that can help you. How did they get that car out of Maybe I believe that happened, but then back into the garage.
00:27:08
Speaker
Yeah, that's that was what I was wondering. I perfectly in that garage. They didn't bump into anything. crashed through the house. Right. I just don't believe that that's where like I'm all like, yeah, they can they can drive down post apocalyptic roads. It'd be fine. They have GPS. The car is really smart. It'll be great. But getting into the garage. No, I don't believe that.
00:27:30
Speaker
Nope. That's where you lost me. Yeah. And that parking lot looked pretty empty that they pulled into. Well, not only that, they pull into the parking lot and kind of somewhat hit a pillar.
00:27:44
Speaker
They open the doors and immediately Charlie knows where they are. Yeah. Knows where the door is. Like, you don't know where you stopped in the in the parking lot. You know you're in the parking lot. You probably can tell on the GPS how kind of how close to the building yeah you are within ah within a reasonable distance. Yeah.
00:28:01
Speaker
But you still can't tell me you know, okay, about six feet to the left is the door or whatever it was that he said. No. Yeah. No. Don't believe it. ye Yeah.
00:28:12
Speaker
I was like, I need this scene to be longer because I need you to struggle longer. Right. but i can make it delete they They needed to have to like crawl to field where the curbs were something. I needed Yeah.
00:28:25
Speaker
I wanted to see them trying to put all their groceries back into the car, into the vehicle, and the birds, all that stuff, blindfolded, honestly. yeah That's what I wanted to see.
00:28:38
Speaker
Also, they only picked up one package of diapers, and they have two pregnant women back at the house. Yep. What? Even I know that's not, like, no. They should have taken as many diapers as they could carry with them.
00:28:50
Speaker
yeah The only logical ah so explanation is that there were literally no other diapers. They got everything that was there. That would be the only excuse. That's the only excuse. oh Yeah.
00:29:02
Speaker
So they they do get to the grocery store. They find supplies. Mallory gets the birds. um Which this happens much later in the book.
00:29:14
Speaker
Unfortunately, they they do come across their first interaction with ah People who are not...
00:29:25
Speaker
Instantly deadified. Right. the They're not as affected. Exactly, yeah. By whatever creature is out there. They're untrustworthy.
00:29:37
Speaker
But they're in the freezer. Or not not the freezer, sorry, the loading dock. But Charlie knows freezer door on it. That latch. Right. Yeah. Thinking of the door and I was like, that's a freezer door. no no that's so That's a walk That's a walk in. Anybody who's worked in food service knows exactly what that was. Yeah. like that That was a walk in. Yeah. And I, I don't understand. They were like, that's the loading dock. I've never seen that kind of latch.
00:30:03
Speaker
so On an exterior door. Also loading docks usually have the like gate doors because the truck just. Sawed in the mist. Yeah. Yeah we did. That was very like a missed thing. A missed moment.
00:30:16
Speaker
missed moment. Yes.
00:30:20
Speaker
So Charlie knows the guy who is on the loading dock who's knocking on the door. He's asking for help. Tom and.
00:30:31
Speaker
I can't remember who else was there. I think it was. Lucy. Yeah, I was gonna say, I think it was the girl, other girl. And then the other dude who in the book is Don, but I don't remember if that was his name in the... He's John Malkovich. Yeah, it's John Malkovich. Let's just call him John Malkovich. Also was in Warm Bodies.
00:30:47
Speaker
Yes. There you go. Grigio. He played Grigio. ah He plays Douglas in the movie. But they hear the guy knocking on the door. Some people don't want Tom to open the door. Tom's very helpful.
00:31:02
Speaker
He opens it. Turns out the guy is... He wants to he wants everyone to see the creatures. So Charlie sacrifices himself and saves everyone. they can shove him out of the way and close the door. yeah It was very... was sad, man. It was a really sad moment.
00:31:25
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I didn't want Charlie to go. Charlie wasn't innocent. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. He was writing that book. He was just a kid. Yeah. but So they make it back to the house. Yeah.
00:31:39
Speaker
This is when they pull the car into the garage, even though they can't see. And then in the book, like I said, this happens much later. So yo you guys might have to help me remember when it happens in the book.
00:31:56
Speaker
But I want to talk about Gary. Gary. Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice. ah hu Which I literally watched the night before. right like, Mr. Collins is scary. I was like, I know that guy. Like, creeper. This This is such a major turning point in both stories, both the book and the movie.
00:32:18
Speaker
And in the book, Gary is a drifter who talks his way into the house. And I'm not going to... Okay, so I don't know if this is a hot take. Okay.
00:32:29
Speaker
Okay. But personally, and I think I would feel differently if I was like... I was by myself and I found these group of people...
00:32:40
Speaker
And somebody wanted to come into the house. And like we were with each other for a while and someone wanted to come in. I would feel very hesitant about it. I would probably struggle with letting somebody in.
00:32:53
Speaker
If I was by myself and they had let me in, I would feel like, eh, I don't know. if it was just like me and my family and like my people... people I would, like, I always say, like, end-of-the-world type scenarios like this.
00:33:10
Speaker
Like, the scenario, what's scarier than the scenario are, like, people. Yes. And what they'll do during these type of scenarios. Absolutely. And I'm sorry, I don't think I would let the man in.
00:33:25
Speaker
No, that's totally fair. i mean, in the book, Mallory shows up to the house, and those people are already living in the house, so they... they They let her in.
00:33:36
Speaker
they Of course, they're they're skeptical at first, but they let her in. And then they do the same with Olympia. She was actually a neighbor. They let her in. So they've had success so far. And then they don't really have any any bad instances of of saving people until yeah this new scary. Especially after you just witnessed what it's possibly doing to other people right in this environment i don't think i'm letting anybody else in the house yeah yeah and then in the movie so mallory shows up basically at the same time everyone else does everyone shows up at the house at the same time no one has been there that's not an established group and then olympia shows up they let her in but then they have the grocery store incident with the guy in the loading dock right bad experience
00:34:30
Speaker
But then back at the house, Gary shows up and Olympia lets him in on her own. Doesn't consult anyone. she just lets... Because she knows they're going to say no.
00:34:42
Speaker
So yeah very different experiences. I also think, though, that like in the book, we had... We didn't have the grocery store experience. But what they did have was like by the time...
Survival Challenges & Group Dynamics
00:34:56
Speaker
Mallory came, there was still radio, there was still a little bit of news, right? then when Olympia came in, they didn't have news or television or anything anymore, but they still had that one radio station with the one guy who was still going.
00:35:10
Speaker
And then they lost that guy on the radio. So now they literally have zero contact or any idea with what's going on in the outside world. And then it was like a month after that, that this Gary dude shows up.
00:35:25
Speaker
So it was like they had not had contact with any other humans for a very long time. And to me, that would have been the big difference is like at this point,
00:35:36
Speaker
The people that are surviving have already found their places to hold up, have already found them the places to be. And if you're out on your own after that point, then like i don't I don't think I would let anybody in either. I can't trust you. And legit, I would have been prepared for that.
00:35:54
Speaker
I would have had the front door, you you know, boarded if we needed to or better fortifications or – you know, some way to defend, you know, from... Because that's... And I mean, I've seen too many zombie movies or, you know, like, it's the people that are wandering around well after the fact that are people you can't trust.
00:36:16
Speaker
Yeah. And also, I would have had a conversation with everybody about if this scenario happens, what we're going to be doing about it. Also, in the book, at this point, Tom and...
00:36:29
Speaker
I think Jules had already scanned the houses in the area, because they had attempted to go out for a little bit and scan the area and did not find a single person in the area.
00:36:43
Speaker
Like had just recently done that. yeah And that's why they were hesitant about this guy because they were just like, where did he come from? Where the heck did he come from? Because we just looked around everywhere.
00:36:54
Speaker
And if you have your eyes closed, Like, you wouldn't have got here so quickly. and much I think Mallory also makes the observation that he had to have been watching the house for a little while because he didn't give up. He went to that house and was knocking on the door and knocking. It's the middle of the night. Everyone's asleep. It's not like they're up making noise or anything. He knew there were people in there.
00:37:19
Speaker
And yeah he continued to knock until someone said something. So Mallory makes observation, oh, he must have been watching because he knew we were here. Mm-hmm. Yep. another red flag.
00:37:31
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But he does insist that the creatures are a shared delusion, mass hysteria. He is connected to a man named Frank who believed that you could just open your doors and be fine.
00:37:52
Speaker
Plot twist. Gary is Frank. And he's already seen the creatures. And he's already gone completely mad. And he had been watching the house. Mm-hmm.
00:38:03
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And in the movie, Gary claims that he has escaped a group of survivors who force people to look at the creatures. And that same group is mentioned in the book, but is never shown.
00:38:19
Speaker
But still, Gary gains trust, and then then it all goes to hell. Well, and at one point in the movie, he says something similar to what the guy on the loading dock had said.
00:38:30
Speaker
And so that's when, like, what's his face? John Malkovich is kind of like, I don't know. You can see that like something clicks in his head and he's like, we got to keep an eye on this one.
00:38:44
Speaker
And so he's like, no, he has to go back. He has to leave. And so they lock John Malkovich in the garage for being an asshole. Mm-hmm. But he was right. Should have Yeah. Should listened to him. Yeah. Should have listened to him.
00:38:59
Speaker
Like, I'm sorry, but I'm not. I don't. I'm just like not letting in this man. I'm not letting him in. No. no Too late I'm sorry. but I'm sorry. No. Yeah.
00:39:11
Speaker
Like, that. That drove me so crazy. And I literally was like yelling at the team, don't let this man in. Like I remember first watching it. What are you doing? said the same thing in Pride and Prejudice. Don't let him in your house. He's weirdo.
00:39:26
Speaker
Don't let in, Mr. Collins.
00:39:31
Speaker
so in both versions olympia and mallory go into labor at the same time oh my god yes we have that trope okay but let me tell you like that's kind of a real thing as someone who has done no no have a baby thing about the scene the scene scares me yeah no no i'm not talking about that i'm i'm sure that does happen it happens all the time where women go into labor right around the same time so Oh, no, no, no. It's weird.
00:39:56
Speaker
I'm not saying that. I'm saying this scene horrifies me. This entire scene where they're trying to give birth. In the movie, both had me.
00:40:07
Speaker
The book felt more brutal. The book was much more brutal. Much more brutal. But both scenes had me just frozen. I couldn't walk away. I couldn't stop. I couldn't. I had to get through it.
00:40:23
Speaker
That was insane. it Yeah, so I'm going to talk about each each scene, the book and the movie, and we'll we'll kind of break down what makes it so terrifying in the book.
00:40:37
Speaker
Because I think it deserves to be talked about. so That was insane. But while they're giving birth, Gary reveals his true nature. And he removes the window coverings.
00:40:50
Speaker
And he opens the door. And lets the creatures in. And in both versions, people die. Horribly. um Olympia jumps to her death.
00:41:04
Speaker
ah Mallory hides with both babies. Cheryl dies. And in the book, our poor sweet Tom. like In the book, everyone except for Mallory and the babies die.
00:41:18
Speaker
um Everyone. Well, and Gary. And Gary. Yeah, he he escapes. He makes it out.
00:41:26
Speaker
But in the book, they're in the attic, which is supposed to be like this really secure place in the house. And Mallory has her back to the the door, so she can't really see what's going on. And there are people running in and out of the room.
00:41:44
Speaker
um She can hear noises. She can hear ah voices escalating. She knows what's going on. And then less people start coming in the room. And then she realizes in the darkness that someone's been standing in the corner of the attic watching them.
00:42:00
Speaker
ra Oh my god. and at this point, they had actually already kicked Gary out of the house in the book. Gary's technically gone. But Gary had made a friend...
00:42:13
Speaker
Douglas. Don? ah Whatever. I think it was Don. It was Don. Who sneaks him back in the house. yeah He was actually hiding in the basement the whole time.
00:42:24
Speaker
ah But now they're giving birth in the attic and Gary is there just hiding out. Had me messed up. As they're giving birth, hu which is, it that's different than the movie because they had already...
00:42:38
Speaker
like Everything was happening, but he wasn't up there with them until they were done giving birth. like As they're actively pushing pushing out, he is lurking and talking and about to do something.
00:42:52
Speaker
who um So it turns out Gary removed the coverings on the windows and opened the door. And he did let a creature in.
00:43:03
Speaker
And he's like buddy, buddy with this creature. He can look at it. it doesn't do anything. It doesn't bother him. um But the creature is actually in the attic with them at one point.
00:43:16
Speaker
And I have to say through the whole book, we kind of are, it's hinted at that these creatures are not malicious.
00:43:27
Speaker
They are somehow stuck over here or like our dimensions might have I don't know, gotten whatever, that they are not purposely hurting people, that they're curious, that they're interested, but they're not purposely hurting people.
00:43:44
Speaker
And so we kind of get the impression that you could be standing next to one and it's not going to hurt you unless you look at it and your brain can't handle whatever it sees. And so causes you to go crazy and, and suicide.
00:44:01
Speaker
like, so like You know, Gary lets this creature in and is in some way kind of being like, look, do you see the babies? Aren't they beautiful? Look at, you know, and like show show the creature your baby and like talking to Olympia and like Mallory screaming, like cover the baby's eyes, cover the baby's eyes, you know.
00:44:21
Speaker
it Like at that point, I was freaking out because in my head, I had already convinced myself these creatures are not... bad They're just.
00:44:34
Speaker
Misunderstood. Not even misunderstood. they're just not like Maybe they're trapped too. Who knows. You know what i mean. and it But like it really. like I don't know. it This whole section had me messed up.
00:44:48
Speaker
Yeah. And we don't know. It's just like. It's what we don't know that's so scary. Because you don't know. What these creatures look like.
00:44:59
Speaker
Like. It's just like, I don't know. i feel like it's so well done and so smart. Like we keep talking about how terrifying it is, but I love that it's so terrifying. It messed me up.
00:45:13
Speaker
If that makes sense. Yep. and So in the book, like we said, this the other survivors are dead. um Gary and the creature are gone. Mallory answers a phone call from a man named Rick.
00:45:28
Speaker
And he's alive and running a sanctuary. But Mallory is too overwhelmed. but She literally just lost everyone. And I don't even think at this point she's even seen what exactly has happened. Because she's literally just given birth and then dragged herself out of the attic, covering her eyes, to go answer this phone. Because the phone is ringing and ringing and there's no way to answer it.
00:45:51
Speaker
So she hasn't even seen everything. um And the phone ringing is like weird. Right. Like that's the first time that's ever happened. So she doesn't want to just let it go. she Yeah, you want to answer the phone. Yeah. They made so many phone calls and left so many voicemails that this is their first phone call that they're getting back. So yeah, she absolutely has to answer it.
Parenting & Survival Necessities
00:46:12
Speaker
But then she begins to train the two children obsessively. Again, their names are girl and boy. and She teaches them to navigate the world by sound, touch, and instinct.
00:46:26
Speaker
And she doesn't give them names because basically naming them is a luxury that she can't afford at this point. Yeah, this really makes me, it makes my like heart hurt so bad for her. like It's like,
00:46:42
Speaker
People might be like mad at this, but like like I feel like I understand her on so many levels for doing this. like Even when she's just like, she talks about, and I think she does this so well in the movie, Sandra Bullock does, where she's like,
00:47:00
Speaker
She's very like mean to them and very hard on them. But it's like this, we have to survive. Like you have to listen to me. You have, there's a point where she's like, you need to stay at this boat because I have to go walk away and I have to go check this like house, right?
00:47:15
Speaker
Wow. Because I'm stopping while we were on the river. And like, you have to stay at this boat. And when the little girl walks away for a second And while she's gone and she comes back and you were at the point of view of the little girl who's walking and she's tight, has a rope tied around her that goes to the raft.
00:47:32
Speaker
And all of a sudden she's dragged away by the rope and you're thinking it's like a creature or something, but it's actually Sandra Bullock dragging her by the rope because she's like, this is not a freaking game. Like, I need you to get in the raft.
00:47:44
Speaker
Yeah. And I need you to stay there. Because I need you to survive. And I need you to listen. There's the argument that Mallory was not allowing herself to... And like they kind of made this seem like it in the movie. That she wasn't allowing herself to love the kids. And that's why she didn't give them names.
00:48:05
Speaker
But in the book, I think it was a little bit better that... like not Not only did she love these children, but she loved them so much that she was not allowing herself any sort of grace or softness because the she knew the most important thing she could do for them was to make sure that they could survive, to make sure that they could live. And the best way to do that was to be hard.
00:48:32
Speaker
Yep. Yep. like yeah
00:48:36
Speaker
I don't know, like it's it's one of those that really makes you think about the decisions you make as a parent and why you make them and what things you deny yourself or your children in order to keep them safe. And in this situation...
00:48:50
Speaker
Nothing else mattered. Literally nothing else. Their mental health did not freaking matter if they were dead. You know what i mean? Their nutritional needs did not matter if they walked outside and died. like And so none of that mattered. She was prepping them to survive.
00:49:09
Speaker
Yeah. yeah I think I really liked this scene in the movie because in the movie, Tom still survives after that. and they Which I hated. Yeah. they has i kind of liked it because they they he survives a little bit longer with ah them and...
00:49:27
Speaker
and you know helps raise the two kids with her and he has like a moment with him them telling like them stories and stuff like that and sandra it's like a tender moment yeah a tender moment and sandra books like that we got to go to sleep or something it's like bedtime or whatever and the little girl's like not listening and she gets upset that like you need to listen to me And Tom like kind of gets upset that he doesn't get to finish like his story and having this tender moment with them.
00:49:58
Speaker
And she has this moment where she's like, they have to like, there can't be any pushback ever. Ever. Because this is like life or death. Because if we have pushback in this moment, like when I need her, any like these kids to listen when we're out there with our blindfolds on.
00:50:22
Speaker
There cannot ever be pushback who because it's life or death.
River Journey & Sanctuary Escape
00:50:27
Speaker
And I don't know. I just like loved all these little moments. I mean, I don't love to hear it because it's sad, but I just was like, I felt so, I felt so much for her.
00:50:37
Speaker
Yeah. yep But yeah, it's, it's five years that Mallory and Tom are living with the children and they're, they're basically a family. And they together they hear of the sanctuary.
00:50:50
Speaker
And Tom ends up having to sacrifice himself to give them time to escape. Because they're attacked by people who aren't wearing blindfolds.
00:51:04
Speaker
So yeah, we we do actually get to see the people without the blindfolds more in the movie than we do in the book. um But they're survivors who have seen the creatures. and And they're still alive. And once again...
00:51:16
Speaker
The creatures aren't necessarily the bad guys. The humans are. Just like in damn near every one of the monster books or horror books we read, it's the people that are the problem.
00:51:27
Speaker
Yeah. um But then that comes it comes the to the river journey, ah which is the what we saw at the very beginning in both the book and the movie. And Mallory and the children travel blindfolded down the river.
00:51:42
Speaker
Which is like my personal worst nightmare. that is my worst nightmare that is absurd and like as we said before and which is so which is actually so cool because whenever we see um my gosh her name just left my brain olympia we see olympia come in we're like oh this is where the two kids are gonna come in right and then so now we're back to this them being on the raft and it's like You can tell this is the last resort. Like we're sweating right now because we're just like, oh, this is like we have no other options left at this point.
00:52:20
Speaker
We have to be on this river. And like she's like panicking the entire time. Also, the birds in the box. I i know this is Bird Box. But those poor birds. Those poor birds. Oh my gosh. There's no way those birds survived.
00:52:34
Speaker
No. That's the most unrealistic part of the the whole story. Not that the creatures. Not the creatures. The birds in the box. The birds in the box. The birds in the box and bird box. That went in the river and then came out of the river.
00:52:47
Speaker
Yeah. All still in the box. I don't believe I don't believe it. Nope. ah but So while they're on this river, they face a human trying to trick them, dangerous rapids, and the creatures in the river.
00:53:04
Speaker
And then in just the book, there are also wolves. And Mallory is even attacked and wounded and is nearly forced to remove her blindfold. Can we talk about the animals?
00:53:16
Speaker
Yeah. In the book, there's a dog. In the book, there's multiple dogs. There's three dogs. Okay, yeah. Can we talk about that? you want i don't want to talk about Victor. You want to make me cry?
00:53:29
Speaker
i'm just saying. I'm just saying. I was so pumped. When they thought of the dog idea. Yeah, that's what I want to I was not pumped. I was nervous.
00:53:42
Speaker
Yeah. They went to find mean, they going to sacrifice them, basically, to test a theory. Well, they wasn't even... they were like I think they kind of thought that like the animals wouldn't be affected. we Seeing eye dogs could really help us.
00:53:55
Speaker
And that's a solid thought. That's some good science. Okay. I don't think Jules thought it was going to work because he didn't even want to use Victor to test that theory. They wanted to go out and find dogs man and use outside dogs. He didn't want to use his own dog. He didn't even trust it.
00:54:14
Speaker
I didn't like it. I mean.
00:54:17
Speaker
Victor's demise. I had to stop reading. I can't with these animals dying, man. all And and i' I don't think we need to go into it, but just that Victor dies because he is affected by the creatures.
00:54:38
Speaker
Dogs are not immune. Dogs are not immune. um So then when she was like, when I thought back to the attack on the river from the wolves, I thought to myself, well, like, where did the wolves come from? You would think that if there's that many creatures out there, there really wouldn't be that many other just animals around.
00:54:57
Speaker
Well, there's also the birds. Right. but Really, i will say that that's the only part of the book, the the science really kind of is like, okay, if humans are that instantly affected by this bajillion creatures that seem to be everywhere that you can't, like, even just peeking out the window, chances are you're going to Then every wild animal out there, too.
00:55:18
Speaker
You know what i mean? yeah So. Yeah. Anyways, so they're floating down the river. i
00:55:28
Speaker
In the movie, the creatures attempt to manipulate the children by using familiar voices. And that's not in the book either. they The creatures aren't manipulating anybody to take masks off. They're not.
00:55:41
Speaker
no There's no reported any attack of a creature on a human. That's not happened at all. Nope. Yeah. But at this point, Mallory finally breaks down.
00:55:54
Speaker
And this is the
Bird Box Sequel & Adaptations
00:55:55
Speaker
first time she tells the children that she loves them. Which, again, is not in the book. No. But both versions do end at the sanctuary, which is a school for the blind.
00:56:09
Speaker
And it is a community where many have blinded themselves by choice to remain safe. who In the book, the sanctuary feels...
00:56:21
Speaker
Kind of uncertain. it's Yes. It's grim, but it's safe. And in the movie, it's a lot more hopeful. It's beautiful. will Mallory sees people she recognizes.
00:56:35
Speaker
Yeah. Her doctor's there. really i was like, can we not? That was weird. Yeah. But she finally gives the children names.
00:56:47
Speaker
And she names them Tom and Olympia. Which i thought was particularly beautiful. hu Kind of wish you would have named the girl Shannon.
00:56:57
Speaker
Or Jessica. Depending on if you're watching movie or reading the book. Yeah. But it makes sense that she named it after her mom. Yeah. There is a second book.
00:57:09
Speaker
Yes, it's titled... What? Yeah, titled Mallory, which is actually where the kids are teenagers later. They've grown up in the sanctuary. Yeah, so I think that's why in the book it kind of feels uncertain.
00:57:25
Speaker
There's also a second movie. It's just Barcelona. It's just... barcelona and yeah just Oh, yeah. The events of Bird Box in Barcelona. I did hear there were talks of another movie, but there' there's nothing actually happening.
Book vs Movie Preferences
00:57:41
Speaker
I might have to read that book. This is a really good book. Yeah, I really liked it. ah So, final verdict, though. Are we going book or movie? Or both? Okay.
00:57:54
Speaker
Carrie, no. Carrie, no! You only like Tom.
00:58:01
Speaker
I don't know. i will like i think because I watched the movie first. You only liked it because there was a romantic element to it.
00:58:12
Speaker
There's really no romance in this book. Probably. i i think I liked the sequence of events Yeah, probably because of the romantic element and the sequence of events that happened whenever she had, they had the kids and so on.
00:58:37
Speaker
i liked the sequence of events from there better in the movie than I did in the book. But I like the suspense more in the book before that, in the first half.
00:58:48
Speaker
Like I like the second half of the movie more, first half of the movie book more. um go I think I specifically don't like the romance in the movie.
00:59:00
Speaker
I feel like I really loved that Mallory respected Tom. That looked up to Tom in the book. that That she valued Tom's expertise and his knowledge and his way of thinking.
00:59:18
Speaker
I loved that there was no romance. Because I feel like in these survival situations... it Like they force – it's very tropey. It's very heavy-handed. And I think specifically in this instance, like the accomplishment of Mallory raising these children on her own for four years was diminished by having – like tom in the movie like and and again it made her look like she was the bad guy she was the hard ass for not allowing them these dreams and these ideas where tom was trying to be soft and tender and you know and telling them stories and you know like that i feel like painted mallory in a bad light when it didn't need to
01:00:13
Speaker
And I love like a tropey formula. Yeah. I'll say that first. I love a tropey formula. No, i get it But I think that the first time reading it, i was like, that's, I felt more that way.
01:00:27
Speaker
That's why I gave it a lower rating. But I appreciated the less romance in it more this second time reading it. Like I appreciated her storyline much more. Mm-hmm.
01:00:42
Speaker
So. I think I probably like them equal, but I do love a trophy formula. I can't help it. I mean, the movie wasn't bad, but I really, really enjoyed the book. And for that to be your debut album. or album your day your debut album He's in a band.
01:00:59
Speaker
He's in a band. The author's in a band. um I can't remember what it is. High Strung. He lives in Ferndale, Michigan. The rock band is called High Strung. Says it on the back of the book. Debut album, Bird Box. Bird Box. There you go.
01:01:12
Speaker
Dropping them tracks. Yep. No, I mean, that was fantastic. I really enjoyed the book. But that leads us to our question of the episode.
01:01:24
Speaker
Would you rather live in a world where you can't open your eyes, like in Bird Box, or one where you can't close them, like in Doctor Who?
01:01:36
Speaker
letous away but ah Crystal. i OK, so are the rules the same?
01:01:49
Speaker
Because they're like, and am I alone? Because if I'm alone, then I'll just close my eyes forever and it'll be fine. But, like, I would hate that. And if I'm if i'm not going to be alone, like if I can partner up with somebody and we can take shifts with our eyes open, then I would definitely prefer that.
01:02:05
Speaker
You don't want me on your team because i got a b blank, like, every two seconds. I'm dead. Crap. I have to have eye drops all the time. We just have to. So, like, you're not, like, there's, like, strain to it. Like, you don't naturally, like...
01:02:23
Speaker
You're not naturally having your eyes open all the time? and No, this is not a natural thing. This is a... No, yeah. Oh, no.
Hypothetical Survival Scenario
01:02:33
Speaker
Like, obviously in Bird Box where there are certain situations where you don't have to be blindfolded. So there are certain situations where you don't have to have your eyes open.
01:02:43
Speaker
But when you step outside those bounds, eyes are open. Don't blink. Okay. Don't blink. Yeah, you can't. Let me channel my inner David Tennant.
01:02:54
Speaker
Don't blink.
01:02:57
Speaker
Best doctor. Oh, I'm going to have to go bird box. Like, yeah, that's a hard one, though. That's kind of hard. So hard. be Because I don't like the idea of not being able to see at all.
01:03:09
Speaker
I like legit. I'm a klutz. But also, like, yeah there's no way I could keep my eyes open like that by myself.
01:03:21
Speaker
You know? look at the Like a staring contest for like ah really long time? For like ever. Yeah. I'm gonna lose immediately. I'm out.
01:03:33
Speaker
I'm gonna to bird box. Definitely bird box. Okay. What about you, Lindsay? Yeah, no, I cannot keep my eyes open for anything, so I'm gonna go bird box.
01:03:43
Speaker
You just have, like, eye drops going constantly. Literally. I'm gonna have to have an endless supply of eye drops because, no. I have the driest eyes. No. No.
01:03:55
Speaker
Now I'm consciously self-conscious about blinking. Hold on. Don't look. all Allergies start going. I'm like, I gotta sneeze so bad. Your eyeballs just pop right out of your head. hey And then you're gone.
Closing Remarks & Future Teasers
01:04:11
Speaker
You're done. but Well, that's where we're going to leave it. Blindfolds on birds in a box, and sitting and hanging on by a thread. Typical Tuesday night.
01:04:26
Speaker
Whether you love the quiet horror of the book or the high stakes chaos of the movie, Bird Box reminded us that sometimes the scariest things aren't what you see, it's what you can't.
01:04:37
Speaker
So thanks for joining us for this episode and for kicking off Mayhem with me. ah Be sure to follow, rate, and review if you haven't already.
01:04:48
Speaker
It helps more bookish weirdos like us find their way here. And we will be back next week with more chaos, more creatures, and probably more cats interrupting.
01:05:01
Speaker
but But until then, stay safe, stay curious, and don't remove your blindfolds. And we'll catch in the next chapter of Based on a Blindfold.
01:05:11
Speaker
Bye!