Bird Box: 20 Weird Details You Never Knew About The Creature

One thing that really makes the Bird Box monster so scary is that the movie franchise never shows it. H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Call of Cthulhu contains the phrase, “The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.” It is one of the many reasons the creative team behind the movies decided to leave the Bird Box monsters up to viewers’ imaginations.Bird Box became one of Netflix’s most intriguing horror films, in which the world is overrun by creatures who drive people to take their own lives by simply looking at them.

Not showing the creatures meant that very little was known about them except by eagle-eyed viewers and those who had read the book. The second movie in the Bird Box franchise took the action to Barcelona and had more people in the movie see the monsters. However, keeping the gimmick from the first movie and not letting viewers see the Bird Box creatures still remained in place. The second movie also kept the tactic of the first by keeping the Bird Box monsters’ origins unrevealed. The bizarre, weird, and conflicting aspects of the creatures continue to leave viewers just as perplexed as ever, but repeated viewings add some clues for viewers.

The Bird Box Monsters Need “Renfields”

Some People Are Predisposed To See The Monsters And Survive

Throughout the franchise, the Bird Box monsters only had the ability to drive people to death if they looked at them. More and more people began to either put on blindfolds or purposefully blind themselves to find protection. Because of this, the Bird Box creatures have proven to be powerless against humanity. However, much like Dracula needed his servant Renfield to bring him sustenance during times of weakness, these monsters also needed their Renfelds.

However, the question that remains after Barcelona is what it takes to find the Renfields. There was one thought that it was the mentally weak or those with chemical imbalances in the brain who the Bird Box monsters could easily manipulate. However, that was not always true in Barcelona. Sebastian was a good father who wanted to protect his child at all costs. The priest was mostly sane, but he was a zealot. At the end of Barcelona, a doctor suggested that some people were predisposed to see the Bird Box creatures and survive – and these are the Renfields of the story.

There Were No Creatures In Australia

A News Broadcast Reveals A Lack Of Activity

The events of Bird Box, both the novel and the movie, take place over a few years. As a result, the audience sees the early stages of chaos descending on humanity and just how humanity adapts to life with the creatures on the planet over those years, like wearing blindfolds. The spinoff series Birdbox: Barcelona helps to provide the idea that the creatures are all over the world, but that’s not entirely the case.

One graphic from a news report in the first movie shows just where the creatures are concentrated as humans first begin interacting with them. While concentrations in California (where the first movie takes place) and Europe (where the second takes place) are expected, there are a handful of other locations depicted as having a high concentration of humans interacting with the creatures, like areas of China and Russia.

What’s interesting, however, is that there are no reports of the creature in Australia. It’s the only visible continent with no reports of activity from them. That’s also particularly interesting because it appears that the creatures began appearing to humans on the coasts and working their way inland in other places. Australia is completely surrounded by water, but has no sightings at the time. While it’s never explained why that is the case, another spinoff movie might answer that question.

They Are Here To Possibly Save The Planet

Maybe The Creatures Have A Good Purpose

There have been many movies about the planet fighting back against humans who have systematically destroyed it over the years. In M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, the plotline saw people start to take their own lives suddenly and without warning. The reasoning in the end was that Mother Nature took matters into her own hands and eliminated humans to level out the playing field. It received terrible reviews, but the Bird Box monsters could be the same thing.

In this case, the deaths were caused by actual creatures and not just by a mysterious ailment. This made it look a lot more like a real horror series and people took it more seriously. However, there have been many people in both Bird Box movies who said these creatures are there for a purpose and eliminating the majority of humans was important to save the planet. Could these Bird Box creatures be manifestations from the Earth itself, fighting back to save itself?

There Are Many Of Them

The Characters Refer To The Creature In The Plural Form

Paying attention to the dialogue in Bird Box, characters refer to the creature in the plural form, explaining that “they” are out there and that if they don’t look at “them,” they’ll be safe. Despite the fact that to look at them is to be driven to take their own lives, characters ascertain that there are many of the Bird Box monsters lurking based on multiple victims being possessed at the same time. It’s implied that attacks are happening all over the world concurrently with the news graphic.

It’s never stated specifically how they coordinate their attacks or communicate with one another (or if they do at all) but given that their “magic” comes from auditory and visual hallucinations, their movements may be based on that. As Bird Box: Barcelona further showed, these Bird Box creatures are all over the world.

They Tailor Fear To Each Victim

A Type Of Access To People’s Memories

A frequent occurrence in Bird Box involves victims communicating with the dead in a personalized fear-based delusion. In other words, they are seemingly haunted by the ghosts of people they know. For example, Douglas’s wife walks towards a burning car, mentioning seeing her mother who died ten years prior. Similarly, Malorie is haunted by other Bird Box characters like Douglas and Tom towards the end of the film.

This was an attempt by the creatures to drive her mad from guilt and sorrow and if she didn’t snap out of it, she would’ve taken her own life as the other victims before her. It is clear that whatever these Bird Box monsters do, they can tap into the actual memories of their victims in order to inspire the fear that leads them to take their own lives.

They Can Kill The Birds

The Birds Succumb Just Like The Humans

In the Bird Box novel, the appearance of the Bird Box creatures is referred to as “The Problem” and as survivors begin to discover ways to avoid them, they stumble upon the use of birds. Tom hangs Malorie’s birds outside the house to act as lookouts and natural alarms, since they can sense The Problem’s presence. The birds are not immune to the creatures, however, and end up going insane and killing each other.

Later in the novel when Malorie, Boy, and Girl have almost reached their final destination, hundreds of birds are affected by the creatures and kill themselves, dropping out of the sky in a deluge of carcasses. By contrast in the film, the birds only react to the creatures’ proximity and don’t go crazy. This might be a difference between the Bird Box movie and the book, but at least in the book, the Bird Box monsters’ powers can seemingly affect more than just humans.

They May Not Be A Threat At All

Biblical Demons, Doomsday Angels Or Innocent Aliens

The creatures’ motivations are never explained in the film but what they are and why they’re on Earth are somewhat delved into by Charlie, the grocery store clerk turned Nostradamus. He believes that they might be Biblical demons that represent judgment and the End of Days. This was also built on in Bird Box: Barcelona when one victim sees the Bird Box creatures as angels there to act as a shepherd and lead people off this doomed planet to the afterlife.

Though there’s nothing concrete proving this or otherwise, it’s hard not to discount such a possibility. It’s also just as likely they’re extraterrestrial beings that have come into contact with humans without any knowledge of how their presence affects them. The fact that they can’t enter enclosed spaces suggests they may even be projections from a spacecraft that cannot pass through physical structures.

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They Represent Several Themes

The Manifestations In People’s Minds Are Diverse

While neither the novel nor the film shows the creatures in a physical form, the novel insinuates that the interactions of the characters provide hints as to what themes the creatures may embody. Depending on who’s being asked, the Bird Box creatures could represent depression at the state of the world, the stigma of being mentally ill, the difficulties faced in parenthood, racism, or even a physical manifestation of misinformation — such as on social media — that’s used to manipulate people into doing horrible things either to themselves or others.

This was also built on in Bird Box: Barcelona, as it actually shows what some of the victims saw. One spoke to someone who she called her “love” before walking into a rotating tire. Another saw his daughter who told him that he needed to help lead people to the afterlife. At least one sect of humanity believes these are angels.

Self-Inflicted Blindness Might Stop Them

Many Inhabitants Of The Sanctuary Blinded Themselves On Purpose

When Malorie and her children reach the school for the visually impaired near the end of Bird Box, they’re welcomed into a sanctuary where the visually impaired and sighted have come together as a community to survive. No one suggests that Malorie or her children need to be visually impaired to remain there, which differs from the novel.

The novel’s version of this survivors’ bastion reveals that many of the inhabitants have forcibly blinded themselves, ensuring they’ll never be able to look upon the creatures. Malorie doesn’t choose to do this, but in the novel, her children actually grow up visually impaired, having never known sight from birth. It is interesting because it seems that the Bird Box monsters have to have people look at them and have no power over the visually impaired, despite the creatures also providing auditory hallucinations.

Some People See Them As Beautiful

They Want Others To Witness The Creature’s Splendor

Some victims are captivated by the creatures to the extent that they impress on whomever else they encounter the urgency of removing their blindfolds. In a twisted way, they want nothing more than for others to witness the creature’s splendor.

They see neither hallucinations of the dead nor some monstrous entity, but something worthy of reverence and admiration. Though the stricken individuals don’t explain exactly how the creatures appear to them in the first movie, the implication is that they’re beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. This also could tie into the thought that these are angels, and only the chosen can see them.

Even Sebastian, in the second movie, who sees his deceased daughter in the guise of the creatures, also sees a “light” when victims are taken by them. He believes he is sending people to salvation, and he finds that idea beautiful at first.

They Can Shapeshift

Gary’s Drawings Are All Different

When Gary explains that the creatures aren’t harmful to certain people, whether diagnosed with schizophrenia or a mental illness, it’s assumed that this is because they were institutionalized and “touched” in some manner by the creatures themselves. Gary made drawings of the creatures, further implying that he’s seen them up close and personal. Looking carefully at his drawings, it appears that no two sketches are alike.

The creatures seem to be malleable enough to shapeshift at will — though these are not cute sci-fi creatures — and appear to the “touched” individuals in different ways. On the other hand, just as people who see them before dying see different things, the Bird Box creatures can possibly appear to those who are immune to their powers in different ways, also based on their mind’s state at the time.

They’re Inspired By Lovecraftian Horrors

One Of The Drawings Is Similar To Lovecraft’s Cthulhu

H.P. Lovecraft, one of the grandfathers of sci-fi and horror, appears to have had some influence on the Bird Box creatures if the drawings Gary created are any indication. Lovecraft was known for his dark eldritch horrors, particularly the Great Old Ones, who were considered too terrifying for the human mind to fully comprehend.

Gary’s most prominent sketch depicts a creature with tentacles sprouting out of its face, greatly reminiscent of the countenance of one of the most infamous Lovecraftian monsters, Cthulhu, the sight of which drove people mad. This ties in perfectly with the Bird Box monsters’ powers and could be an even more important connection than originally suspected.

Chtulhu has also been reinterpreted for different stories in the past. Lovecraft’s Great Old One has inspired creatures that appear in Marvel Comics (Shuma Gorath) and Darkwing Duck (Duckthulu), spanning numerous different pop culture mediums.

They Take Inspiration From Ancient Deities

Charlie Explains That They Could Be Something Like Aka Manah

The character of Charlie has the responsibility of unloading a lot of exposition to the rest of the cast of the first movie in a short amount of time, and it’s easy to not hear everything he says. As he relates the Bird Box monsters to demons, devils, and other supernatural forces, he also explains that they could be similar to deities like Aka Manah.

Aka Manah is a Zoroastrian demon (taken from the religion founded by Zoroaster in ancient Persia in the 6th century BC) whose name meant (in the Avestan language) “Evil Purpose”, “Evil Intention”, and even “Evil Thinking.” This is particularly compelling considering the Bird Box monsters drive their victims to perform evil tasks, like taking their own lives or the lives of others as a way to serve the creatures themselves.

Some People Can See Them Without Being Driven To Take Their Own Life

Gary Is Just One Example

Well-crafted horror movies rely on sound internal logic, because if that’s broken, then the circumstances in the movie no longer make sense on their own merit and the audience loses interest in the established lore. Most of the people who see the Bird Box monsters are driven to take their own lives, but then every once in a while, that’s not the case.

Gary, for instance, saw them before and managed to feign ignorance and innocence on the matter when in the company of other survivors. Somehow, he became an aid to the Bird Box creatures and helped facilitate their takeover of the house he –and the other survivors– had barricaded themselves in. It doesn’t make sense that Gary could be “infected” for so long before turning on everyone – unless he is one of their Renfields. As long as Gary continued to be useful, he seemingly could handle seeing the creatures.

They Can Speak To Their Victims

People Hear The Voice Of Someone They Love

While it’s the general consensus that the Bird Box monsters can’t speak any language humans would understand, that’s not entirely true. Listening closely to the audio when specific characters become possessed (such as Jessica and Tom), fans will be able to hear faint whispers of a voice guiding them.

This voice isn’t the monster’s voice, but the voice of someone the victim has lost, or in the case of Jessica and Tom, someone they would hate to lose. Both Jessica and Tom would hate to lose Malorie, yet it’s her voice they can faintly hear speaking to them shortly before their deaths (despite the fact that she’s still alive). Once again, this is the Bird Box creatures pulling fear from their victim’s minds and this is a way that they can communicate with the people they target.

They May Have Always Been On Earth

No Character Saw The Monsters Arriving On Earth

The survivors of the Bird Box monster’s attacks, whether from guilt or curiosity, spend their time trying to discern where the monsters came from and why. It’s human nature to what the unexplainable to have a concrete explanation, so it makes sense that the survivors would be searching for evidence and develop theories. The more faithful among them wonder if humans are being punished for sins (such as Charlie’s discussion of the End of Days), or have somehow brought the monsters upon themselves.

It’s important to note that no characters saw the monsters arrive on Earth in some sort of spacecraft at the beginning of the movie, or watched them materialize out of a portal from another dimension. It’s possible, then, that they were always on Earth, but had to be manifested by its inhabitants and their collective eons of psychological trauma.

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Despite Not Being Seen They Have A Tangible Presence

The Creatures Have Peculiar Physical Characteristics

It’s vital for characters to be blind in some way if they want to survive among the creatures, which over time heightens their other senses to determine where threats are coming from. Despite the creatures never being seen, they do have certain peculiar physical characteristics that the Bird Box cast learns of.

For instance, they’re large enough to set off motion sensors on vehicles, yet seem immune to being captured on cameras. They also don’t seem to be able to physically open doors, which seems like an odd barrier to obstruct them given their otherworldly abilities. With all this, it seems that the Bird Box monsters’ physiology is present, although it is not always consistent. There are, of course, plenty of theories as to why their physical presence seems to contradict their abilities, from alien projections to quantum beings.

One Theory Explains Why No One Sees The Same Creature

Quantum Beings Offer An Explanation

Though there are a lot of theories about just what the creatures are or what they represent in Bird Box, one theory, actually presented by a character in Bird Box: Barcelona, offers an explanation for why people perceive the creatures the way they do. Octavio believes the creatures are quantum beings.

Quantum beings are a theoretical concept in quantum mechanics. The idea is that the quantum being simultaneously exists in multiple states and, because of that, defies the law of physics as human beings know it. As a result, the “observer effect” comes into play, meaning that human beings cannot process how the quantum beings are literally breaking the established rules of the universe. Because of that, simply observing them causes how they are perceived to change.

Of course, like all of the theories in the movies and by the fans, no proof is definitively given to make that the answer to what the Bird Box creatures really are.

Could Some Humans Be Completely Immune To The Creature?

Bird Box: Barcelona Hints At Just That

Neither Bird Box nor Bird Box: Barcelona reveals any human being to be completely immune to the effects of the creatures. Instead, there are clear lines drawn between which people are affected in which ways. That’s why it’s particularly interesting that Claire participates in a scientific study at the end of the movie.

After she reaches a safe haven, she agrees to have her blood drawn for scientists who are attempting to develop an antibody to help develop a way for humans to have some semblance of immunity to the creatures. This idea doesn’t entirely make sense if there’s no immune person to test Claire’s blood against. Scientists can, of course, draw blood from those who have been “infected” by the monsters and are influenced by them and from those who have maintained a blindfold and not interacted with them, but that doesn’t provide a basis for immunity.

This implies that there might be some people who have been discovered to be immune, or at least who are presenting themselves as immune, allowing for the research to be done. It’s another idea that could be developed in a Bird Box sequel since there are more movies in development.

Their Original Appearance Was Laughable

Howard Berger Revealed The Monster’s Look On Social Media

While the physical representation of the Bird Box creatures is never seen, an ultimately unused practical mock-up of what Malorie would see in the shapeshifter was made. Bird Box never even gives a glimpse of the creatures, though effects artist Howard Berger revealed the Bird Box monster on Instagram. Needless to say, its absence in the final cut was a good thing.

Each creature would look different depending on the person looking at it, and Malorie’s would have resembled a snake-like, scaly lizard baby-thing because of her anxieties as a mother and a possible fear of lizards (or something). Sandra Bullock filmed a climactic scene involving the puppet but found it too ridiculous and kept laughing at it. Wisely, any actual view of the Bird Box monster was excised from the final cut, giving the movie a unique sense of dread.

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  Bird Box

  Bird Box shows the apocalypse through the ears of Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock), a mother of two who tries to get her children to safety after realizing that the demonic entities who are ravaging the world only affect their victims through their eyes. The 2018 Netflix hit is based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel of the same name.

  Cast

  Machine Gun Kelly , Pruitt Taylor Vince , BD Wong , Danielle Macdonald , Lil Rel Howery , Tom Hollander , Julian Edwards , Sarah Paulson , Rosa Salazar , Parminder Nagra , Sandra Bullock , Trevante Rhodes , Vivien Lyra Blair , John Malkovich , Jacki Weaver

  Director

  Susanne Bier

  Release Date

  December 13, 2018

  Writers

  Eric Heisserer , Josh Malerman

  Runtime

  124 minutes

  Expand

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  Bird Box Barcelona

  A spin-off/sequel of the film adaptation Bird Box, Bird Box Barcelona takes place in Spain and follows a new cast of characters in the same world. In the film, a father and his daughter attempt to navigate a world post an invasion of creatures that cause anyone who sees them to take their own lives.

  Cast

  Georgina Campbell , Mario Casas , Diego Calva , Michelle Jenner

  Director

  David Pastor , Àlex Pastor

  Release Date

  July 14, 2023

  Writers

  Josh Malerman , David Pastor , Àlex Pastor

  Runtime

  111 Minutes