''Bird Box Barcelona'' is a 2023 post-apocalyptic

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed and written by Álex and David Pastor. A

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

sequel to the 2018 film ''

Bird Box A bird box is a man-made enclosure, also called a birdhouse or a nest box, provided for birds or other animals to nest in. Bird Box may also refer to: * ''Bird Box'' (novel), a 2014 post-apocalyptic novel and the debut novel by American writer an ...

'', adapted from

Josh Malerman Josh Malerman is an American novelist, short story writer, film producer, and one of two singer/songwriters for the rock band The High Strung. He is best known for writing horror and his post-apocalyptic novel, '' Bird Box'', which was the inspir ...

's 2014 novel of the same name, it was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on July 14, 2023 to mixed reviews.

Plot

The world is plagued by mysterious entities that manipulate people's negative emotions, turning some into "seers" but leading most people to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

once they have seen an entity. A common prevention method is wearing a blindfold outdoors. In

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain, Sebastián and his daughter Anna travel together. One day Sebastián encounters a group of survivors, and claims he knows the location of generators that can provide light and heating. Sebastián joins the others in their shelter inside a bus hangar. The next morning, with everyone asleep inside a bus, Sebastián drives it outside and crashes it. Everyone is left without blindfolds; Sebastián slowly leads each to open their eyes, and upon witnessing the entities they commit suicide. Sebastián is revealed to be a seer, and is thus unaffected. Anna congratulates Sebastián on having "saved" the people, urging him to find the other "

lost sheep Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have been ...

". Nine months earlier, the arrival of the entities prompted people to flee. Sebastián retrieved Anna but lost his wife in a car accident. They found refuge in a church and met Padre Esteban, a pastor who opined that the entities are angels, and that humanity should be liberated from suffering by embracing death. Sebastián and Anna tried to hide but one day a group of seers led by Padre discovered their hiding place and captured them. He forced Anna to open her eyes, killing her. Sebastián then faced the entities, but instead of death he saw the apparition of Anna, which has accompanied him ever since. Anna tells him that he can join his family there when he has "saved" enough people on Earth. Sebastián encounters another group led by Rafa, who has two dogs. Others in the group include Octavio, a Mexican deliveryman with expertise in physics; Roberto and Isabel, a couple; Claire, an English psychiatrist; and Sofia, a young German girl separated from her mother. Octavio theorizes that the entities are

quantum In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizati ...

beings that perceive humans' fear and grief. Sofia shares information about Montjuïc Castle, believed to be a safe refuge which can be reached by a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...

. The group embarks on a quest to reach the Castle. Rafa dies early on after Sebastián sabotages the dog leashes, and the remainder of the group take shelter. Sebastián leads Octavio to his death, but begins to doubt the wisdom of Anna's apparition. Roberto and Isabel lose their lives too. Claire suspects Sebastián is a seer and shields Sofia from him. Sebastián, who had started to resist Anna's influence, vows that he will protect Claire and Sofia. Meanwhile, Padre and his followers find the trio. Sebastián helps Claire and Sofia get to the gondola lift, then fights Padre and they kill each other; Sebastián dies smiling. Claire and Sofia enter Montjuïc, converted to a secret camp, where Sofia reunites with her mother. Claire undergoes blood tests by scientists who are trying to develop an antibody that can provide immunity against the entities' influence.

Cast

Production

Development

A Spanish spin-off of ''Bird Box'' was reported in March 2021 with Nostromo Pictures producing the project. The film is written and directed by Álex Pastor and David Pastor, with Dylan Clark, Núria Valls, Adrián Guerra, Chris Morgan, Ryan Lewis, and Josh Malerman as producers and Brian Williams and Ainsley Davies executive producing.

Casting

In October 2021 Mario Casas, Georgina Campbell, Diego Calva, Alejandra Howard, Naila Schuberth, Patrick Criado, Celia Freijeiro with Lola Dueñas, Gonzalo de Castro, Michelle Jenner and Leonardo Sbaraglia were revealed to be cast in the film.

Filming

In January 2022,

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

was reported to have commenced in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Release

The film was available to view on

from July 14, 2023.

Reception

''Bird Box Barcelona'' received mixed reviews from critics.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

reports a 47 out of 100 score, based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird Box Barcelona 2023 horror thriller films 2023 films 2023 science fiction films 2020s English-language films 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s monster movies 2020s supernatural horror films 2020s supernatural thriller films Films shot in Spain Films shot in Catalonia Films shot in Barcelona Film spin-offs Films set in Barcelona Nostromo Pictures films Films about father–daughter relationships Netflix original programming Spanish-language films Spanish-language American films Spanish survival films American survival films 2020s American films