Pratik Handore
Netflix’s ‘Bird Box Barcelona’ is a post-apocalyptic horror thriller movie that is a spin-off of the 2018 film ‘Bird Box‘ based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Josh Malerman. It follows Sebastian and Anna, a father-daughter duo trying to survive a catastrophic event. The Spanish spin-off film is also set during the same apocalyptic event as the 2018 movie, where unseen monsters force people to take their own lives. However, not much is revealed about the monsters and their motivations. Hence, viewers must be looking for answers about the monsters and why they force people to kill themselves in ‘Bird Box Barcelona.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Origins of the Monsters
‘Bird Box Barcelona’ furthers some of the ideas and concepts from 2018’s ‘Bird Box,’ which introduces us to the monsters that have caused an apocalypse. It is a known fact that the creatures exert their powers through eye contact. However, the original film provides little to no explanation about the arrival of these seemingly otherworldly monsters who are tormenting humanity. Furthermore, the creatures never appear on the screen, making it difficult to deduce their true nature. The first film hints that these creatures are spiritual beings, and different cultures interpret them differently.
Since the spin-off film is set in Barcelona, it provides us with the interpretation that the creatures are messianic figures, angles, or other benevolent spirits that mark the start of the biblical apocalypse. However, this is almost certainly not true, especially because the film’s climax shows Sebastian, who believes the creatures are angels, breaking his delusion and seeing the deceiving and conniving nature of the creatures. As a result, the film ends without actually solving the mystery of the monsters’ existence and their arrival, which adds to the movie’s dark and intense horror thriller elements. Not knowing what the threat the characters face looks like only adds to the fun of a concept like ‘Bird Box’ and also makes thematic sense since seeing the monsters can drive a person to suicide.
The Monsters Drive People to Suicide
Like the appearance and backstory of the creatures, their influence on humans is also an unexplained element. As with ‘Bird Box,’ the monsters exert their force on humans through eye contact. Anyone who comes in eye contact is driven to insanity and forced to kill themselves. The same principle is true for the monsters in ‘Bird Box Barcelona’ as both movies are set in the same universe and unfold over a similar time frame, albeit in different locations. However, neither film completely explains why people are compelled to kill themselves after making eye contact with the creatures.
‘Bird Box Barcelona’ digs a little deeper into the monsters’ effect on humans by revealing that different people react differently to seeing the creatures. While most people are compelled to take their own lives, others become insane or obsessed with the creatures and attempt to get others to see their beauty. As a result, the monsters can be viewed as a metaphor for ideologies or faith itself. Seeing how Sebastian is blinded by his faith that the creatures are angels, we can assume that the monsters psychologically impact how a person thinks.
The monsters also force humans to do their dirty bidding through emotionally manipulative visions and hallucinations. However, most of this leads to humans taking their own lives, which suggests that the monsters draw energy from human souls, which we see from Sebastian’s perspective in the movie. The lack of knowledge about the creatures themselves created different interpretations of their nature and purpose, which is a necessary tool for the film to explore the theme of blind faith and love.
Without love and rationality, the world would be plunged into chaos, leading to mass hysteria and deaths, which appears to be the monsters’ goal. In ‘Bird Box’ and ‘Bird Box Barcelona,’ the deaths are a matter of perception. To an observer, it seems people are taking their own lives while the monsters could be subjecting them to visions, forcing them to believe they are doing a noble deed, thereby achieving their goal of claiming as many human lives as possible.
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