Unless you've been living with a blindfold over your eyes, you've horror title has taken the internet by storm. No one can stop talking about it. Many fans don't know that the films were based on the debut novel of Josh Malerman. The book was met with critical acclaim and has won several awards. If you haven't read it, you may be wondering how similar the two versions are. We've put together a side by side comparison of the novel and the film. Check out where the two diverge and where they're the same.
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10. Setting
One place where the novel and the film differ is in the setting. Malerman's 2014 thriller is set in Detroit. The urban backdrop would have been a stark contrast to the locations used in the film, as Netflix chose to set their version in Northern California. The sprawling natural landscapes give the film a signature feel. The stillness and quiet that builds tension in some scenes would be impossible in a city setting. The mood of the film depends on the perfect silence and solitude of the forest.
9. The Birds
In the book, the birds are kept as a very literal canary in the coal mine. They warn when the creatures are near. Malorie takes them with her on her epic journey with the kids. They serve as the perfect alarm and signal the creature's presence as she and the children travel. The film differs. Malorie finds the birds alive and thriving in a supermarket. They give her hope, which is what they symbolize. At the end of the movie, she and the kids are safe in the sanctuary and she releases the birds to enjoy the same freedom.
8. Douglas
John Malkovich delivers a convincing performance as an awful narcissist as Douglas. He’s spent the entire apocalypse drinking and being a selfish jerk. Douglas is loud, obnoxious and only out for himself. He’s also a level head at times and provides a strong voice of reason in the safe house. If you’re wondering how Malkovich's portrayal stacks up to the book, you’re in for a surprise. There is no Douglas in the novel. The character adds some needed tension to the film which has very different pacing than the book. This is at least one way in which the book is better than the film, you don’t have to listen to his drunken rambling.
7. Malorie’s Journey
In the film Tom and Malorie are hunkered down, raising the children in a safe house. They have no plans to travel. One night they receive a radio transmission from Rick urging them to come to the sanctuary. The book tells a very different tale. After Tom dies Malorie gets a call from Rick. He tells her about the sanctuary. She begins to train for the long trip to the sanctuary. She spends four years preparing herself and the children for the perils ahead. This major difference creates much more tension and urgency than in the book. Undertaking the trip with no preparation ups the terror.
6. A Darker End
The end of the film is surprisingly positive. After all, a story about the end of the world is inherently bleak. At the end of the film, Malorie and her children make it to a safe haven. They find a lush, green paradise filled with children, birds, and other survivors. The haven is a home for the blind, which is why so many had survived. They were immune to the creatures. In the novel, Malorie and the kids still reach their safe haven, but the circumstances are darker. Many of the survivors in their happy ending had intentionally blinded themselves. They made an incredibly dark choice to survive.
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5. The End Of The World
Both the book and the film are focused on the same catastrophic event. In both versions of the story, society begins to crumble as the earth is invaded mysterious monsters take on the form of the observer's deepest fear or most painful loss. Anyone unfortunate enough to look at the invaders is instantly driven to violent insanity. Each meets the same fate - they take their own lives. After the initial panic dies down, lingering dread sets in. The world becomes a quieter, emptier place. The characters in both the book and the movie have to learn to survive without the convenience of society.
4. Malorie
Sandra Bullock has been praised for her performance in the Netflix film. Even critics who tore the rest of the movie apart found her to be the one bright spot in the movie. She represents the biggest similarity between the book and the film. Both feature this resilient mother who refuses to give up. She’s a relentless fighter who pushes her children further and further. At its core, it's a story about the indomitable power of a mother’s love. The story gives us hope in the face of insurmountable odds. In the end, we celebrate beside Malorie and her kids when they finally make it to a safe haven.
3. Tone
Horror films often use campy moments and cheesy humor to lull their audiences into a false sense of security. They hit us with another gruesome scene the moment we relax into a smile or laugh. The contrast makes the fear and pain all the more vibrant. Malerman uses none of that lighthearted play to plunge his readers further into the terror. The film carries that same tone. It avoids any kind of hokey gimmicks or easy humor. It carries the same dark seriousness as the novel from beginning to end. That commitment to the original darkness of the film creates a perfect marriage between movie and book.
2. Ebb And Flow
The film has critics split, right down the middle. Some have praised the film while others have called it a bad B-movie. One thing most of them seem to agree on is that the pacing has peaks and valleys. A wide criticism is that Bird Box is a riveting film, sometimes. The book has a similar pace. There are scenes that have readers on the edge of their seats and then pages and pages of plodding story. It’s unclear if this was a deliberate editorial choice or if it’s just a consequence of the nature of the story.
1. Sight
The most important tool used to create the feeling of helplessness in Bird Box is the characters’ inability to rely on their sight. It’s our most precious source of input as human beings. Without that element, the story wouldn’t carry the same weight. It's blindness that lets us see the characters at their most vulnerable. Many have made a comparison between Bird Box and A Quiet Place. There is a parallel there but it’s incomplete. There are many ways to communicate without our voices, but our sight is a primal tool. Without it, most of us feel like we’re dead in the water.
