10 More Suspenseful Sense-Altering Thrillers
While the book is much stronger compared to the movie adaptation, Bird Box still has a lot of endearing traits, including a good deal of suspense, tension and an interesting premise.
If you’ve finished watching this one and are looking for alternate picks, we’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top choices for alternate viewing.
As usual, let us know your thoughts about our picks in the comments below!
The Thing (1982)
In The Thing, a group of American researchers in Antarctica encounter a parasitic extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates and then imitates other organisms. Paranoia consumes the group as they realize they can’t tell who among them is real and who is The Thing.
Both movies focus on a group of survivors who face a mysterious and unseen threat. The paranoia, claustrophobia and distrust between a big group are all very similar attributes that the two share. They’re also marked by a strong fear of the unknown too.
A Quiet Place (2018)
Although many believe Bird Box is a copycat of A Quiet Place, the reverse is actually true, given the Bird Box book released back in 2014. Much like Bird Box, this is set in a post-apocalyptic world taken over by monsters, this time with an acute sense of hearing. The Abbott family must live in silence and communicate through sign language to avoid the deadly creatures. But can they survive that long?
Both A Quiet Place and Bird Box boast high tension, and characters must adapt their behavior dramatically to survive, and a familial thread that makes for a must-watch.
The Mist (2007)
The Mist centers on a group of townspeople trapped in a supermarket as a thick, strange mist envelops the town. Unfortunately, it also brings deadly creatures with it. As the world outside becomes a battleground, the people inside are forced to battle for their lives.
Like Bird Box, The Mist focuses on a group of survivors trapped in one place and forced to deal with a mysterious, deadly threat that has suddenly appeared. Both films create a strong sense of claustrophobia and deal with themes of fear, survival, and the breakdown of societal norms..
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Invisible Man was one of the biggest surprises when it released in 2020. It centers around Cecilia, who believes she is being stalked and tormented by her abusive ex-boyfriend, even after his apparent suicide. He manages to convince those around her that she’s delusional, but Cecilia is certain that she is not alone.
While The Invisible Man is more of a psychological thriller, it shares Bird Box’s idea of an unseen threat lurking around the corner. There’s a good deal of suspense built around this idea of an invisible force, pushing their respective protagonists to the absolute limit.
Don’t Breathe (2016)
Don’t Breathe follows a group of friends who break into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect heist. They’re wrong, oh so wrong! The man proves to be a dangerous adversary who uses his blindness as a powerful advantage, causing a game of cat and mouse to ensue.
Don’t Breathe and Bird Box feature characters who must rely on their other senses to survive, with the respective main characters in both films forced into situations where sight is a liability.
The Road (2009)
Directed by John Hillcoat, The Road is a post-apocalyptic film based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. The story centers on a man and his young son as they traverse a desolate landscape, trying to survive in a world where most of humanity has been completely wiped out.
Both The Road and Bird Box are post-apocalyptic films focusing on the intense struggles of characters to survive in a drastically changed and hostile world. One could also look at the relationship between parent and child playing a significant role in both stories too.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
Dan Trachtenberg’s claustrophobic 10 Cloverfield Lane is a wonderfully paced psychological thriller about a woman who wakes up in a bunker with two men. These men claim that an event has left the surface of the Earth uninhabitable… but can they be trusted? Are they telling the truth? Or is this one big ruse?
Both films focus on characters who find themselves in confined spaces, trying to survive a catastrophic event. There’s also a significant amount of tension and uncertainty about what’s really happening in the outside world, which only adds to the allure of this one.
It Comes At Night (2017)
Perhaps more of a polarizing choice than others on this list, It Comes At Night centers on a family living in a post-apocalyptic world, forced to share their home with a desperate young family. As a result, paranoia and suspicion threatens their safety.
Both films center on that general idea of survival in a post-apocalyptic world, depicting unseen threats and suspicious human behavior that generates fear, distrust and tension. Although this one is more slow-paced than others on this list, it’s still certainly worth checking out.
Blindness (2008)
Blindness tells the story of a city that is hit by an epidemic of ‘white blindness’. The government confines those who are blind to an abandoned mental hospital. However, the social hierarchy breaks down inside the quarantine and the blind create their own society.
Both Bird Box and Blindness’ main narrative deal with a major crisis where the masses lose their ability to see. Watching how the protagonists in both movies react and adapt to these extreme circumstances, makes Blindness another must-watch.
The Day of the Triffids (1962)
Steve Sekely’s The Day of the Triffids is based on the classic novel by John Wyndham. It tells the story of a meteor shower that blinds most of the world’s population. The meteor shower also brings with it Triffids, mobile carnivorous plants that begin to terrorize the survivors.
Like Bird Box, The Day of the Triffids features a global catastrophe that results in widespread loss of sight, leading to societal collapse. Interestingly, both films combine this with the struggle to survive against hostile entities – the unseen creatures in Bird Box and the giant man-eating plants (the Triffids) in The Day of the Triffids.
There we have it, our list of best movies that are similar to Bird Box. What do you think about our picks? Did one of your favourites make the list? Let us know in the comments below!