By Alyssa Delarosa
[3 minute read]
Last year, a gripping and horrifying new Netflix film called Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, swept us into a newfound obsession and fanfare (as most Netflix Originals tend to do). Now, on July 21st, a sequel novel to the hit film titled Malorie will be released much to the anticipation of fans and those who are curious to learn more about the series. Personally, I fully intend to read Malorie once it is available for multiple reasons (such as my boredom from quarantine), but one of the main reasons that I will be reading Malorie is because I intend to re-watch the original film with an entirely new perspective and apply that to the book. What perspective and lens will that be? I am here to tell you that it will be one based off of fear, actions, and consequences.
Since Malorie has yet to be released, not much is known about its content or the intricacies of the plot. However, the information I’ve gathered so far is that the story is set twelve years after the events of the original film, and the main character Malorie and her children are still living with blindfolds covering their eyes, as they fear the creatures roaming the earth will harm them if they glance at them. Malorie then receives news that a loved one is possibly still alive. Based off this new information, Malorie will be forced to choose whether to remain safe or risk grave danger by seeking out the loved one.
With the original film and the commentary of the second novel in mind, there seems to be a main, overlapping theme between the two: fear. Fear of danger. Fear of loss. But most importantly, fear of the unknown. The creatures that roam the earth in Bird Box and Malorie are invisible, but those that look upon them are met with a violent fate. Since they are invisible, no one knows for certain what they are, what they look like, etc. It is a fear based solely off of what others have described and experienced as well as a perception of what an unseen enemy is doing to humans on earth.
Continue reading Quarantine Watch: Bird Box, Malorie, and Today