(CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

In December of 2018 Netflix released “Bird Box”, a movie that unexpectedly turned int an overnight sensation. It was a Sandra Bullock led post-apocalyptic horror thriller that quickly became the platform’s most-watched movie. Many were obsessed with it, setting social media ablaze. Others went even further as evident by the ‘Bird Box Challenge’ craze where antics ranged from silly stuff like people covering their eyes and walking into walls to a 17-year-old Utah girl crashing her car after driving blindfolded into oncoming traffic.

As for the movie itself, it remained a fan favorite for quite some time. Talks of a sequel quickly followed. Then in 2021 we got our first hint of what was to come. It would be a Spanish-language spin-off set within the same universe. It was to be written and directed by the filmmaking duo of Álex and David Pastor.

“Bird Box Barcelona” does indeed spin off of the first film which was based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel. But it’s certainly no clone of its 2018 predecessor. The Pastors do a good job of giving their film its own identity, taking the same concept and building on it in a number of interesting ways. It does require at least some degree of investment in the Bird Box world. But don’t worry – mine was minimal at first. And by the end I found myself pleasantly (and unexpectedly) intrigued.

There’s no doubt that the 2018 film was helped by having a Hollywood A-lister like Sandra Bullock attached. “Bird Box Barcelona” may not have that kind of celebrity draw, but Goya Award winner Mario Casas (“Cross the Line”) makes for an impressive lead. Not only does he maneuver his surprisingly layered character through the story’s literal urban hellscape, but he also takes him on an emotionally scarring journey soaked in themes of grief, parenthood, and lost humanity. It’s a subtly rich performance from Casas, even in the final act where his character arc loses some of its steam.

Cases plays Sebastián who we first meet well after the mysterious entities from the first film have plunged earth into dystopian chaos. If you remember, the entities (which the audience are never shown) possess the unexplained ability to make people violently kill themselves just by looking at them. So what few survivors remain are forced to blindfold themselves whenever they’re exposed to the outdoors. This is the world Sebastián and his young daughter Anna (Alejandra Howard) must navigate when we first meet them.

The Pastors do intermittently take us back a few months to when the chaos began, revealing Sebastián’s story through some truly terrifying flashbacks. We see where he was when reports of mass suicides began filling the airwaves. We see him trying to get home to his family as bedlam breaks out across Barcelona. We see what has forced Sebastián and his daughter to scavenge for their survival, not only evading the murderous creatures but the dangerous and equally deadly humans as well.

But it’s an early first-act twist that sets the movie on an unanticipated trajectory. I won’t dare spoil it as it becomes the crux of story. But it’s an unforeseen jolt that tosses any expectations you may have had out the window. It also opens the door for the Pastors to do some fresh world-building – adding some new pages to the mythology and laying down the groundwork for what looks to be some pretty clear franchise ambitions.

As the story unfolds, Sebastián encounters a number of other survivors throughout the ravaged Barcelona. Some appear friendly such as Claire (Georgina Campbell), a doctor with some keen maternal instincts, and Sofia (Naila Schuberth), a young girl who was separated from her mother. Others appear quite menacing, including Padre Esteban (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and the cult-like group who some claim can look upon the entities and remain unharmed. They all help fill out the world and have their own roles to play in getting the story to the finish line.

After the credits roll there are still some pretty obvious questions yet to be answered: Exactly what are these entities? What do they look like? Where did they come from? Why are they doing what they’re doing? It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Pastors utilize these mysteries to the fullest, adding in a few new ones of their own. Yet by the end we get the sense that answers are on the way. In true franchise fashion we’ll have to wait until the next movie to find out. But credit to the Pastors, they have me onboard and I’m certainly willing to dive back into this world they have shrewdly expanded. “Bird Box Barcelona” premieres today on Netflix.

VERDICT – 4 STARS