Set in the same universe as the popular 2018 film led by Sandra Bullock, Bird Box Barcelona is a Spanish horror movie written and directed by Álex and David Pastor. While the spin-off occurs in the same dystopian nightmare, the action happens in the titular city, expanding on the post-creature world rather than Malorie Hayes’s story.
Where can you watch Bird Box Barcelona in the UAE?
Bird Box Barcelona is now streaming on Netflix in the UAE. If you don’t have one, you can create an account to watch this movie and other shows on Netflix. Unfortunately, Netflix does not offer any free trials.
Bird Box Barcelona review
- Good writing
- Gripping action
- Well-paced
- Some of the kill scenes are excessive
It’s been nine months since the mysterious creatures attacked. No one knows what they look like because anyone catching a glimpse of them instantly kills themselves in the most brutal fashion they can muster. Not everyone who sees the monsters hurts themselves. Some people become completely brainwashed by them and make it their life’s mission to hunt down survivors and get them to “see.” For some, such as the movie’s main villain Padre Esteban (Leonardo Sbaraglia), the creatures are “angels”, and he must “save” what little remains of humanity.
Like the first movie, Bird Box Barcelona uses two timelines and flashbacks to tell its story. We first meet our protagonist, Sebastián (Mario Casas), and his daughter, Anna (Alejandra Howard), at an abandoned roller skating rink, enjoying a rare moment of post-apocalyptic joy. It doesn’t take long for the pair to get attacked and robbed by a group of blind people.
An injured Sebastian leaves his young daughter behind and convinces a group of survivors to take him in, feed him, and stitch up his wound. The film reveals its big and relatively unexpected twist within the first few minutes. From then on, we witness a story that explores themes of redemption, grief, and even blind faith.
Among the survivors our protagonist comes across are English psychiatrist Claire (Georgina Campbell), the 11-year-old German tourist who got separated from her mother, Sofia (Naila Schuberth), married couple Isabel and Roberto (Lola Dueñas and Gonzalo de Castro), and Octavio (an underused Diego Calva), a Mexican national and food delivery driver.
Talented actors and a well-written plot
The core of the story isn’t exactly unique. There’s a diverse group of survivors, each with small side plots. The group decides to take a risky venture for safety that doesn’t pay off for most of them as they get taken off one by one (or, in this case, they take themselves out). Yet there’s nothing wrong with sticking to a formula when you have an ensemble of talented actors and a well-written plot.
While this Spanish sequel doesn’t have the A-lister prowess of the 2018 movie, it is a superior instalment of the maybe-franchise. The twist was surprising, and the action was almost perfectly paced. While we get plenty of time to see these characters interact with each other, it never feels particularly repetitive.
This spin-off has more kills, but the gore is relatively mild. Yes, as you would expect from this type of movie, there’s plenty of gratuitous violence, but it’s toned down enough to not make you queasy. Could they have told the story without all those brutally creative self-murders? Probably.
And while the creatures are still an unseen mystery, we hear more theories about their nature and how they affect people’s brains.
Overall, this is a solid horror movie and a welcome addition to the Bird Box universe. It expands on what we already know about the apocalyptic invasion (not a lot) while adding more to the lore of its forcibly blind world.
What are the other critics saying about Bird Box: Barcelona?
Austin Burke wasn’t impressed with the excessive focus on the main character and found the film generic.
Movies And Munchies found Sebastian’s story interesting and engaging but wasn’t convinced by most of the other characters.
Movie Files liked the suspense build-up and the focus on Sebastian’s story but weren’t keen on the character development.
Is Bird Box Barcelona a sequel to Bird Box?
While not a direct sequel to Bird Box, Bird Box: Barcelona is a spin-off set in the same universe as the 2018 movie. Most of the narrative occurs in the titular Spanish city nine months after the invasion.
