Movies like Bird Box and A Quiet Place brought a whole new perspective to the horror genre. They allowed us to look differently at the heroes’ experiences and somehow relate to them and their struggles. Those movies’ atmosphere is much more intimate, which makes it watching them a little bit strange. But also great!
Bird Box is a 2018 movie directed by Susanne Bier and developed by Netflix. Starring Sandra Bullock in the lead role, it tells the story of a human apocalypse where everyone who opens his eyes outside is bound to die. The only way to survive? Don’t ever open your eyes!
Bird Box is based on the novel of the same name by Josh Malerman. (you can read a review here) The book became a pop culture sensation, so it was unsurprising when Netflix bought the rights to film it. In 2023, a sequel followed – Bird Box: Barcelona debuted on the streaming platform. The action takes place in the same universe as the first movie but on a different continent.
Bird Box
A Quiet Place is a 2018 horror movie created and directed by The Office star John Krasinski. He also stars in it alongside his actual wife, Emily Blunt. The movie became incredibly successful, costing just $17 million to make but grossing more than $340 million at the box office.
Like Bird Box, A Quiet Place is a movie where the human senses play a significant role. When hostile aliens invade Earth, people find that those creatures are hunting through their hearing. In other words, everyone must keep as quiet as possible in order to survive (hence, the movie’s name).
Krasinksi and Blunt play the role of parents who must keep their three children alive. In a post-apocalyptic world, every decision is crucial. A sequel followed a Quiet Place in 2020, repeating the original movie’s success.
A Quiet Place
What other movies like Bird Box and A Quiet Place can you watch right now? Let’s see.
Movies Like Bird Box and A Quiet Place to Watch:
The Happening (2008)
The Happening
The Indian director M. Night Shyamalan is a master of mysterious movies with a twist ending, and The Happening is undoubtedly one of them. The film focuses on an unexplained natural disaster that causes people to commit mass suicides. It stars Mark Wahlberg and Zoey Deschanel, and while it received negative reviews from the critics, The Happening is still worth watching if you liked Bird Box. We can say these two movies are similar to each other.
The Road (2009)
The Road
The famed American novelist Cormac McCarthy died recently, but his books will live forever. One of his most famous works is arguably The Road – a post-apocalyptic tale filmed by the director John Hillcoat in 2009. Starring Vigo Mortensen, the movie tells the story of a father and a son in post-apocalyptic America. An unexplained event turns the United States into a wasteland where survival is the primary goal. Named “Man” and “Boy” by the author, the father and the son must stick together to keep themselves alive.
Children of Men (2006)
Children of Men
In 2006, Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón brought us his dystopian thriller Children of Men. We have to say the movie’s idea was quite interesting – it told about a world where human infertility almost brought humanity to extinction. Many refugees want to find asylum in the United Kingdom, but the government doesn’t quite agree. Clive Owen had the lead role, portraying a social worker who tries to help one of the refugees. Famed actors such as Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, and Chiwetel Ejiofor contributed to the movie. Despite the excellent idea and solid cast, Children of Men failed at the box office.
Blindness (2008)
Blindness
When discussing good movies like Bird Box, Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness is another one that comes to mind. Starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Alice Braga, it tells the weird story of a society plagued by mass blindness. Based on the novel of the same name by Jose Saramago, Blindness masterfully explores themes like human nature and the breakdown of social order. How are humans reacting to an inexplicable social crisis? What’s their behavior in moments like these? Although the movie didn’t perform well at the box office, it still deserves our attention.
It Comes at Night (2017)
It Comes at Night
Directed and written by Trey Edwards Shults, It Comes at Night is another good idea if you look for movies like the Bird Box on Netflix. It’s an intense psychological thriller that revolves around the appearance of a deadly virus that leads to a breakdown of the human society. We follow the story of a father (Joel Edgerton) who must keep his wife and son alive. The family hides in a deeply isolated house in the woods, implementing rigorous protocols to survive. Everything changes when another family appears at the home. It Comes at Night tells us a story of fear, isolation, and trust, while the viewers can’t take their eyes off the screen.
28 Days Later (2002)
28 Days Later
Every cinema lover has to be attentive to Danny Boyle’s movies. After all, we are talking about one of the finest British directors of his generation. In 2002 Boyle found a way to surprise us with 28 Days Later – a post-apocalyptic thriller telling the story of a man (Cillian Murphy) waking up from a coma, just to find out that London is deserted by everyone. It’s certainly a film similar to Bird Box. According to many critics, 28 Days Later revolutionized the zombie genre by introducing a more intense storytelling style. Today this movie is considered a cult classic by zombie genre fans. It’s one of the scary movies like Bird Box you can stream right now.
The Silence (2019)
The Silence
Similar to A Quiet Place, The Silence is a horror movie that introduces the viewer to frightening creatures who hunt humans only by sound. The world is under attack, and it’s up to Hugh (Stanley Tucci) to keep his family alive. Some might say this movie just copies A Quiet Place, but the truth is a bit different – it’s based on the novel of the same name by Tim Lebbon. Watching The Silence, you can enjoy themes like survival and family dynamics. Although it never made it big, the movie is still a good fit for Bird Box & A Quiet Place fans.
I Am Legend (2007)
I Am Legend
Another survival horror movie based on a book (Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name from 1954), I Am Legend is another cult classic valued by the genre community. The movie takes us to a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is almost wiped off due to a deadly virus. It stars Will Smith as the scientist Robert Neville who is desperately trying to find a cure for the contagion. Always walking alongside his loyal German Shepherd Sam, Neville experiments on infected rats, hoping to create a vaccine. Isolation, desperation, and psychological toll follow one of the last men left on Earth, while the deserted New York brings chills to the audience.
The Book of Eli (2010)
The Book of Eli
Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes, The Book of Eli can be included in the list of movies like Bird Box. In a desolate world, crushed by a catastrophic apocalyptic event, a man named Eli (Denzel Washington) carries a precious artifact that could redeem humanity – the so-called Book of Eli. It is the last known copy of the Bible and a book that can restore hope and knowledge in the world. Eli must take the book to a safe place, but he faces various challenges on the road. The Book of Eli is a film about faith and resilience, while it also shows a world that is desperate for morality and redemption. Maybe it’s not one of Denzel Washington’s best flicks, but it’s still a good call when we discuss post-apocalyptic movies like Bird Box and A Quiet Place.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Snowpiercer
Before he made his Oscar-winning Parasite, Korean director Bong Joon-ho made waves among movie fans with the excellent Snowpiercer. This post-apocalyptic thriller is based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige and tells the story of a world frozen in a new Ice Age. The only survivors constantly travel on a massive, self-sustaining train called the Snowpiercer. Just like in the real world, Snowpiercer is divided into different social classes, which leads to conflicts – the people from the lower classes are not getting enough of the train’s resources. In the lead role, we see Marvel’s star Chris Evans who’s ready to lead the rebellion. Due to its portrayal of social classes, Snowpiercer can be analyzed as a metaphor highlighting the issue of social inequality within our societies.
