The terrifying creatures in 'Bird Box' explained

22 December 2018, 18:06

By Nicky Idika

What are the creatures in Netflix's 'Bird Box', what happens if you look at them, and why was Gary able to see them without dying?

Netflix's Bird Box dropped on Friday, Dec 21 but it has already made an impression on audiences. The film, starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, and Danielle Macdonald is about an invisible entity that can make people have hallucinations if they are exposed to it. It is laid out pretty clearly that these hallucinations cause people to kill themselves.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

What are the creatures in Bird Box?

In Bird Box the creatures are never seen but their presence is depicted by subtle actions like leaves blowing in the wind or dark shadows passing by. The leaves rustling are often accompanied by ominous whispers. Basically, we know they're there, we just can't see them which makes their presence even more terrifying.

It's unclear whether the creatures in Bird Box are aliens, demons, or something else entirely.

Our best understanding of the creatures comes from Charlie who offers an explanation through his own knowledge of mythology and religion. Citing Chinese, Celtic and other lore, he speaks about "demons" and "spirit creatures" that take "on the form of your worst fear, deepest sadness, or your greatest loss."

What happens if you look at the creatures in Bird Box?

The characters in the film keep their eyes covered in order to avoid being exposed to the entity.

People who have been affected by the entity undergo a distinct eye colour change that makes their eyes appear swirly and metallic.

The creatures in Bird Box are distinct because they are not physical beings who attack the characters in the film. The creatures make people see things that cause them to harm and kill themselves.

When Douglas' wife Lydia encounters the creature she begins mumbling about her mother who has apparently been dead for 10 years. It is understood that a hallucination of a family member is what made her enter a burning car.

Why was Gary able to look at the creatures and not die?

When Gary arrives at the house he explains that while he was laying low at a colleague's house, a group of escaped patients from a mental institution broke in to the property and forced its occupants to go outside in order to look at the creatures.

Gary says that, though the group of people were infected, they did not need blindfolds and that "they wanted to see" and "were happy" to look at the creatures.

Of course, Gary is actually one of those infected who do not need to wear blindfolds and he does his best to make everyone in the house "see". This results in multiple deaths including Olympia and Douglas'.

It's unclear if his ability to look at the creatures is a result of something in his DNA or if his particular brain chemistry allows him to see the creatures.

It also appears that Gary's drawings are what he sees when he looks at the creatures.