play station official magazine

105

Streaming now

N

etflix horror Bird Box has an

irresistible high concept – you

see it, you die. Hot on the

heels of A Quiet Place, which

played a similar trick with

sound, it’s only a matter of time before

“you smelt it, you’re dealt it” is

unleashed on unsuspecting audiences.

A framing device sets the scene –

Malorie (Sandra Bullock) is making a

treacherous journey by river with two

young children (called Boy and Girl), but

they’re all blindfolded. The reason why

is revealed in flashback. An unseen

force suddenly appears on Earth and

its effects are devastating – one

glimpse drives you to suicide. Narrowly

escaping the carnage, Malorie finds

sanctuary in a suburban home with a

group of survivors. But death lurks

behind window, wall, and door.

Based on a novel, it’s such a good

concept you often wish it was attached

to a better film. While there are several

effective sequences, and

elements which expand

the world in intriguing

ways (such as roaming

mad men who exist in a

state of murderous

euphoria) the unwieldy

collection of characters

are a largely insufferable

bunch. Focusing on a

smaller family unit, like

A Quiet Place, may have

yielded superior results.

Sandy gives it her all

as a mother who

practically abandons her

humanity to survive, but

go in expecting answers

and you’ll ultimately be

disappointed. Not bad,

but in a superb year for

horror this is some way

off the gold standard.

Jordan Farley

Bird Box

High-concept horror has one rule: see no evil

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

SEASON 1

FORMAT NETFLIX PRICE £7.99 A MONTH

Based on the comic by My Chemical Romance

frontman Gerard Way, this superhero series stars

Ellen Page as one of seven gifted children adopted

by a billionaire and trained to save the world.

VELVET BUZZSAW

FORMAT NETFLIX PRICE £7.99 A MONTH

The last time Dan Gilroy worked with Jake Gyllenhaal

and Rene Russo the results were modern classic

Nightcrawler, so get very excited about their reunion

for movie Velvet Buzzsaw, a thriller set in the

contemporary LA art world.

THE

MANDALORIAN

SERIES 1

FORMAT DISNEY+

PRICE TBC

When Disney’s own

streaming service

launches later this year

it will feature the TV

equivalent of a killer app

in The Mandalorian – a

live-action Star Wars

TV series starring

Pedro Pascal as a lone

Mandalorian gunfighter.

THE WITCHER

SEASON 1

FORMAT NETFLIX

PRICE £7.99 A MONTH

The fallout from wig-gate

wasn’t pretty, but there are

still plenty of reasons to

be excited about Netflix’s

adaptation of The Witcher.

For starters, Henry ‘Geralt’

Cavill is already a fan of the

games, and the show will be

based primarily on the books,

meaning new spins on familiar

tales if you’re intimately

familiar with Wild Hunt.

2019 preview special

FORMAT NETFLIX PRICE £7.99 A MONTH

We’d be safe. We

spend most of our time

staring at the games

we’re playing.