Welcome to the Ending Explained for Bird Box Barcelona, a new thriller film arriving on Netflix this weekend. Alex and David Pastor direct the film, a spin-off of the original film released in 2018, starring Sandra Bullock. Bird Box Barcelona takes the concept and elements of the original film and the novel and uses them in a different setting, which still works like the first. The film stars Mario Casas, Alejandra Howard, Georgina Campbell, Naila Schuberth, and Diego Calva. The film presents itself as a continuation of the setting and will probably spawn a third film.
Bird Box Barcelona uses the same setting and rules as the first film, where the characters live in a world that has been invaded by strange creatures who make anyone who has seen them commit suicide. The entire premise feels like something out of an M. Night Shyamalan film, and it totally resembles what that director did with his film, The Happening, and yet, there are enough differences that Bird Box, now a franchise, can stand on its own.
However, the plot and the characters continue to be a bit too shallow, making the movie incredibly predictable. Still, if you were a fan of the first film, this new film expands on the concept and gives us a new angle on the situation, and for that, it is worth watching.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Bird Box Barcelona. Read at your own risk.
Why Is Sebastian Making People See The Creatures?
The movie starts by introducing us to our main character, Sebastian. He moves through the streets of Barcelona, accompanied by his daughter Anna. Sebastian gets assaulted, and his food is stolen. Then we see him come across another group of survivors, and he negotiates going with them; in exchange, he can tell them where they can find an electrical generator.
Sebastian says he was an engineer before the world’s end and knows where they are being stored. The survivors accept the risk of taking him with them. Sebastian leaves Anna behind for the moment.
This is the first sign that something is wrong with Sebastian. A father leaving his daughter behind in a situation like this is a huge red flag. The other survivors receive Sebastian, and he meets all of them.
They seem to be good people. However, at night, Sebastian wakes up and finds the key to the bus, where they all sleep together. It doesn’t make much sense, especially why they would all sleep in the same bus when countless other buses are at the station. Well, Sebastian grabs the keys, turns on the engine, and exits the station, exposing the group to the creatures. As each of them commits suicide, Sebastian sees their souls go to heaven.
In the first film, we learned that not everyone who saw the creatures committed suicide. A small group of people would actually see the creatures and become fervent in their need for others to see them as well. Like a virus, they would infiltrate groups of people, like Sebastian just did with this group, and then expose them to the disease.
We see a bit of Sebastian’s backstory and learn that he was part of a group like this. Anna was made to see the creatures and committed suicide, while Sebastian survived the experience. The Anna that he sees with him is just an illusion.
Sebastian continues his journey to expose more and more people, and he comes across another group. This includes an American named Claire and two other men, Claoido and Rafa, who use dogs to move around outside. Sebastian uses the same lie and infiltrates their group.
The ghost of Anna keeps pushing him to expose this group to the creatures, so their souls can also ascend. It becomes clear that Sebastian is being manipulated by this ghost, which the creatures for this purpose have created.
What Is At The Top Of Montjuïc Castle?
Within the new group, there is a small German girl named Sofia. Sebastian can stay in the group as he speaks German and can communicate with the girl.
Through Sebastian, the girl informs them that she got separated from her mother when the end of the world happened, but she still remembers that they were following a group of people going to a safe place, a castle in the mountains. The group concludes that this castle is none other than Montjuïc Castle, located in Barcelona. They decide to take the risk and make the journey to the castle.
On the journey to Montjuïc Castle, Sebastian becomes close with Claire and Sofia. Claire opens up about the grief of losing her brother; she is a psychiatrist, so she can tell that Sebastian has gone through the same.
The ghost of Anna keeps pushing him to expose the group, and he lets Rafa die and then exposes Claudio. However, when Claudio dies, he doesn’t see his soul ascend, making Sebastian doubt that his actions are right. Sofia clearly reminds him of Anna; little by little, he realizes that his daughter is truly dead and that he is being manipulated.
Claire and Sofia realize that Sebastian has been lying all this time. He can see on the outside and is part of a group that makes people see the creatures. They don’t trust him, but Sebastian proves he just wants to help them. However, they come across the same group that exposed Sebastian and killed his daughter.
In the end, Sebastian kills the group leader, accepting the truth about his daughter and being content that he helped save Sofia and Claire live on. Claire and Sofia arrived at Montjuïc Castle, where Sofia met her mother. Claire is taken for interrogation and to do some blood tests on her.
The military runs things at Montjuïc Castle, and they inform Claire that they have found a certain DNA strain in the people that can see the creatures and live, so they are testing individuals to find some immunity.
The movie ends with the revelation that the scientists at Montjuïc Castle have captured and are experimenting with a creature. Nothing wrong will happen, of course. The movie also offers certain hints that the creatures are alien and have nothing to do with any of the Earthly religions. Sebastian thought they were angels, but that was fake. The movie’s last shot is that of a sky full of stars, implying that this is where the creatures came from.