Songbird – Hulu Review (2/5)

SONGBIRD on Hulu is a Pandemic Sci-Fi thriller where Covid-23 has taken hold in 2024. It features several interesting smaller storylines and one less interesting main story. Read our full Songbird movie review here and watch it on Hulu now!

SONGBIRD is a new Pandemic Sci-Fi thriller on Hulu that takes place in 2024. In the future, an airborne Coronavirus (called Covid-23) has turned Los Angeles into a ghost town. Only those who are immune can move around freely. A vaccine isn’t even being discussed in this world.

Obviously, it’s very relatable in many ways and feels like an “it could be worse”-take on the pandemic we’re already living through. For me, this is enough reason to check it out but do lower your expectations in terms of a good storyline. In many ways, it’s doesn’t really hold up.

Continue reading our Songbird movie review below. 

Strangely familiar – but not in a good way

Songbird features several interesting smaller storylines that I really enjoyed. Especially the one with Demi Moore and Bradley Whitford (Get Out). Also, I found myself invested in the one with Alexandra Daddario (We Summon the Darkness) and Paul Walter Hauser (Calls on Apple TV+). That was probably my favorite.

These storylines offered many relevant takes on how people from different walks of life are forced to live under a pandemic. Also, this part of the movie didn’t feel as forced or heavy-handed as other storylines.

The main storyline is essentially a romance story. And, honestly, this part of Songbird feels a lot like a movie from the 1990s with one-dimensional bad guys and a street-smart guy that will do anything to save his girl. The hell with everyone else!

Having said that, I do feel the actors in the main story – K.J. Apa and Sofia Carson – did a really good job. As for the bad guy, I always like the Swedish Peter Stormare (V.I.P.) but I would really like to see him play nuanced characters soon. He is always cast as the psycho with no endearing traits whatsoever.

Watch Songbird on Hulu now – or on VOD

Adam Mason is the director and co-writer of Songbird. The other screenwriter behind the script is Simon Boyes. The two have made quite a few movies together. Including the 2015 horror-thriller Hangman. Most recently, the two also co-wrote the script for the Into the Dark episode Blood Moon (released in March of 2021).

You might like: Our review of Into the Dark: Blood Moon here >

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie but since it’s on Hulu now, I wanted to check it out. While I certainly enjoyed parts of it – or rather, certain storylines in the movie – it doesn’t work for me as a whole. Also, it feels longer than its 84-minute runtime.

Still, if you’re intrigued about a somewhat relatable pandemic sci-fi thriller that takes place in the near future (and who isn’t), then do check out Songbird on Hulu now.

Songbird was released on VOD in December 2020, and now it’s out on Hulu.

Details

Director: Adam Mason
Writers: Adam Mason, Simon Boyes
Stars: K.J. Apa, Sofia Carson, Craig Robinson, Bradley Whitford, Demi Moore, Alexandra Daddario, Peter Stormare, Paul Walter Hauser, Andrew Howard