Unprecedented times sometimes inspire the most extreme ideas, and that much was true when co-writer/director Adam Mason’s film Songbird was announced as the first film to be made in the wake of Los Angeles’ COVID-19 lockdown. That was only a couple of months ago, but the ensemble thriller starring Alexandra Daddario, KJ Apa, and Demi Moore, among others, has already progressed to the point where a trailer is here. As you can see, this is indeed a very Michael Bay-inspired (and produced) take on current events, through a harrowing fictional lens.
Songbird takes place in the far flung year of 2023, with the world in lockdown to try and prevent the spread of the continually mutating COVID-23 crisis. With America moving its citizens to quarantine camps, only the immune are allowed to move freely throughout the city of Los Angeles, and Nico (KJ Apa) is one of those lucky few. His freedom is about to find itself a bit more limited though, as his girlfriend Sara (Sofia Carson) finds herself waiting to be collected, as her mother turns out to be infected with COVID-23. Not willing to let her go, Nico is about to engage in a desperate bid to save her from the government forces coming for her and her mother.
While this looks like the central story that Songbird will hang its thematic hat on, it doesn’t look like Nico and Sara’s dramatic romance will be the only tale at play. Through some glimpses in the official trailer, we see Demi Moore and Bradley Whitford, who are apparently a couple that could prove useful to KJ Apa’s quest; and Alexandra Daddario as a woman who looks to be engaged in an affair of sorts with Whitford’s character. Which is probably why we see Moore pulling a gun on her on-screen husband, and Whitford smashing up the car of his cinematic mistress.
Tempers are running high in 2023, as Songbird looks to be taking an action packed yet dramatic approach to the 2020 pandemic, while also amping up the tension of our current fears by turning them into something much worse than they actually are. Should audiences be worried about whether this Michael Bay produced film is more like a gritty, reality based thriller like Contagion, those fears can be put to rest. If anything, Songbird feels more like the classic blockbuster Outbreak, with a dash of The Purge, and a whole lot of Bayhem involving flamethrowers and motorcycles. Should this particular film land itself in hot water post release, it wouldn’t be the first time Songbird will have been scrutinized by the outside world.
Quite frankly, everything we’ve described above, and the addition of a very crazy looking Peter Stormare make Songbird look absolutely intriguing to behold. We’re not sure how long we’ll have to wait to see this thriller, as it currently doesn’t have a release date. But as soon as that changes, we’ll break those updates here at CinemaBlend. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release schedule, as well as the release calendar for 2021, as either of those feels destined to house this particular project’s debut.
