Original Content podcast: The pandemic thriller ‘Songbird’ could have been a lot worse

Let’s be clear: “Songbird” is not a good movie.

It’s hard to see how it could have been any good, since “Songbird” was written shortly after the pandemic began and filmed a few months later — so the filmmakers had to write a screenplay, shoot it in the midst of a pandemic and edit it, all in under a year.

So it feels remarkable that they managed to succeed in at least making an entertaining — if very silly — B-movie. The story is set in the near future, when the lockdown has extended for years and the virus has mutated into COVID-23. Managing the pandemic has fallen to the Department of Sanitation, which can quickly identifies anyone infected and drags them away to unseen Q-Zones.

You might be wondering whether you want to watch a movie that hits so close to the real-life nightmare that we’re currently living through. The good news is that there’s nothing particularly believable in “Songbird,” and a more than a few things that are outright laughable.

But as we explain in the latest episode of the Original Content podcast, Anthony and Darrell both enjoyed the film (currently available to rent on-demand), perhaps because they went in expecting a complete disaster, so they were pleasantly surprised to discover an goofy, unpretentious thriller with one or two genuinely chilling scenes. Jordan, on the other hand, had high hopes, which may explain why she hated it.

You can listen to our review in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcasts or find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You can also follow us on Twitter or send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)

And if you’d like to skip ahead, here’s how the episode breaks down:
0:00 Intro
0:20 “Songbird” review
19:51 “Songbird” spoiler discussion