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
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…
Recent Posts
- Elon Musk’s AI said he and Trump deserve the death penalty
- The GSA is shutting down its EV chargers, calling them ‘not mission critical’
- Lenovo is going all out with yet another funky laptop design: this time, it’s a business notebook with a foldable OLED screen
- Elon Musk’s first month of destroying America will cost us decades
- The first iOS 18.4 developer beta is here, with support for Priority Notifications
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010