In the climax of a thriller, tension is often extracted when the main character is hiding from a dangerous threat lurking nearby. It could be another person, an animal, an alien, whatever. You name it. As long as they don’t make noise, they’ll be OK. We hold our breath praying that our hero doesn’t give himself away. The menace looms closer. The protagonist’s heart beats faster. Our hearts beat faster in the audience. The stress can be unbearable. A Quiet Place is extremely clever. The story takes the crucial element of a horror film and makes that apex the entire picture. The anxiety is non-stop for the duration of the production. It’s extremely compelling.
Things are hushed right from the beginning. A Quiet Place doesn’t waste time with exposition, but we can sort of gather info as things develop. We’re in the very near future. Earth has been taken over by some really scary looking aliens that prey on human beings. As long as people remain silent, they are safe. Make a sound, and individuals run the risk of being discovered. The Abbotts are a family simply trying to stay alive. You’ll find out within the first few minutes how hard that is. There’s Lee (John Krasinski), the father, mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), and their daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds). She happens to be deaf, both in the drama and in real life. Regan has two brothers as well: Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward). Complicating matters is when Evelyn becomes pregnant. Psst….babies are kind of noisy.
A Quiet Place is an effective horror tale that entertains as it plays. To this fan, actor John Krasinski will forever be Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office. Clearly a man of many talents, he directed and co-wrote this screenplay with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. He directed his real-life wife Emily Blunt who plays his fictional wife in the story. That makes the role easier. They’ve been married since 2010. No need to feign onscreen chemistry. They’ve had plenty of practice. They’re the couple at the center of a very interesting but uncomplicated idea. For long stretches, there is virtually no sound at all. The tension is unbearably intense at times. The experience will require absolute silence in the theater too. It will certainly be a most demanding test of a modern audience to not make a peep while watching a horror film. Obviously talking and cell phones are always forbidden but I’d recommend no food or drink as well. Loud popcorn eating and rusting candy wrappers were present at my screening, along with some hilariously exaggerated gasps as well. I could’ve done without the distractions. I’m not usually obsessive about such things, but go see this particular movie in a packed theater and then tell me I was wrong.
A Quiet Place is a sharp thriller made on a shoestring budget for only $17 million. Judging from the grosses this weekend it looks like it will ultimately reap at least 10 times that amount. I especially love when inexpensive productions (that I like) make a huge profit. It proves you don’t always have to spend a great deal of money to earn a lot of money. You simply need a good idea. It doesn’t even have to be totally original either. Director John Krasinski’s influences are simple and unmistakable. Like 1979’s Alien, these monsters are really big and ugly. Also like that feature, part of the giddy apprehension is how they’re introduced ever so carefully over time. Just a glimpse of one here, another flash of one there. These beasts cannot see, but they have extremely sensitive hearing. The beautifully abhorrent details of the creatures become more and more familiar as the story wears on. “Don’t make a sound” was a gimmick recently used in 2016’s Don’t Breathe. That was good too, but A Quiet Place is more elegant and family friendly. It’s rated PG-13. It’s also incredibly exciting. Do go and enjoy it right now. Just please shut your trap when you do.
04-05-18
5 Responses
Let’s hope that the title of this movie reflects what the theater-going experience should be from here on out to eternity! I too took more umbrage to the eating, even the coughing or people going to the restroom during it. Luckily, I went at a less than full time so my experience wasn’t as troublesome as yours, thankfully.
Very good horror/thriller.
It’s hard to emphasize how magnified the sounds in the theater seem while watching this movie. People gasped several times throughout the film. Usually, I expect such reactions. Here, in the deafening silence, they seemed almost comical and took me out of the film. I’m looking forward to watching this film again but at home in the quiet solace of my living room.
Oh yeah, definite Blu-Ray buy for me.
I liked this. Very intense. The silence, not only from the movie, but the theater too, was keeping me on edge. Jumped up a few times. Very clever. Glad this is a hit. 4 stars
It’s a well-crafted horror film and notably the 2nd biggest hit of 2018 so far.