A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place

By James Davidson

The new horror-thriller film “A Quiet Place” is about a family who must live in silence to survive against mysterious creatures, who hunt by sound and have taken over their world. Directed by and starring John Krasinski, the movie is a fresh take on the horror genre, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats without a sound.

The movie begins by showing us three young children (Millicent Simmons, Noah Jupe, and Cade Woodward) tiptoeing through an abandoned convenience store with their parents (Emily Blunt and Krasinski) who are looking for medicine. No one makes a sound and they all communicate by sign language. We find out why later on. The youngest child, (Woodward) finds a toy space ship in the store that is quickly taken away by the father who explains it is too loud. The oldest daughter (Simmons), who is deaf, gives the toy back without realizing it makes sound. On the way back to their farm the youngest child begins playing with the toy, and is quickly attacked and killed by a mysterious creature.

The movie is extremely well acted, the actors keep us in suspense through the entire movie while only saying a handful of words. The actors use facial expressions to convey their emotions to the audience. They also use different ways of signing to convey different emotions and situations, It’s very interesting and different to see acting through sign language The movie also uses a strong score to set a suspenseful tone.

There is palpable tension between Simmons and the rest of the family.  Simmons blames herself for the youngest child’s death because she gave the child back the toy that caused his death. Throughout most of the movie she is angry at herself and thinks her parents hate her as well.

The film is well cast, Krasinski and Blunt have great chemistry, which is helped by them being married in real life. They also both act well with the children. They really make you believe that this is a family who has experienced a tragedy.

The visual effects (CGI) used to create the creatures is very well done. Not much is revealed about the monsters at all throughout the course of the movie. Leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions as to where they came from or why they are attacking using only sound.

The writers and producers do an excellent job giving the audience information without the characters talking. Using strategically placed newspapers and notes to give the audience vital information. Because of this, the audience must pay attention to the movie at all times. The writers also do a good job making a very interesting movie with only five actors that takes place on essentially one farm.

“A Quiet Place is rated PG-13 for terror and some bloody images making it inappropriate for young viewers. However there is no language in the movie because there is barely any dialogue.

A Quiet Place is a fresh take on horror that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats in a new, fun, interesting way. It is very well written, acted and produced. It is one of best, most well done films of the year so far and is definitely recommended by this film critic. It earns 5 out of 5 stars.