April 5, 2018: A Quiet Place, Movie Review

A Brief History

On April 5, 2018, we have only one more day to wait for the release of the new horror film, A Quiet Place, written, directed, and starring John Krasinski. A movie with a minimum of dialog, A Quiet Place adeptly manages to convey all the communication it needs, creating terrific tension and jump-scare terror along the way. Once again, our measure of audience approval was in evidence as the test audience applauded heartily at the end.

Digging Deeper

Krasinski not only co-wrote the script, directed and starred in the movie, but also included his real life wife as his on screen wife, a subtle touch that lent the film all the more credibility. The actors cast as their 3 (make that 2) children also fitted their roles perfectly, including Millicent Simmonds, who portrays a deaf girl with conviction, probably because she is deaf in real life!

While avoiding spoilers, we can tell you the film concerns an apocalyptic near future America where creatures are all over, waiting for the remaining humans to make any noise above ambient background sounds in order to located and kill the humans. The origin of the monsters is not revealed, but suffice to say they are brutal, deadly, and terrifying, using their keen sense of hearing to find their prey. As a result, surviving humans must communicate by whispers in secluded areas or by sign language. The terrible burden of trying to keep his pregnant wife and surviving children alive is crushing a desperate Lee Abbot (played by Krasinski) and you can feel his tension in your own guts as you watch the movie.

Plenty of jump scares to go around, so don’t be surprised if your date suddenly ends up in your lap. Or you end up in your date’s lap! Special effects are superb, amazingly so in light of the $17 million budget. The film is only 90 minutes long and has enough action and tension to seem much shorter. Michael Bay produced the movie and his credentials stretch across a lot of blockbuster films. There is no time or temptation for your attention to wander during this movie reminiscent of other “quiet” movies such as Don’t Breathe, Hear No Evil, Hush, and a host of thrillers where at least in part the potential victim(s) must remain silent to avoid the killer/monster/animal stalking them. In A Quiet Place, the entire film has the tension of refraining from making a give away sound through the entire movie, making it 90 minutes of pure terror.

We like horror movies, and we loved A Quiet Place. In 2018, we have had the good fortune to review several movies that are refreshingly different, and this is one of them. Young children may be scared by the film, but only during the movie. We doubt if watching the movie would leave a lasting impression on younger kids, so any but the most sensitive should be ok if you bring them. Tweens and teens will probably love the movie as much as we did. We strongly recommend A Quiet Place for all horror fans, even casual ones. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 100% rating and so do we.

Question for students (and subscribers): Did you see this film? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

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