Writer: John Krasinski, Bryan Woods, Scott Beck (Screenplay)
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Leon Russom, Cade Woodward, Doris McCarthy
Plot: A family lives an isolated existence in utter silence, for fear of an unknown threat that follows and attacks at any sound.
Tagline – If they can hear you, they can hunt you.
Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Nerve Shredding Horror
Story: A Quiet Place starts as we follow the Abbott family, 89 days into an apocalypse, father Lee (Krasinski), mother Evelyn (Blunt) and children Regan (Simmons), Marcus (Jupe), Beau (Woodward), they must stay silent or an unknown predator will come for them, we see how they get supplies and travel on created paths which won’t make noise. When Beau makes a noise with a toy he has taken, we learn the devastation of the predator.
About one year later we return to the family, living on a farm, still in as close to silence as they can get, we do have tension between Regan and Lee, while Evelyn is expecting a new baby. The new two days will show how sudden the threat can be as the predators are attracted by the additional noise and the battle to survive is on.
Thoughts on A Quiet Place
Characters – The characters focus on the family dynamics, we have the father Lee that is desperately trying to find a way to keep his family safe, while supporting them by hunting and building a defence, Evelyn that is holding everyone together, while preparing for her next child, Regan is the most interesting character, in a world of silence, her character being deaf adds a dimension to how she can cope better than the rest, she is filled with guilt because of what happened to her younger brother, believing her father blames her. Marcus is the youngest and the one Lee wants to prepare to take over the duties in case something ever happened to him. These are the characters we spend most of the film with and you do want to see what they are getting up to.
Performances – John Krasinski took dual roles here, behind the camera too which he gets it perfectly correct, his acting performance is wonderful too and being opposite his real wife helps get that extra level of emotion be needs as a husband and father. Emily Blunt, the one that can do no wrong, she is brilliant too throughout the film. the two child stars are fantastic here, giving us a performance that makes us believe they are actually related too.
Story – The story here is simple, a family trying to survive in a world where any noise will attract a predator that will kill you, you can’t run, you can try to hide and you will not beat it. The story is brave because it shows you the predator early on, which is what is needed because it shows you just how sudden death will be if you make a sound. Watching the family dynamics is interesting too because we are seeing a family dealing with grief and guilt for what happened, while also trying to survive in this world. How they go about it is interesting to see and apart from generic horror mistakes this story will keep you on the edge throughout the film.
Horror/Thriller – The horror in this movie comes from knowing you will not survive an encounter with this predator that hunts through sound, we are kept on edge for the whole film which helps us believe the world we are entering.
Settings – The world created seems simple, it does feel lived in because of the time the characters are meant to have been surviving in 400days+ and using the environment to survive shows us how the human knowledge could find a way.
Special Effects – The effects are mostly used for the world around the predators, they look scary, they are terrifying and effects show us what they can do.
Scene of the Movie – The whole night sequence is edge of your seat.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – This is a strange moan, as this is meant to be selected to be at times. We sometimes hear what the deaf Regan hears, which adds something haunting to the movie, then we have music which works, I would have loved to have seen this whole film from what she hears, pure silence.
Final Thoughts – This is easily a contender for horror film of the year, it is fantastic, edge of your seat and by the end you will need regain your breath.
Overall: Must see Horror movie of the year.
Rating