Directed by: John Krasinski
Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe
The Film: It may be hard to look at John Krasinski’s face and not immediately see The Office’s Jim Halpert, but for those who did not see his strong performance in Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016), any lingering doubts that Krasinski could not transcend his Jim Halpert role that may be lingering should be put to rest as A Quiet Place strongly affirms that Krasinski is more than capable of life beyond the Big Tuna. Not only does Krasinski show audiences a new side of his acting talents, he also competently directs A Quiet Place and strongly delivers on the film’s unique take on an otherwise conventional survival horror film.
The film begins 49 days after a mysterious event leaves a small town in what would appear to be some kind of post apocalyptic state. One family quietly forages through an empty drugstore extremely cautious of making any kind of noise. We soon learn of a menacing threat that is attracted to even the smallest of sounds, and that something seems to be hunting the family. The family has been able to survive thus far largely in part for their ability to communicate via sign language due to their eldest daughter being deaf, and while they are living in a very rural farming community, the disaster appears to be global in scale and there may be only a handful of survivors remaining.
John Krasinski stars alongside Emily Blunt in this gripping tale of a family’s attempt to survive amidst one of the harshest of conditions, an environment without sound. Since their survival depends on their ability to remain quiet, even the most basic elements of an interactive life must be forgone such as talking, laughing, or even whispering. Forget about screming altogether…but when some unknown creature who looks freshly regurgitated straight from the pits of hell comes at you faster than the T-1000, good luck with that. Having a monster attracted to sound is unique and interesting enough to keep tensions high throughout most of A Quiet Place and entertains surprisingly well beyond any gimmick factor that may be intially perceived.
Obviously the quietly tense moments are what defines most thrillers and scary movies in general, and A Quiet Place attempts to create as many of those moments as possible with its premise of “if you make a sound we’re all dead” without overdoing it. The film is basically one “finger pressed to lips” scene after another, with a few extremely well crafted mid-film sequences that are so good they actually steal some of the third acts thunder. Also, there are several scenes devoted to character development that show the family having small peaceful moments like joining hands before a meal or Krasinski and Blunt (who are real-life husband and wife) briefly slow dancing while sharing earbuds and listening to a romantic song, but I found myself wanting a quick gear change back to intense survival mode where all the fun was to be had at.
In a movie where the actors largely don’t speak and where natural sound means death, obviously a lot of focus went in to the film’s various sound effects and set design which were done very well. The creature is quite nasty in particular and interesting to look at, but it does sound an awful lot like a Xenomorph from the Alien franchise with a few new hisses and clicks mixed in. While the film’s music isn’t all that unique as it shifts back and forth from it’s dramatic and horror theme, it does its job well enough to get your heart pounding at all the right moments. The real highlights of A Quiet Place are, however, when its actors quietly communicate through sign language, facial expressions and intense physical performances. Emily Blunt, in particular, has an absolutely terrifying scene that rivals Sigourney Weaver’s riveting encounter with the Xenomorph in Alien (1979).
While the film’s ending was tastefully done in my opinion, it may leave some viewers wanting a bit more. Either way, A Quiet Place has enough good going for it that make it well worth the watch. The sheer lack of any backstory or explanation of the ensuing madness compounds the horror and is very welcome amidst a cinema landscape desperate to fill viewers in on every minute plot point and provide unintelligible attempts to explain the paranormal. Overall, A Quiet Place is probably similar to a film you’ve seen before, like a combination of Signs (2002), I am Legend (2007), and Alien (1979)…or even the Playstation hit The Last of Us, but perhaps ultimately it is unique enough to live among these titles rather than be buried by them. 7/10 – Strongly Recommended!
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