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Plot Summary: A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.

Director: John Krasinski

Writers: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski

Runtime: 1h 30min

Main Cast:

• Emily Blunt as Evelyn
• John Krasinski as Lee
• Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott
• Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott
• Cade Woodward as Beau Abbott

Review by: The Superior Spider-Sam

At the time of this writing “A Quiet Place” enjoys a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and I am here to tell you it is well deserved. John Krasinski (Jim from “The Office”!) has directed and acted in one heck of a film.

What I Didn’t Like:

To get this out of the way, I figured I’d speak on the one negative of this film before I start gushing over what made it awesome.

The only negative critique of this film from my point of view would be the lack of exposition on how this post-apocalyptic world we are shown came to be. We know somewhat why the world came to be so desolate but we aren’t really shown how; nor are we shown the origin and/or motivation of the enemy. We are thrown into day number 89 of their current situation in the very first scene of the film and the film moves on from there. I must state this is a criticism I felt I should mention because I understand that quite a few people like to have a lead-in to a plot in order to enjoy it rather than feeling as if they are playing catch-up in an unfamiliar setting.

Personally, this does not bother me. I have no issue catching that one newspaper clipping in the background, the scribbled writing on a whiteboard, or even inferring from conversations between characters in order to put pieces together and understand the setting. However, I can see how that may be unappealing to some.

What I Liked:

John Krasinski crafted an excellent tale that kept me engaged the entire 95 minute run time of this film. In 95 minutes, Krasinski made me feel sad, scared, joyous, excited, and connected to each character; this is a feat some films fail to do with over two hours of runtime. I must praise “A Quiet Place” for hitting all of the right notes without needless exposition or uninteresting and unneeded character development.

We as the audience are dropped into this world about 3 months after some unknown creatures have shown up on our world. Initially, we do not know too much about these creatures, other than they are incredibly dangerous and that they are attracted to sound. Krasinski stars as a father and husband who, along with his wife portrayed by Emily Blunt, are on a supply run in a deserted town along with their three children which include a deaf daughter portrayed by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds. Very quickly we learn that this world is not safe and that this movie wants you to know it – it goes there. After the start of this movie, you understand the danger is real and there are real stakes for every single one of these family members.

Since the daughter in this family is deaf, they were a bit prepared for this new (horrifying) way of life because they already knew sign language. I have to praise Krasinski’s direction and all of the actors’ talent (including the children) for portraying the desperation and horror of this world without uttering words. The emotion with which they sign when they are happy or frustrated, the quick bodily reactions to every sound made, and the FEAR that comes across each one of their faces when they realize a sound has been made are all so palpable.

Krasinski does a nice job of keeping the creatures hidden for a majority of the movie so we only see them in a quick moment when they fly across the screen to take down one who is making noise; this adds to the tension because you aren’t actually afraid of the creatures because they are scary to look at, you are afraid of sounds because you know the consequences. And, there are consequences.  “A Quiet Place” is unique in the danger it offers because it’s not a movie such as “Fast and the Furious” where you know each main character will make it out fine, nor is it like “Alien” where even though they start off as an ensemble, you notice the one main character separating herself from the rest meaning she will make it out fine. Instead “A Quiet Place” offers each character a moment to stand out yet mounts the danger so high that you truly do not know if all, some, or none of this family will be alive in the end.

I’ve seen this film described as a hybrid-horror movie, but I am going to call it straight up horror because this movie legitimately frightened me, and I have not been afraid in a long time. This movie doesn’t rely on jump scares or bloody massacres, or grotesque monsters to scare you which again, goes back to the direction of the film. While I was afraid of the death they represented, I was not afraid of the creatures themselves- although when you finally do see them…they are the things of nightmares- but, I was more so afraid that these characters I’ve come to know might not make it to whatever end this movie had in place because making sound is unavoidable. I was afraid when each time the deaf daughter went out on her own because she may not realize she was making noise while walking, I was afraid when the children were playing monopoly and accidentally knocked over a glass, I was terrified when a character cut themselves and let out the tiniest screech before catching themselves. Every time it seemed like they were engaging in something that could draw the creatures near I held my breath, and I felt like I was sane because at least one of the characters reacted as I did.

I could go on scene by scene, but I will end by stating I truly enjoyed each character’s MVP moment in this film. All of the family members had a point when he/she needed to step up and each one delivered. Emily Blunt’s character, in particular, should be the mom of the millennium. She had a moment at the end of the movie that had my entire theater clapping in applause.

Images Courtesy of IMDB