A Quiet Place (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Last February brought us Get Out, a horror/comedy/social commentary hybrid written/directed by comedian-turned-Oscar winner Jordan Peele. And, now, this April, we have a new clever horror flick ready to make a lot of $$ and it's directed by comedian John Krasinski. The film is titled 'A Quiet Place' and ... it's a winner. The film takes place in the near future (2020-2021-ish) where Earth has been invaded by alien 'creatures' that are attracted to even the smallest of sounds & kills anyone or anything that makes noise. Since the creatures have no vision, quietness is paramount. Any discernible noise can bring them, and they attack with both speed & ferocity.
And so, the Abbotts have managed to survive by staying vewwwy quiet. Pragmatic father, Lee (Krasinski), & loving mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski's real-life wife) have built a stronghold filled with food, surveillance cameras, warning lights & even board games with soft, silent playing pieces. Teen daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds, great in 2017's Wonderstruck) is deaf, so the fam already knows how to speak sign language. Regan blames herself for an earlier family tragedy {the 1st time you'll jump in your seat}. And son Marcus (Noah Jupe, stellar in 2017's Wonder) is deathly afraid to go out & risk facing the murderous creatures. Things get more difficult when a pregnant Evelyn must deliver her baby ... in silence. As if that weren't tricky enough {healthcare, soundproof bunkers}, her situation is further complicated when the baby is ready to come {contractions, screaming}, she finds herself alone ... and with the creatures circling. Chaos ensues.
This gripping, intelligent horror/thriller flick is one of those rare genre offerings that seizes on a simple premise & executes it to near perfection. This is not the groundbreaking, wholly original Get Out from last year, but there is excellence abounding in the film's particulars. And it turns out that director/actor John Krasinski is an expert in the building & releasing of tension. For all the positive attributes here, the wonder of this film is its use and NON-use of sound. Horror films really are all about 'sound'. The absence of sound intensifies moments of relentless dread; punctuated by bursts of alarming noise. And aside from those noisy moments {in which I leapt from my seat with my fingers covering my eyes}, the theater I was in was as quiet as the film we were watching -- that's unique.
Krasinski uses silent moments like music; ranging from moments of beauty {like a father-son trip to a waterfall, where it's noisy enough that they can talk & even yell} to moments of quiet terror. Intermittent bursts of noise caused audience members to jump, but then moments of tension/dread would strike us -- will the creatures surface NOW!? Another strong aspect of the film is its primal quality: elements life {water, sand, crops}, survival & protection. There is no explanation given for the creatures' existence, but there doesn't need to be. The filmmaking here aids the eerie creepiness of the proceedings: sharp editing, Charlotte Bruus Christensen's cinematography, the aforementioned sound work, & Marco Beltrami's music to keep you on edge.
The 4 leads are great, led by Emily Blunt. Her lengthy 'birth' sequence is outstanding; what she has to go through during contractions, trying to remain quiet AND enduring a floorboard nail is simply stunning. On an emotional level, she breaks your heart with a "my arms were free" speech. And her final actions in the basement + the final shot of the movie are jaw-dropping. Krasinski provides stellar work as the father hell bent on keeping his family safe; his moment by the truck is heartrending. Little Noah Jupe has great screen presence. And deaf actress Millicent Simmonds is a star. She has a face as expressive as it is unique. She really made me feel for her character. And she handles some last Act revelations concerning her character like an ace.
Aside from some familiar horror flick cliches & some head-scratching logistical issues that bugged me ... 'A Quiet Place' is a master class in keeping an audience on the edge of their seat with minimal gore-but-maximum thrills, minimal dialogue-but-strong character development. There are sequences I won't soon forget. i.e., on a bridge; in a bathroom; in a basement with an egg timer; a Jurassic Park-like grain silo scene, etc.. Kudos again to Krasinski for keeping everything taut, tense & terrifying. I left my theater much the same way I was during the film: speechless ... and with frayed nerves.
And so, the Abbotts have managed to survive by staying vewwwy quiet. Pragmatic father, Lee (Krasinski), & loving mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski's real-life wife) have built a stronghold filled with food, surveillance cameras, warning lights & even board games with soft, silent playing pieces. Teen daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds, great in 2017's Wonderstruck) is deaf, so the fam already knows how to speak sign language. Regan blames herself for an earlier family tragedy {the 1st time you'll jump in your seat}. And son Marcus (Noah Jupe, stellar in 2017's Wonder) is deathly afraid to go out & risk facing the murderous creatures. Things get more difficult when a pregnant Evelyn must deliver her baby ... in silence. As if that weren't tricky enough {healthcare, soundproof bunkers}, her situation is further complicated when the baby is ready to come {contractions, screaming}, she finds herself alone ... and with the creatures circling. Chaos ensues.
This gripping, intelligent horror/thriller flick is one of those rare genre offerings that seizes on a simple premise & executes it to near perfection. This is not the groundbreaking, wholly original Get Out from last year, but there is excellence abounding in the film's particulars. And it turns out that director/actor John Krasinski is an expert in the building & releasing of tension. For all the positive attributes here, the wonder of this film is its use and NON-use of sound. Horror films really are all about 'sound'. The absence of sound intensifies moments of relentless dread; punctuated by bursts of alarming noise. And aside from those noisy moments {in which I leapt from my seat with my fingers covering my eyes}, the theater I was in was as quiet as the film we were watching -- that's unique.
Krasinski uses silent moments like music; ranging from moments of beauty {like a father-son trip to a waterfall, where it's noisy enough that they can talk & even yell} to moments of quiet terror. Intermittent bursts of noise caused audience members to jump, but then moments of tension/dread would strike us -- will the creatures surface NOW!? Another strong aspect of the film is its primal quality: elements life {water, sand, crops}, survival & protection. There is no explanation given for the creatures' existence, but there doesn't need to be. The filmmaking here aids the eerie creepiness of the proceedings: sharp editing, Charlotte Bruus Christensen's cinematography, the aforementioned sound work, & Marco Beltrami's music to keep you on edge.
The 4 leads are great, led by Emily Blunt. Her lengthy 'birth' sequence is outstanding; what she has to go through during contractions, trying to remain quiet AND enduring a floorboard nail is simply stunning. On an emotional level, she breaks your heart with a "my arms were free" speech. And her final actions in the basement + the final shot of the movie are jaw-dropping. Krasinski provides stellar work as the father hell bent on keeping his family safe; his moment by the truck is heartrending. Little Noah Jupe has great screen presence. And deaf actress Millicent Simmonds is a star. She has a face as expressive as it is unique. She really made me feel for her character. And she handles some last Act revelations concerning her character like an ace.
Aside from some familiar horror flick cliches & some head-scratching logistical issues that bugged me ... 'A Quiet Place' is a master class in keeping an audience on the edge of their seat with minimal gore-but-maximum thrills, minimal dialogue-but-strong character development. There are sequences I won't soon forget. i.e., on a bridge; in a bathroom; in a basement with an egg timer; a Jurassic Park-like grain silo scene, etc.. Kudos again to Krasinski for keeping everything taut, tense & terrifying. I left my theater much the same way I was during the film: speechless ... and with frayed nerves.