“A Quiet Place” Review
(From Left) John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Emily Blunt and Millicent Simmonds star in “A Quiet Place” as the Abbott family who try to survive in a world where monsters kill anything that makes a sound.
With so many big-budget horror films falling flat, with either bland characters or zero scares, it’s important to know that the best horror often lies in simple fears exploited to their absolute limits. With a small but identifiable cast, a limited and atmospheric location and a unique premise, “A Quiet Place” is one of the most beloved modern mainstream horror films for a reason, because its brilliance lies in its simplicity.
Set in an apocalypse where humanity has been nearly wiped out by blind monsters with incredible hearing, the film follows the Abbott family which is made up of husband Lee (John Krasinski), wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and their three children Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward). In the film, they try to survive by making as little noise as possible which becomes more challenging when the creatures are alerted to their presence.
John Krasinski, who also directed and co-wrote the film, has a real knack for horror and he displays that in the first few minutes of the film where he builds suspense and sets up the threat in a terrifying manner. While many horror films hold off on showing the monsters in favor of establishing the setting and characters, Krasinski starts off the film a long time after the monsters have taken over which allows him to forgo all of that establishment. After just a few minutes, it’s easy to see that the main characters are a family and what they’re up against which makes for a more lean and effective film.
Like most of the great horror films, such as “Alien” and “The Evil Dead,” Krasinski understands that all you need to make a great horror film is a limited location with an entity that will not stop hunting you. While the family lives in their farmhouse in New York, they are very much trapped as even the slightest sound can attract these monsters. In fact, much of the film is spent showing the audience how the Abbotts live, including walking barefoot on paths of sand, playing board games with pieces of fabric as pieces and using lettuce instead of plates when eating.
But it’s the way that the Abbotts communicate that is really impressive. Since Regan is deaf, as is the actor who plays her, the entire family knows American Sign Language and uses it to communicate with each other. Not only does this make so much sense in terms of the story but it also results in a really incredible deaf character which is a rarity in cinema.
Since Krasinski and Blunt are actually married, their chemistry is amazing but their relationship with the child actors is even better. I have no doubt that this is a real family and the way they effectively communicate, despite being silent, is fantastic.
Besides starring in the film, Krasinski co-wrote and directed the film and has a strong knowledge of what makes a good horror story.
Krasinski’s handling of horror is more than the basic jump scare but relies much more on suspense: knowing that there’s a threat, what they can do and having to agonizingly watch in terror as the character tries so hard not to die. Often, when something scary happens, there will be more elements added which complicate the characters’ predicament even further. Evelyn, through most of the film, is pregnant and one scene has her injured and trying desperately not to alert a nearby creature when, all of a sudden, her water breaks and she experiences contractions as the baby arrives early.
Having her being injured and trying to keep herself from screaming is scary enough but having her go through continuous, excruciating pain like childbirth in this world is unbelievably clever from a storytelling perspective.
What makes this film stand out is the amazing sound design which is even more prominent considering that the characters can’t speak. Even the smallest crack of a twig is startling and with every step the Abbotts take can result in death. The characters do have some places where they can talk, like in soundproofed rooms or by a loud waterfall, which is thankfully not used too much so when the characters do speak, it’s effective. Certain scenes from Regan’s perspective are completely silent which gives a great insight into how a deaf person perceives the world and also shows the talent of the filmmakers.
While it would be interesting to see a version of “A Quiet Place” with completely natural sounds, the music by Marco Beltrami is certainly effective in drumming up suspense without being a series of loud noises to elicit cheap jump scares. Nothing about the film feels fake or lazy but rather a slow-burning thriller with a lot of care put into the story and the techniques used to tell it are carefully constructed.
“A Quiet Place” caught on with audiences not just because it stars the guy who played Jim in “The Office,” although that certainly didn’t hurt the film, but because it is different from other horror films that are widely distributed. Many films that think outside the box are often dismissed and develop a following over time. But every once in a while, a different film comes along that comes at the right time and “A Quiet Place” is certainly that type of film.
