A Quiet Place (2018)

Directed by: John Krasinski | 90 minutes | drama, horror | Actors: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward, Leon Russom, Doris McCarthy

‘A Quiet Place’ centers on a family trying to survive in an apocalyptic world in which most of humanity has been wiped out by (alien) beings with an enormous ability to hear. Letting out a scream or playing with toys is enough to alert the creatures to your presence. A small fraction of humanity survived the invasion and has lived in near complete silence ever since, communicating in sign language and avoiding any sound. Yet the family carries with it a recent trauma and things are further complicated by the pregnancy of mother Evelyn (the ever strong Emily Blunt, known from Sicario among others) and a difficult father-daughter relationship.

The necessary silence is the most intriguing premise of ‘A Quiet Place’, directed by John Krasinski (best known for his role in the American version of The Office), who also plays the screenplay and the lead role. The opening scene alone is so nerve-wracking and oppressive that you hardly get time or space to catch your breath. In addition, the film possibly houses the most intense and exciting childbirth scene in recent film history. All this means that ‘A Quiet Place’ regularly makes your heart beat faster.

So ‘A Quiet Place’ has mainly become a breathtaking film, where you would actually wish that cinemas would impose a popcorn ban. Because the film is at times so chillingly exciting because of the almost continuous silence, any other noise is actually disturbing and annoying to the viewing experience. At the same time, it shows that Krasinki has succeeded brilliantly in his mission to make the film’s premise work well. What also works well is the choice to keep the story small and intimate: we just follow a family on the run; nowhere does the viewer learn anything about the origins of the creatures, the invasion itself, or other survivors.

The downside of the film is that the tension is sometimes disturbed by the somewhat bombastic presence of the monsters. It might have worked better for this film if Krasinski had used the ‘Jaws principle’: just the threatening presence of a monster without showing it explicitly would probably have been enough in this case. Precisely at the moments when the creatures strike in the film, the film leans in the direction of a somewhat simple B-thriller and the film loses to the nail-biting tension of the first hour. The ending is also a bit too cool and almost detracts from the rest of the film.

Despite these drawbacks, ‘A Quiet Place’ has become an insanely exciting film that will keep you on the edge of your seat for almost the entire hour and a half. The acting is excellent, the film is nicely intimate and the premise original enough to be considered refreshing in the horror genre. And for those who dare to produce sound in the cinema, you secretly hope that the monsters are listening.