In a world where noise will have you hunted and killed, silence is life-saving for a family who spend their days quietly attempting to avoid the terrifying monsters that lurk in the forest around them.
The film opens with a bleak, apocalyptic view of a town’s main street in ruin. A young family of five are silently searching a local store for medicine and supplies, careful not to make a sound. On their trip back home, though, disaster strikes and the youngest child is snatched and killed in a blur of motion by a creature from within the surrounding woods.
The film then jumps ahead in time, showing the family living in a silent routine having created their own systems to avoid making noises, from sand paths in and around the farm they inhabit allowing for quiet movement, to communication via sign language; they have adapted to their new and cautious way of life. The audience learns from rather obvious scribblings on a white board that these monsters are blind but have an incredible sense of sound which they use to hunt down their prey. It is also shown that the mother, Evelyn, is heavily pregnant and counting down to her due date, a date that will mean there is a screaming baby to manage in a world where any noise will have you killed.
It’s been a while since our screens have seen a great monster movie that works on more levels than just the look of the creature. Yes, the horrifically violent monsters are terrifying, but in A Quiet Place the tension-building dread of broken silence is much more frightening to the audience. Within a film that works on the basis of quietness resulting in survival, it is not surprising that for much of the film every stomach grumble, murmur and crunch of popcorn is completely audible throughout the cinema, but these are merely non-disturbing background noises as the audience is totally transfixed by what’s playing out on screen.
Lead actor, John Krasinski, not only passionately portrays dedicated father, Lee, haunted by the last moments of one of his children, but also impressively co-wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Known best for his comically down-to-earth Jim Halpert in the American version of The Office, it’s great to see Krasinski step into a contrasting genre wholeheartedly, and his switch has definitely paid off.
A Quiet Place is not just a family affair within the film but also behind the scenes with Krasinki’s wife, the flawless Emily Blunt, portraying his on-screen wife, Evelyn, who is also still struggling with the loss of their youngest child while preparing to bring another into their terrifying world.
Up-and-comer, Millicent Simmonds, is a standout as the couple’s strong-willed deaf daughter who blames herself for her younger brother’s horrific demise. Simmonds herself has been deaf since infancy, only adding to her already innate acting ability to present a young, deaf girl struggling in a world where every sound could mean the end of a life.
A Quiet Place provides its audience with an intense and anxiety-provoking ride through a terrifying, monster-ridden reality where silence is not only golden, but life-saving.
Opens on April 5th.
Check out the official website here.
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