REVIEW: A Quiet Place

Courtesy of Paramount

We’ve been experiencing a horror movie renaissance over the last few years. I’m sure genre aficionados would argue there have always been quality flicks, viewers just have to be willing to shovel through layers of dreck to find them – which isn’t wrong. But even those who don’t consider themselves big horror fans (like myself) can’t ignore the staggeringly talented filmmakers telling scary, incredible stories while also delivering incisive social commentary in subtle fashion. 

In this decade, there have been at least five legitimate horror classics: The Cabin in the Woods (2012), The Conjuring (2013), It Follows (2014), IT (2017) and Get Out (2017) – my pick for last year’s best film. These movies aren’t just scary; they’re also smart, funny and full of compelling characters.

We can now add A Quiet Place, which took in a staggering $50 million last weekend, to that list. It’s a terrifying, brilliant piece of storytelling with a genius hook and a sympathetic family at its core.

Most audiences go to horror movies because they want awful things to happen to the characters. This film generates its scares from the opposite reaction. Viewers desperately want this family to emerge from the calamity unscathed – even though we know the odds of that happening aren’t too great.

Most surprisingly of all – as was the case with Jordan Peele and Get Out – the creative mind behind this nightmare is predominantly known for his work in comedy. That would be John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert on NBC’s sitcom The Office from 2005-2013.

He made the jump to movies quite a while ago, although his greatest success (not counting his pretty extensive voice work in animated fare) was probably 13 Hours, Michael Bay’s action flick about the 2012 Benghazi attack. Until now, that is.

With A Quiet Place, Krasinski has launched himself onto radar of every studio in Hollywood. Not only does he star in the wonderfully unconventional film, he also directed and wrote the screenplay (reworking an original draft by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck).

He plays Lee Abbot, the patriarch of a family struggling to survive after an apocalyptic event transforms America – and the rest of the globe, we assume – into a silent wasteland. Lee; his pregnant wife, Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real-life spouse); his deaf daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds); and his young son Marcus (Noah Jupe) communicate only through American Sign Language (ASL) and facial expressions, living in fear of someone making too much noise.

That’s because of the sudden appearance of mysterious creatures who hunt by sound. At the slightest peep, these swift, brutal monsters locate the source and utterly decimate it. The opening sequence (which is structured so well it could be a standalone short film) establishes the stakes in gut-wrenching fashion, and then we jump a year or so ahead to see how the family is coping.

The answer is not great. A recent tragedy has shattered the family, so Lee has redoubled his efforts to protect his wife and kids. Regan blames herself for role in the traumatic incident, even though Marcus constantly assures her that it wasn’t her fault. And Evelyn might be the most worried of all – her due date is getting closer and babies aren’t exactly known for their quiet nature. What happens when a crying baby enters a world full of monsters who kill anything that makes a sound? The Abbotts are about to find out.

I can’t overstate how much I loved A Quiet Place, aside from a couple of instances of unfortunate “dumb horror movie logic” (which I can’t really get into here for spoiler reasons). Even if you’re not typically a fan of the genre, I urge you to see it in a theater simply to experience the film’s masterful sound design.

Krasinski has pulled off a magic trick. In a 90-minute film, there’s less than five minutes of spoken dialogue. Most conversations take place using ASL with onscreen subtitles, so viewers can understand the characters.

Furthermore, there’s minimal use of score – although what’s there is creepy and effective thanks to Marco Beltrami’s subtle work. Instead, viewers are subjected to excruciatingly long bouts of silence so intense that when sound finally does manifest itself, you immediately wish it wouldn’t have. In the wrong hands, all of this could’ve made for a dreadfully dull flick; instead, Krasinski makes it fascinating.

(I imagine the effect would’ve been more even powerful if Ready Player One hadn’t been playing at deafening volume in the auditorium next door. Or if the guy in front of me would’ve realized that eating popcorn like a horse the entire time was a bad idea. Hopefully your viewing experience goes differently.)

The performances are outstanding across the board, especially Blunt. That bathtub scene featured prominently in the trailer is just a hint of the terrors her character endures, and she commits as fully to the creature feature aspects as she does to the family drama. Simmonds is also quite strong. The actress is deaf in real life, which makes Regan a much more authentic character, while also ensuring the ASL utilized by the family is accurate.

A Quiet Place is something special, folks. We’re going to be talking about it for a long time to come – all the more reason to check it out on the big screen. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of people are already doing that. But I don’t want you to stumble across the movie on HBO or Redbox in a few months and kick yourself for not seeing it sooner.

Oh, and those with small children should watch that gas pedal when you leave the theater. I’m surprised I didn’t get a speeding ticket rushing home to hug my kids.

A Quiet Place is rated PG-13 for terror and some bloody images.

Grade: B+