A Quiet Place (2018)

Review

90min

Genre:        Drama, Horror, Thriller

Director:     John Krasinski

Cast:          Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds…and more

Writers:      Bryan Woods, Scott Beck and John Krasinski

-Synopsis-

In a world devastated by an unexplained catastrophe, a young family—stalked by menacing and mysterious creatures who hunt on sound alone—lives in complete silence and rural isolation, but their tentative tranquil existence will soon be smashed when silence proves neither golden nor eternal, in this horror/thriller third feature from actor-turned-director John Krasinski.

An endearing comedic stalwart and loveable lanky co-star of the American version of ‘The Office’ hardly seems like the obvious choice to helm a small but perfectly formed, simple but layered and intense horror/thriller. Yet after slowly transitioning into more serious fare with dramas like ‘Promised Land’ and ‘Detroit’, as well as becoming an action star in ’13 Hours’, and cutting his directorial teeth with under-the-radar comedies ‘Brief Interviews with Hideous Men’ and ‘The Hollars’— Krasinski truly announces himself as a fully-fledged filmmaker with a nerve-shredder to remember.

Krasinski himself stars alongside real life spouse Emily Blunt as ‘Lee’ and ‘Evelyn Abbott’, a married couple living in near-perpetual silence in post-apocalyptic rural America on an isolated farm, trying to avoid the attentions of the mysterious and ferocious creatures who hunt the survivors of an unspecified global catastrophe, while keeping their children safe—youngster ‘Marcus’ (Noah Jupe) and his deaf older sister ‘Regan’ (Millicent Simmonds). When familial tensions rise, emotional strife piles up on top the pressures of survival, and despite communicating with sign language and keeping sound to a minimum, the monsters come home to roost for the Abbotts—as the young family is plunged into a relentless struggle for survival.

As brilliantly simple as the plot is and as ingenious as the core premise may be, ‘A Quiet Place’ is not exactly wholly original, certainly not in terms of the overall narrative, its stylistic choices and its execution. It would be highly surprising if Krasinski and his co-writers (and authors of the original screenplay) Bryan Woods and Scott Beck weren’t heavily influenced by any number of past horror/thrillers classics, and even films like M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Signs’—not to mention more recent indie fare like ‘It Comes at Night’ and ‘Don’t Breathe’.

Yet the director and his co-conspirators manage to reinvigorate established tropes with the film’s ingenious ‘silence=survival’ premise, creating what is essentially a poignant family drama in the guise of a masterfully crafted and well judged ‘creature-feature’ horror/thriller—steadily building a tense atmosphere and characters you can invest in, on the way to a butt-clenching third act showdown.

Keeping it simple and refusing to be drawn out by wider lore, ‘A Quiet Place’ makes no attempt to contextualise the state of the world, or explain the origin or purpose of the creatures, maintaining an air of mystery throughout. Let’s just hope the producers aren’t seduced into filling-in the blanks by the film’s success, in the form of an unnecessary new disaster franchise . . . ‘Cloverfield’ style.

From the picturesque rural locations and production designs featuring clever sound-cancelling techniques and traps, all captured in style by cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen (Fences, Molly’s Game), to the highly atmospheric and often menacing score from accomplished composer Marco Beltrami (The Hurt Locker, Logan), ‘A Quiet Place’ makes very good use of a healthy budget for an indie, but a modest one for a studio film—even creating some truly frightening creatures for audiences to squirm at the sight of . . . which may feel slightly familiar to fans of smash-hit Netflix series ‘Stanger Things’.

Yet what elevates this tense horror/thriller beyond just a slick genre piece is the attention paid to character development, all packed into its tight 90 minute runtime, and of course the performances of its stars. Krasinski continues to prove his dramatic chops while Blunt is impressive as always, experiencing the cycle of life in the most extreme circumstances imaginable.

But the film’s two younger stars shine the brightest, with Noah Jupe proving that Brits as completely convincing Americans come in all ages, and Millicent Simmonds continuing to impress after her enchanting debut in Todd Haynes’s ‘Wonderstruck’—with her performance and her disability serving as both the narrative and emotional lynchpin of the whole film.

If you’re not a fan of loud jump-scares then ‘A Quiet Place’ might not be the film for you, even though Krasinski uses them effectively and to nerve-shredding effect without leaning on them like a cheap stylistic crutch—and if you’re highly-strung and can’t abide horror then obviously stay away, even though the narrative is layered and the film is more than just a slick genre piece.

For everyone else ‘A Quiet Place’ may prove an unexpected genre treat with depth and style, centred on the primary duty of parents as guardians and protectors, and with plenty to keep you on edge while your bum grips the seat in anticipation—plus a parabolic quality in the context of a hectic modern world defined by white noise, where people have lost their sense of direction. It may also be the continuation of a trend memorably started last year by Jordan Peele, which proves that comedians do horror . . . and well.

The Bottom Line…

A well-judged family drama combined with a tense apocalyptic survival thriller and a butt-clenching creature-feature horror, ‘A Quiet Place’ cleverly reworks established tropes and introduces an ingenious premise, on the way to laying down an early marker for best horror film of the year which will be tough to beat—and announcing John Krasinski as a fully-fledged filmmaker to keep an eye on.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

It Comes at Night (2017)

With the outside world ravaged by a contagious and virulent disease, a family survives in their secure and isolated home, only to have their refuge and lives threatened when they take in another young family in this doomsday psychological horror from up-and-coming writer/director Trey Edward Shults.

Directed by Trey Edward Shults and starring Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo and Christopher Abbott among others.

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