A Quiet Place, also known as Any Latinx’s Worst Nightmare, is a horror/suspense film directed and starred, by Jim from The Office, a.k.a. John Krasinski. It follows the Abbott family, who have managed to survive an alien invasion that wiped out most of humanity. These aliens hunt people based on sound; you have to remain quiet, or the next sound you make could mean an instant and brutal death. We Latinxs’ tend to be very loud, and most of us might not survive the first few days. Let’s be real, a magic Puerto Rican word would be said very loudly and it would cause our instant demise. It’s a good thing this scenario is not real then! We’ll continue to be as loud as we can.
The Abbotts, have managed to survive by creating different lighting systems in their house, not wearing shoes, and, most importantly, communicating through sign language. Their eldest daughter is deaf, which is why they are able to easily communicate using ASL and incorporate it into their lives in order to survive. The acting in this film is completely on point; you can feel the terror radiating from them constantly.
The incorporation of ASL as the main form of communication in this film is part of what makes it stand out the most. The actress who plays the Abbott’s eldest daughter, Millicent Simmonds, is deaf in real life, which gave the film a more realistic aspect. It was very interesting to see something that might be considered a disadvantage by many, become an advantage. I hope this film opens the market for more actors with conditions like deafness, blindness, etc.
This film is the most intense I have ever seen. It is 90 minutes of pure tension where you are grasping the arms of the cinema seats the entire time. It is more suspense than horror, the type of suspense that consumes you, and you don’t even realize that you are holding your breath until you need air. The film is entirely silent, with only music filling the silence sometimes and the constant noise of nature. Keeping that in mind, when a loud noise happens, and you know for certain that death is coming, you scream. It happened to me numerous times, and I held onto my friend for support.
The film is absolutely fantastic in every way. It is wonderfully written and directed, something that is essential when it comes to any type of film, but specifically horror and suspense. Comedians doing excellent horror and suspense films is something that is still outstanding to me (Get Out by Jordan Peele is another great example), and John Krasinski has proved that he can do great work outside of The Office.
The film is absolutely fantastic, but it is not for the faint of heart.