This past weekend I decided to watch John Krasinski’s new film, A Quiet Place. Typically, I would not watch a movie from the horror genre, but given its fantastic reviews, I decided to give it a shot, and boy was it worth it! The film stars real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as parents of three children, one of them being deaf, through a post-apocalyptic world where they have to survive without making a sound. Before you read any further be warned there will be spoilers ahead!
To start, the aliens are not scary; instead, the slightest noise is. Since these creatures that have invaded the Earth hunt by sound, the family is obligated to not make any noise, otherwise they will die. This is rapidly shown when the youngest kid dies after making a noise. Although the movie gives a vague idea of the creatures and how they arrived, it is safe to say they wiped out most of the Earth’s population, because it was challenging for humanity to control making noise altogether.
One moment that took me by surprise was that I did not think a horror movie could get this sad and heartbreaking this quickly. The concept of sacrifice and protecting their kids at all costs was presented throughout the movie. This was shown in the end when the father and his kids are attacked by one of the creatures. Krasinski aware of the danger his kids were in, he screams sacrificing himself for the safety of his children. Although I understood he would protect his children above anything, this scene shows how difficult would be to live in this post-apocalyptic world. With the death of the youngest child and the father, now the guilt and grief this family will continue carrying are unimaginable.
On the other hand, the movie has some positive sides. Although there may be some mixed commentary against the daughter, I believe she is the main reason this family could survive at all. To start, she is deaf which means this family learned ASL (American Sign Language) long before the invasion. They had the advantage of being able to communicate with each other because they used ASL. I also like that for the daughter’s role, they cast an actress who is deaf in real life, Millicent Simmonds, which made the characters and their communication more believable. Finally, since she has to use a hearing aid, she is able to find the weakness of these aliens. It is also worth noting that she was against using her hearing aid because it didn’t work for her however, this is what helps them figure out the aliens’ weakness.
Although this movie is pretty impressive, there are some details that left me wondering. First of all, Blunt’s character happens to be pregnant a little over a year after the first child died, which is very inconvenient since babies are very loud, and so is giving birth. Also, I did not necessarily love how vague the movie was with the creatures and their arrival. I have questions that need answers, so I hope there is a prequel or a sequel coming up.
Even with those imperfections, I really recommend you go watch this movie. Even though I was prepared for scare jumps and suspense, this movie went above my expectations. The film makes you feel part of the family’s journey. The idea of the need for silence in order to survive seemed pretty shocking to me. I started thinking of all the things one usually does involving sound and how could anyone survive in this type of environment.I found myself constantly quiet and holding myself accountable for any slight noises I made. This movie heightens your senses to extraordinary levels and made me sensitive to sound. It was also incredibly stressful (in a good way). This is a movie that you should definitely watch in theaters since it is a fantastic theater experience. Beware, you will not want to make a sound after watching this movie.