Review
A Quiet Place (Horror, Sci-Fi) (2018)
Director: John Krasinski
Writer: John Krasinski, Bryan Woods, Scott Beck
Stars: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Cade Woodward
Due to unknown events, sightless monstrosities have taken over our world. Staying as silent as possible, sparse survivors attempt to continue living and perhaps even stand a chance of facing these gruesome creatures.
Previously directing some comedies in ‘’Brief Interviews with Hideous Men’’ and ’’The Hollars’’ alongside several episodes for the U.S. version of ‘’The Office’’. John Krasinski had some experience when asked to rewrite a script by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Without elaborating on more, except for an idea and a world for it to take place in, this adopted passion project soon developed and was premiered at South by Southwest. It was filmed in upstate New York in the counties of Dutchess, Ulster and Herkimer and produced by Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night Productions while being distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Within a post-apocalyptic world, where aurally sensitive extra-terrestrial beings have been a scourge on human existence, a family of five survives by making as little noise as humanly possible, communicating chiefly through sign language.
Using the scenario formed by Beck and Woods, Krasinski stepped in, giving life to a script, taking inspiration from something like the ‘’Alien’’ franchise in creature-design and making it his own. An unusually silent sci-fi horror adventure is peaking with immense tension.
Horror and apocalypse are always somewhat intertwined, looking at the undead, natural disaster or any other form of life-ending scenarios, yet—seldomly are they as flawlessly merged. An unknown yet terrifying division from our lives is created, making it clear that any noise means certain death. It takes time for Krasinski’s dreadful depiction to cultivate, yet that term is short, with an excellent prologue continuing into a tense, atmospheric near masterpiece with audio barely even included.
This decision to use a lack of audio, further supported by audibly impaired, instead of relying on it, was intelligent, and that isn’t all there is. In the genre itself, despite this being more sci-fi action-type film with heavy horror implications, there’s an abundance of reliance upon certain trademarks. Each of these is to the benefit of ‘’A Quiet Place,’’ which makes using them suddenly alright. Safety is rarely guaranteed, which is palpable, constantly making you tense up.
When something feels natural, there’s zero need to imply things further. Tension, setting and use of the American Sign Language to benefit the narrative rarely gets better. Having Krasinski and Blunt play these roles together makes it even more charming. Natural chemistry is hard-to-fake. With incredible foreshadowing use and a world you just want to be involved with, 2018 was genuinly an excellent year for horror fans.
Verdict
Hard to stay quiet about.
9,0
