Full disclosure: I am not a horror movie guy. Then again, neither was John Krasinski until very recently. Not that you'd be able to tell this from his latest directorial effort. A Quiet Place is a quite incredible achievement, given that it's only his third film and his first foray into horror. It's so accomplished that you'd be forgiven for assuming that this was the work of a seasoned director. It's an incredibly effective and immensely scary monster movie.
It's 2020. An otherworldly attack has annihilated the majority of the world's population. The few survivors are forced to live in near silence to avoid detection from creatures (some grotesque amalgamation of a Xenomorph, Venom and a demogorgon) who hunt through sound. The tagline "If they hear you, they hunt you" is incredibly apt. We follow the lives of the Abbott family, as parents Lee (Krasinksi) and Evelyn (Blunt) are prepared to risk everything to protect their children.
One of the strongest elements of this film is the fear that is established early on is maintained throughout out the blissfully short 90 minute runtime. A brief prologue appears to be setting up the rules of this world is a subtle and sombre way. Then massive tragedy befalls the family before the title card is even shown, solidifying the notion of just how ruthless this movie is willing to be. From that moment onwards you are constantly on the edge of your seat, as you have been categorically shown that awful things can happen a literally any moment. That intensity is never dropped throughout a series of increasingly more terrifying set pieces.
The concept of this movie - effectively don't make a sound or you're dead - is what initially drew me to this film. Horror, for me, tends to be most effective when there's a thought provoking idea in the middle of all the blood and jumps. In this case, the central idea is incorporated into the narrative masterfully. The movie can't be classed as 'silent', despite most of the dialogue being delivered throughout sign language, but it does demand the silence of the audience as the quiet is such an integral part of the scares. Typically in horror, you can tell when a jump-scare is coming when the score stops. Here, there is no music, minimal noise at all in fact, so the scares almost seem to come out of nowhere. Even more effective are the scenes where we are taken into the perspective of deaf daughter Regan. Watching monsters that she cannot hear advancing towards her is truly horrifying. There are a few examples of frights that border on the line of cliché, but for the most part they are handled with poise and originality.
Yet arguably what makes this such a great film is the family dynamic at it's core. Krasinski cleverly avoids the trope of apocalypse survivors gradually turning on each other - this is a story about a family who love each other and whose love is only strengthened by the adversities they now face. As you might expect from a real life husband and wife, the chemistry between Krasinski and Blunt is amazing and they are the figureheads of some extremely emotional scenes. Whilst the intensity is never compromised, the film isn't afraid to pull back from the visceral action and allow for some impossibly tender moments between the family. Krasinski proves himself as an actor as well as director - not once do you think "Hey, that's Jim from The Office". Emily Blunt is sensational. Many of the film's most captivating and chilling scenes are centred around her and she absolutely nails it (too soon?). Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds are also both terrific.
A Quiet Place is not only an exceptional horror flick, but is just generally a great movie. A heartbreaking tale of family validates the nerve-shredding scares, which never let up.
5/5 Stars
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