A Quiet Place Review – Spoiler Free
A Quiet Place is a film which comes directed by John Krasinski who also stars in and helped write the film. A Quiet Place also stars Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Leon Russom, Cade Woodward and Doris McCarthy. It’s a science fiction horror film about a family that lives in isolation as a strange creature hunts and preys on those who make too much noise.
When first hearing about and seeing the initial trailers for A Quiet Place, I was interested in finding out more about it. I had known about John Krasinski for a long time, but that was because of his role in The Office as Jim Halpert, not for his directing and he hasn’t really stood out to me in other things he’s done since his time on The Office. Emily Blunt is someone I know of quite well and she’s had quite a few great films in recent times with some excellent performances in movies such as Sicario and Edge Of Tomorrow. I know that the two are married in real life, but I hadn’t seen them in anything together before and the idea of a science fiction horror film, which is a genre I really enjoy that had these two in it had me intrigued.
A Quiet Place is a film about a family that lives a life of isolation. There’s a strange creature looking around their home which doesn’t allow anyone to make noise, otherwise it comes for that person and eats them up. So this family and likely others in the world (although we rarely see anyone else around) live in a quiet isolation. Their communication is limited to sign language, their noises are kept to a minimum. Any small disturbance attracts the creature and things can get dangerous quickly. Interestingly, the film isn’t really about character development or story, there’s not much dialogue at all. It’s more about surviving, listening and watching.
John Krasinski has done well with the directing of A Quiet Place because the tone of it I feel was just right. As a viewer, rather than focus on the dialogue and plot like you would in a typical film, you’re instead focusing on the sounds in each of the characters environments, you’re listening to and observing the various actors’ physical performances and small verbal expressions. When you combine this with the danger the characters face as a creature is out there lurking and can strike at any time, things start to feel very tense very quickly. It’s films like this that I enjoy because the tension in the lead up to the action sequences or dangerous moments keeps your heart racing and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
I don’t know of really any other similar film out there that uses sound specifically in the way that A Quiet Place does, although I do imagine there are a few. The reason I do mention this is because with a film where the viewer needs to listen so much to sound, sound design and sound effects become very important. Reviewers and critics like myself will enjoy this type of experience because from a technical film standpoint, this is something different that we don’t really get much of and in the sci-fi/horror genre where things are mostly jump scares, A Quiet Place is refreshingly different. But I do also want to mention, that for casual movie viewers or people who don’t pay much attention to what’s in front of them, or even film techniques at all really. Then A Quiet Place may seem a little slow and the sounds may not be noticed to those who are going in for only action and story elements. I’m curious to see how audiences will react to A Quiet Place when it releases this week, but I feel that much of the reception for the film over the weekend will be positive.
The acting in A Quiet Place is pretty good. As mentioned, it’s more of a physical performance from each of the actors and both Emily Blunt and John Krasinski do tremendously well together in this film. There’s also quite a few child actors in this one, who don’t really get to say much, but you sort of know what they’re saying or thinking by looking at and observing them and I thought they all were great.
Overall A Quiet Place is an exceptional film in the horror/sci-fi genre that should be seen in cinemas, especially in ones with the best quality sound and speakers you can find near you. A home viewing experience just won’t be the same as you do really need good sound for this one. Both John Krasinski and Emily Blunt do well with their characters in this one and shouldn’t really disappoint anyone out there. As a horror film, I didn’t find it to be scary enough that I couldn’t sleep at night, but I did find the experience of viewing A Quiet Place to be a very tense one due to the isolating position the characters are in, not being able to talk and the monster which lurks about in the background ready to leap out at anyone who does make a sound. It’s a sit on the edge of your seat type of experience. It’s sure to keep many in the audience’s hearts racing and I’m happy to recommend A Quiet Place as one to see this week at the cinema.
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