A Quiet Place is truly a solid, brilliant,
subtle horror flick. Directed by John Krasinski, it stars him and his
real life wife, Emily Blunt and they are SO good. She can say so much with her
eyes and her face reflects so many feelings. The first part of this movie
is about family – albeit under crazy circumstances. Silence rules. The world
appears to have ended. Creatures who attack, based on sound, rule.
The key is quiet – barefoot, playing monopoly with cloth tokens, using sign
language, and no sound.
The first glimpse of horror is with the “baby” boy – age
4-5. On a foray to a store, he wants a toy rocket. The dad says no – too noisy.
The sister (brilliant young actress who is deaf – Millicent Simpson) grabs it
for him, and he nabs the removed batteries). The family is walking home when
suddenly there’s sound – the kid put in the batteries and is playing – oh the
joy………..until a creature leaps from nowhere and wipes that kid away. Dang
freakin’ scary. This was day 73.
Fast forward to day 473. Oh so much sadness and yet living.
Mom is pregnant – now how can they bring a baby into this world? The
middle son is afraid of life. He doesn’t want to go out with Dad to learn how
to survive – get fish, etc. His eyes show fear. Whereas his deaf sister wants
to go, she’s resilient, but there’s a deeper issue. Do the parents blame her
for the death of the youngest boy? Well, no, but she’s beat herself up about
it. This film is about family dynamics, love, and survival. It’s tight
and in ninety minutes, it’s relentless. The creatures are fierce and it’s all
about sound and frequency. I will not give away more.
Hold your breath and appreciate A Quiet Place
for great story telling and acting. And I dare you to sit, watch, and not JUMP!
