This film is a 15, was released on April 5th 2018, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
Introduction
I can't say I'm really a horror person. Out of all film genres, horror films seem to be the ones which I struggle to engage with the most. I think it's probably due to me getting frightened quite easily and thus continuously telling myself it's all fake and as a result not getting full engagement. However, I do like a horror film if it does something clever with its storytelling, such as Alien as opposed to the rubbish that we constantly see nowadays. So when I saw the trailers for A Quiet Place, I got some interest.
Thoughts Going In
Obviously I didn't see this film in the cinema as it came out at a pretty crowded time, but I recently saw it on DVD as I'd heard many great things about it and it was a huge success with audiences and critics alike. So I had very high expectations, regardless of the fact that it is still a genre which I'm not a huge fan of.
The Story
In the near future, aliens have invaded earth and seemingly taken out all of humanity. However, these aliens can only sense sound. So any noise somebody makes will mean death. Despite this, there is a small family with mother and father Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. They have got used to life with these aliens, but things are about to take a bad turn as Blunt's character is pregnant.
What I Liked
Out of every film I've seen so far this year, this film is by far the best in terms of direction. This is especially amazing considering it is Krasinski's directing debut. He cleverly builds tension through clever camera movement and with an absence of sound, which heightens the audience's senses and makes for some truly scary sequences. The atmosphere is also so well established within the first 5 minutes that for the whole of the runtime, you have such a strong feeling of caution. I admire how this was done because it creates such an engaging world and allows for true horror, much like Alien.
The perfermances are also terrific. Not just from Emily Blunt and JK, but the two children are great. They bring the action down to earth and add another layer of peril because them being children makes them more vulnerable to any consequences of these creatures. It's also worth mentioning that these people are all great physical actors. Because the dialogue is so minimal, their bodies have to express their feelings for most of the time. They were really compelling and the fact that they're just an ordinary family caught in the middle of this makes it all seem easier to understand.
There are plenty of well organised action scenes. One with Emily in a basement with one of these vile creatures, which echoes the kitchen scene in Jurassic Park. Another in a huge container of corn (I don't know what they're called) with the children hanging onto some debris to avoid sinking and being attacked by the creature. They're well constructed and are very nail-biting.
There are plenty of well organised action scenes. One with Emily in a basement with one of these vile creatures, which echoes the kitchen scene in Jurassic Park. Another in a huge container of corn (I don't know what they're called) with the children hanging onto some debris to avoid sinking and being attacked by the creature. They're well constructed and are very nail-biting.
What I Didn't Like
The film does unfortunately have a lot of plot holes. This is somewhat inevitable for any film but A Quiet Place does suffer from many creative choices feeling questionable. For example, if the aliens are so sensitive to sound, why don't the humans just build a giant speaker and blast loud noises out to distract them? Or how do the family still have access to electricity? Or how are they able to make that particular noise and go down unnoticed? This may seem quite pedantic but whilst watching the film, during the slower scenes, I couldn't help but feel like there were better options compared to that which the film did.
Conclusion
You can easily pick apart A Quiet Place and point out many errors in the world-buidling and such. But there's no point because it's very well directed, filled with strong performances and stuffed with tense scares and moments. John Krasinski has a bright future and these children should have a lot coming their way too. But Emily stands out the most and I cannot wait to see her as Mary Poppins later on. I really wish I'd seen this in the cinema, as it would've been an interesting experience with an audience. I'm sure anyone who'd like something tense to sit through will get tons of enjoyment from this film.
I'm going to give A Quiet Place an S
Conclusion
You can easily pick apart A Quiet Place and point out many errors in the world-buidling and such. But there's no point because it's very well directed, filled with strong performances and stuffed with tense scares and moments. John Krasinski has a bright future and these children should have a lot coming their way too. But Emily stands out the most and I cannot wait to see her as Mary Poppins later on. I really wish I'd seen this in the cinema, as it would've been an interesting experience with an audience. I'm sure anyone who'd like something tense to sit through will get tons of enjoyment from this film.
I'm going to give A Quiet Place an S
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