Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
The Movie opens telling us that it is Day 89. As the camera sweeps around an abandoned and ravaged small town, we enter an empty pharmacy where we find Lee and Evelyn Abbott (played by Director/Co-Writer John Krasinski and his real-life wife, Emily Blunt) and their children, all barefoot and on tiptoes, taking medications and provisions in total silence and only communicating by American Sign Language. As they leave the pharmacy, we see a fluttering newspaper with “It’s Sound” as a headline, and on their way home, one of the children accidentally makes a noise and is swooped away and killed by a quick moving alien creature. Thus begins one of the most compelling and scariest Movies I have seen in a long time: A QUIET PLACE.
Flash forward a year later. Evelyn is pregnant. Oldest teenaged daughter, Regan (sublimely portrayed by hearing-impaired actress Millicent Simmonds), is still feeling responsible for the horrific event of the previous year and believes her deafness may hinder the family’s survivor. Marcus, the youngest (Noah Jupe), just lives in constant fear and hesitantly accompanies his father who is trying to teach him survival skills as they forage for food. They live in eerie silence 24/7, hoping to not attract the attention of the blind but sound sensitive aliens, who are quite adept at killing loud raccoons. While Lee and Marcus are away from the farm and Regan returns to the scene where the tragedy occurred a year ago, Evelyn goes into labour. What follows is the creepiest, most thrilling yet quietest turn of events that will have you crouching in your seat, chewing on your fingernails and praying no one or nothing makes a sound.
A QUIET PLACE succeeds on so many levels. It is so much more than just a monster movie. It also touches on the universal theme of parents doing anything they can to protect their children. Kudos to Krasinski for not only eliciting amazing performances from everyone in this Movie (Blunt has never been better, while Simmonds and Jupe exceed in the promise they showed in WONDERLAND and WONDER respectively), but for building a tension-filled atmosphere. The lush Charlotte Bruus Christensen‘s Cinematography, particularly in the Film’s lush cornfields, also are an integral part of the Story. Krasinski keeps the aliens out of sight until we become paralyzed in fear and only then do we see how scary looking they are! But it’s not only aliens; it’s a rogue nail sticking out from a stair step that you know is going to eventually be a catalyst for horrific events, or almost drowning in a silo of grain or a newborn baby’s cry even. It’s the family holding back screams and a deaf girl not knowing if she is making any noise that could endanger her family. The silence is deafening and frightening. Krasinski has crafted a Movie of Hitchcockian heights without resorting to predictable gore. You will be holding your breath until the very finish.
Paramount Pictures Canada release A QUIET PLACE Friday, April 6, 2018.
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