A Quiet Place (2018) Movie Review
Written By: JV
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: John Krasinski
Producer(s): Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller
Writers(s): John Krasinski, Bryan Woods, Scott Beck
Date Released: April 6, 2018
Cast:
John Krasinski as Lee Abbott
Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott
Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott
Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott
Cade Woodward as Beau Abbott
Rating = 4/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The film set in a post-apocalypse time where creatures sensitive to sound roam around. These sightless extraterrestrial creatures use their sense of hearing to hunt for food. The slightest sound could be heard even from afar. The family of five which includes the husband Lee, his wife Evelyn, a deaf daughter Regan, sons Marcus and Beau takes off on to a deserted town to scavenge supplies. The youngest child finds a toy rocket that he pretends will take the family away from their nightmare world, and his sister hands him batteries for the toy to make it light up and make sound. Unfortunately, the boy, who is too young to quite understand the seriousness of the situation, turns the toy on and dooms himself to the creatures that have effectively killed off most of humanity.
As a year passed, Regan still blames herself for what happened to Beau. Lee is hopeful of reaching out to other survivors while Evelyn is expecting a child. They are installing soundproofing safety for the baby. It is never safe as danger always comes around whenever there is a sound.
Gore Factor
The Monsters (also known as Death Angels or The Angels of Death) are the main antagonists of the science fiction horror film. They are a species of super-evolved extraterrestrial predators that arrived on Earth on a number of meteors that landed on its surface, and have since begun eliminating almost all life on Earth. They kill anything and everything that makes even the slightest noise, assisted by a sense of acute hearing far beyond anything produced on the Earth. This, combined with their indestructible armor, allowed them to massacre most sapient life on the planet, including a sizable portion of humanity, subsequently causing society to collapse.
The Monsters are emaciated, vaguely humanoid creatures whose entire bodies are covered by many plates of chitinous armor. They are stated to be “evolutionary perfect” machines that evolved to withstand firearms and even the destruction of their own planet. They also possess arms with prehensile digits, but they are only ever observed using their limbs for locomotion. They have abnormally sharp claws that are strong enough to cut through trucks and metal, and it is their main weapon for killing their prey. They are also inhumanly fast, able to travel miles in a minute, quickly moving to locations faster than their prey can react.
Due to their lack of eyes, the Monsters hunt by sound, and are completely blind. They have sensitive plates lining the front of their faces that can extend and contract to help them gauge the direction of where a sound is coming from. The back of their heads are capable of unfolding into massive ear-like structures with pronounced, slimy eardrums. Using these, they can detect even the most subtle of changes in sounds as little as a floorboard creaking miles away. The creatures also do not need to breathe, sleep, or even eat, and are able to survive in seemingly any climate.
The Grave Review
The film indeed has an a commendable storyline inspite of the limited script needed to support the story. The characters are well written and is able to stand out as individuals. Lee Abbott, played by Krasinski, is a model parent – protective, nurturing, and always focused on keeping the threat away. He has built an alarm system of lights, as well as a soundproof basement where he collects all information on the creatures and works tirelessly on a HAM radio to connect with any outside survivors. The mother Evelyn, played by Krasinski’s real life wife Emily Blunt is likewise an excellent parent, but her role in day to day tasks is diminished as her pregnancy goes on. Both children are hard working and clever, and neither are a burden – a refreshing change from many thriller films with young kids who are most of the time the annoying brats they are.
The actors use the American sign language as modes of communication which made the actors more realistic and convincing aside from the good performances. Special cast worthy of mentioning is Millicent Simmonds, who plays Regan is not only deaf in the film but also deaf in real life.
A Quiet Place (2018) is rife with high tension moments that when looked at from afar, are the same situation under slightly different circumstances, but never feel immersive. The strength of the characters and the family drama surrounding these scenes gives the story a lot of breathing room that other thrillers would do well to examine. The movie infused a series of jump scares, but it is quite engaging despite the ending reveal falling a bit flat.
Overall, A Quiet Place (2018) delivers exactly what you would expect from a well thought story and well directed film. It is an effective thriller that defines excellent performances and does not completely rely on a gimmick to be what it is.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews give A Quiet Place (2018) four out of five graves.
Do you agree with our review? Comment below.
Join the Conversation