Film Review: A Quiet Place

Director: John Krasinki

Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski and Millicent Simmonds

Running time: 90 mins

John Krasinski (The Office, Jack Ryan) writes, directs and stars in this eerie, terror-filled chiller. His character, Lee Abbott, is flanked by on-screen and real-life wife Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train, The Devil Wears Prada), as Evelyn. Them, with their three children, are a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where nameless creatures have set up camp and seem to be hunting humans. This is all tied up in a neat, straightforward premise: You make a noise. You die.

As the film skips forward just under a year, the family are now living at an abandoned farmhouse, surrounded by endless cornfields. Evelyn is heavily pregnant and the family are busy with preparations for the birth, as well as trying to keep themselves alive. Noah Jupe (Wonder) as Marcus, Cade Woodward as the youngest child Beau, and the fantastic Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck) as Regan, make up the rest of the family, and most of the cast list, all of which give exceptional performances. None more so than Millicent Simmonds, a young actress who is deaf in real life but can speak volumes with facial expressions alone. Her fractious relationship with her father in this film is a frustrating, heart-tugging one. Yet, despite their extreme circumstances, the message is something that can be translated to many fathers and daughters who watch this film.

The biggest reservation this reviewer had when going into the film, was the worry of it relying too much on jump scares. From the first minute, these reservations were quashed. The opening sequence is an absolute nerve-shredding experience, with reverberations which are felt throughout the rest of the film. Marco Beltrami’s score is ever present and unrelenting in the tension it creates. Whilst Charlotte Bruus Christansen’s fabulous cinematography manages to encapsulate the desolate setting, yet portrays the serene beauty the surroundings still hold.

As has already been mentioned, the performances from the younger cast members are extremely impressive, but Krasinski and Blunt take this film to another level. Their connection on screen is infectious and every glance, every expression, will touch the neck hairs like a cold wind, and every glare is as punishing as any lines of dialogue. It’s incredible how much is said between the characters using no words whatsoever, whether that be speech or American Sign Language. Most importantly, though, we believe in these characters, and we believe in the threat, which is arguably more horrifying than anything else. Despite not relying on jump-scares, this is not a film for the faint-hearted. Horror should never have to rely on jump-scares to keep somebody entertained with their two-second pay offs, that is not horror. A good horror will be felt coursing through your veins, it will be taken home with you long after leaving the cinema and stay for hours. It should be felt under your skin, kicking and screaming to burst out. A horror, such as this, will have you scratching at the arm rests, unconsciously begging for respite yet never feeling so alive. This film, undoubtedly, ticks these boxes.

The most impressive thing about this film has to be Krasinski’s direction. For somebody most-known for comedies such as The Office, and also his recently well-documented relationship with horror movies, this film does not have the feel of one made by somebody who is fairly new to the genre, who as ‘preparation’ watched The Babadook, and Get Out, amongst others. This film feels like a culmination of a life-long horror director’s best work, which makes Krasinski somewhat of an enigma, but I cannot wait to find out what he does next.

Did you know? John Krasinki played the monster in a motion capture suit for a few scenes.

Trailer