31 Days of Horror 2018: A Quiet Place

Directed by John Krasinski.

2018. Rated PG-13, 90 minutes.

Cast:

John Krasinski

Emily Blunt

Millicent Simmonds

Noah Jupe

Like lots of horror movies these days, this one takes place after an apocalypse created by flesh-eating monsters. However, these creatures are not zombies. In fact, they're very much alive. And very blind. They hunt by sound. If you make just about any sound, one of these things will be on you in quite a hurry to turn you into their latest snack. We figure this out rather quickly because the family we spend our movie with loses its youngest member because he just had to play with a noisy toy car. Fast forward roughly a year, the family is still coping with the loss, but is also preparing for the arrival of a new bundle of joy. More important than any of that is our clan - dad (Krasinski), deaf daughter (Simmonds), son (Abbott), and of course, expectant mom (Blunt) - trying to remain silent at all cost to ensure their survival.

The film asks a lot of its audience right away. That's because the truth of the matter is that the premise, and at certain points, the execution, is utterly ridiculous. Think about it. What family of four do you know that can remain silent for any period of time longer than five minutes. If you think I'm wrong, consider the fact we're talking about all sound. This is where the film's many inconsistencies show up. The simple preparation of a meal can be a loud affair. So, too, can the eating of that meal. These people even have the nerve to try and play board games. None of this takes into consideration the fact that a baby is conceived under these circumstances. Um, 'kay. To the film's credit, it manages to earn our suspension of disbelief for longer than it has any right to. That's because it's completely married to the world it creates. It carefully builds the idea that this family is capable of living their lives in near total silence and that any sound made is a cause for panic. Their fear of noise translates to the viewer, causing us to dread the possibilities whenever anyone on-screen does something audible.

This neat trick of passing off silence as a viable defense is pulled off by director and star John Krasinski. He weaponizes sound to the point where the absence of it is a relief. Like Jordan Peele did before him with Get Out, he utilizes his natural comedic timing to create the desired sense of dread. Every noise that's possibly too loud is accompanied by frightful reaction shots of the cast. When creatures actually are coming there's an unsettling inevitability to the fate of the person they are coming for. These moments, and the way Krasinski and cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen frames them are what really make this movie. Their work in this area is far greater than anything done by the cast.

Don't get me wrong. The cast is not bad. In fact, they're pretty good. Both Krasinski and Emily Blunt are excellent in their roles. Perhaps because of the fact they're married in real life, but their chemistry is a major plus. We can readily buy the way they can wordlessly communicate. Their feelings for one another are clearly evident. As the daughter, Millicent Simmonds, who really is deaf, gets more of the focus, but it's Noah Jupe as her brother that really earns our empathy. He's appropriately anxious, jumpy, and downright paranoid of the world he lives in. Who can blame the kid? His behavior mirrors our own, thus we identify with him more than any other character than the possible exception of Blunt's.

Thankfully, this film is kept to just 90 minutes. Even at that, it begins to strain with carrying the weight of its premise. As the film wears on, it becomes clear that whether or not a creature is coming after a sound is made depends on what the plot needs at any given moment and not the actual rules that govern the world we're immersed in. By the time the film itself realizes this, it shifts into high gear for its finale, a clever way to end a film all about people trying to be quiet. This means A Quiet Place is a very nice horror flick that gets us all ramped up, and just as we start to question all that's going on, it ushers us out the door with a wonderful parting gift.