With 97% ratings at Rotten Tomatoes and making a $50 million debut at the box-office, I am glad the others are also falling in love with the movie- just like I fell in love!
After a long time did I get a chance to watch a movie in sheer terror. A Quiet Place took me right from the start and didn’t let go of me till the end– for all 90 minutes! It’s the kind of movie where I had to hold my breath, out of tension, and not let go till it’s all over. If you’ve seen another great movie Don’t Breathe, then A Quiet Place is like that movie, except it’s amplified multiple times!
Directed by John Krasinski (and acting in the lead role as the father as well), A Quiet Place is that rare horror movie that actually terrifies you– something that a lot of recent horror movies have failed to do so. I will say though that the movie succeeds in instilling tension and suspense in the audience, but it won’t necessarily scare you to death or something.
The movie opens with a title “Day 89.” It’s the year 2020. We get an idea that something horrible has happened and the town has been emptied of its people. The Abbot family is seen in a pharmacy, collecting supplies and medicines. Three children, a daughter, who’s deaf and wears a defunct hearing aid, and two sons, one of whom has asthmatic issues. We also know that they cannot make a noise of any kind, hence the tip-toeing all over barefoot and communicating through sign language with each other. The idea is that if you make a noise, the monsters will come and kill you.
I will not get into the what the movie entails as that will completely ruin the movie watching experience, but there are some big ideas that deal with various issues– father/ son relationship, father’s love for his children, communication between family members, sacrificing oneself for another, growing up, taking responsibilities and so on and so forth.
For a horror movie like, where most of the film has very little dialogue, I was blown away by the emotional ending. It packs such a powerful punch that I’d be surprised to find anyone who’s not affected by the ending.
There are some great things about this movie:
- The setting has been richly realized, and it’s a lot of fun to witness the family’s survival techniques.
- We do get to see the monsters, and they are not a disappointment (a bit like a crossover between the aliens from Signs and the Alien!)
- The acting from everyone is stupendous– especially when they had to do a lot of non-verbal communication! Full marks to the director for getting the best out of everyone.
- Emily Blunt— sigh, I do love her and I loved her in this movie! (Fun fact: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are married in real life, and when John told his wife to do the movie, she refused because it was too dark of a movie to film. It was only when she read the script did she fall in love with the movie and went ahead to act in the movie. )
- John Krasinski is the man of the hour! Such a hidden talent — given that he’s known for comedy in The Office.
- For the first time in such a mainstream movie did the role of a hearing aid played such a big role. I literally had goosebumps all over as I wearing hearing aids myself, and to be able to connect to the daughter in the movie just made it all the more powerful for me! Totally loved it!
Having said that, there are some moments in the movie that reminded me of War of the Worlds, Signs and a few other horror/ survival movie but that doesn’t take away from the effectiveness of A Quiet Place.
I wish I could talk about the movie, but it will ruin the experience. But I will say once again, that during the entire 90 minutes of the movie, the whole cinema hall was stunned in silence. No one spoke anything, no one screamed at anything (like they do in horror movies)– but everyone was just gripping on to their armrest (at least I was!)
Also, this movie is meant to be seen in a cinema, where the audience becomes immersed into the lives of the family, and we go along with them, as opposed to watching characters being offed in regular horror movies. There is a moment in the silo that completely made me want to get up from my seat and jump into the screen and save the characters in peril! That’s how strong the movie is!
Dreadful, suspenseful, tension, thrilling and as Roger Ebert says, a “nerve-shredder!”—A Quiet Place has become my favorite horror movie of 2018 (so far!)
5 out 5
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt
Genre: Horror
Synopsis: Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a family must survive by staying silence, for if the monsters hear them, they will hunt the family down.
Running Time: 90 mins
Rating: 97% Rotten Tomatoes
Seen: Cinestar, Xinhua Mall, Lahore
Mansour Ahsan 