A QUIET PLACE REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

If you know me, you'll know that I'm a wimp when it comes to horror films. However, when I saw the trailer for A Quiet Place, I knew I had to see it. The trailer showed a family who lived in silence, in order to hide away from monsters who hunt by sound. The thought of having to live in total silence really interested me as we live in a world that is filled with sound. It's hard to imagine a world without sound, however, John Krasinski's directorial debut helps us to picture it. At the time of writing this review, A Quiet Place has received positive reception from both critics and audiences. Could this really be one of the best horror films?

Two parents, Lee (Kransinski) and Evelyn (Emily Blunt) Abbott  do what it takes to keep their children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe), and soon to be newborn safe in a world full of creatures hunting every sound they can hear. Not a sound can be heard from the family hiding in silence, but all it takes is one noise and everything can go wrong. The family are mourning the loss of the youngest child, Beau (Leon Russom), who, after discovering a loud toy rocket, is tragically killed in an instant by an monster. With a newborn baby on the way, the family must take extra precaution in order to keep themselves safe.

Although I haven't seen many horror films, I have to say that A Quiet Place may be the best yet. A lot of criticism I've heard aimed at horrors is that they show 'too much violence and gore' rather than focusing on its story. They're more interested in scaring its audience rather than making a good film. Fortunately, the same cannot be said for A Quiet Place. The premise is simple and easy to follow. Make a sound and you'll be killed. The story focuses on the family of four, soon to be five, which includes teenager, Regan, who is deaf. Lee spends a lot of time trying to fix her hearing aid so she can listen out for the monsters. Because of Regan's hearing impairment, the family are able to communicate through sign language and they've come up with various ways to prevent noise: walking barefoot slowly on sand and using lettuce leaves as plates and eating with their bare hands. Lee has also discovered that, when covered by the sound of waterfall, they are able to speak normally without the monsters hearing them. This makes them a respectable family as they make smart decisions and have learnt how to live without the monsters discovering them. A lot of horror films tend to feature characters that stupid decisions and, because of this, we find it hard to root for them. In the beginning, when poor Beau is killed, I did wonder why Evelyn didn't carry her son home, however, she questions herself later on in the film. A few people did question certain aspects of the film, however, I think that's what I liked most about A Quiet Place as the story was so thought provoking. I'm sure a lot of viewers were wondering if they would be able to survive in a world without sound, I certainly was.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is Krasinski's directorial debut and it's an impressive one at that. Since it began in 2005, he has become best known for portraying Jim Halpert in the 'mockumentary'-based comedy, The Office. I was a fan of the series when I first began watching it a few years ago and, to be honest, I never would've guessed that Krasinski would be a talented horror director. He knows how to grabs an audience's attention and never let it go until the end credits. The story is unpredictable throughout and we never know who is going to survive and who isn't. As well as directing, Krasinski gives his best dramatic performance yet. Although he has managed to protect most of his family, he is still terrified and works hard to make sure everyone is safe.

As well as Krasinski, the performances are all great. Blunt is one of my favourite actresses and I'm yet to see her give a disappointing performance. I do think that her this may be her best performance so far. We learn early on in the film that she's pregnant and, of course, the thought of going into a painful labour and bringing a crying baby into the world is a scary thought. Her best scene is when she's in the bath tub and, although she's in excruciating pain, she is trying her hardest not to make a sound. It's an incredibly tense scene and works because of Blunt's brilliant performance. It's not surprising that both Blunt and Krasinski work well together and make a convincing couple, considering they're married with two children in real life. The two share a heartfelt scene where they slowly dance to music that's playing in their earphones. Both Jupe and Simmonds are brilliant as the two children, especially Simmonds who, like her character, is deaf in real life. I'm glad Krasinski chose a deaf actor as it makes the performance all the more convincing. 

A Quiet Place is not for the faint hearted. There's jump scares throughout and the film has its fair share of violence and gore. A scene involving a character and a nail that's sticking out on one of the stairs is painful to watch. If you're squeamish, I'd suggest giving this a miss. Because I'm not the biggest horror film fan, I did find A Quiet Place tough to watch. My heart was racing throughout, however, that's the sign of a great horror film. Because its only 90 minutes long, it moved at a brisk pace, however, it ended very quickly. At the time of writing this review, a sequel has been announced. Whether it'll be based on the same family or a different set of characters, I'm not sure. In all honest, I hope it focuses on the same family as the ending leaves us questioning. I would also like to see Krasinski return to direct as he really captured the dark and intense tone and I don't think any other director will be able to create a sequel that is half as good as what he's achieved here. 

Overall, A Quiet Place is probably one of the best horror films we've had in a while as it features a compelling and thought-provoking premise, smart characters and strong performances from its cast. John Krasinski proves he's more than a character from a popular sitcom and showcases his talent as a director and an actor.

8/10