I don’t do horror. Don’t like it, can’t stand it, don’t want to watch it.
But I had to see A Quiet Place.
So I waited until I could watch it on my own screen, with all the lights on, in the safety of my otherwise normally loud home. And then I listened to the quiet.
For those of you who somehow have missed the phenomena that John Krasinski helped write, directed, and starred in, it’s the story about how the Abbott family has survived worldwide annihilation at the claws of a blind monster race. Well, most of the family has survived thanks to Lee’s (Krasinski) ingenuity and skills- as the deaf teen Regan (Millicent Simmonds) inadvertently caused one of her younger brothers to be eaten by one of the monsters. Months later, the family is still reeling emotionally, and Lee’s wife, Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real-life wife), is preparing for the birth of their fourth child.
In my humble estimation, future thriller (and horror) wannabes need to revisit A Quiet Place again and again, because with the minimal gore, and nearly no dialogue, the film delivers a masterpiece that is PG-13. Is it terrifying? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Funny (at times)? Yes. And it’s absolutely clever.
Whether it’s the shot of the children in the corn silo, or the excellent acting of Blunt, Krasinski, Simmonds, and Noah Jupe (Suburbicon, The Night Manager), this was a thrill-ride up close and personal, that never let go. There is much to be considered – the cost of noise, the power of family (and our need to shelter our children… even ineffectively), the (awesome) twist where a disability becomes a strength, and the superior resilience of “a momma.”
The Blu-ray special effects include “Reading the Quiet: Behind Scenes of A Quiet Place,” “The Sound of Darkness: Editing Sound for A Quiet Place,” and “A Reason for Silence: The Visual Effects of A Quiet Place.”
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