A Quiet Place

Silence is golden. This is the mantra held by the main characters of the thrilling new horror film A Quiet Place. While it's not quite the levels of brilliance as modern genre classics such as The Vvitch, The Babadook or It Follows, A Quiet Place more than makes up for it with constant dread, genuinely great scares, immaculate production values and some great performances. I'm shocked that this was associated with Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes production company.

It's the post-Apocalypse and the world has been seemingly invaded by large reptilian-like creatures who roam the wastelands preying on the dregs of humanity. You see, the creatures are blind but have super-sensitive hearing. The slightest sound can set them off on a murderous rampage. So as long as you stay quiet 24/7, you'll avoid them no problem! We follow a family trying to get by in this terrifying new world - mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), father Lee (John Krasinski, also director) and their children Regan (who also happens to be deaf, so the whole of the family knows how to use sign language - giving them a massive advantage) and Marcus (Noah Jupe). Having recently lost a younger son to one of the creatures, the family settle on an abandoned farm to anticipate the arrival of a new member of the family, as Evelyn is heavily pregnant. And in a world where monsters prey on loud noise, they're going to have to do everything they can to survive...

A Quiet Place revels in its audience pleasing scares, subtle world building and characters that we care about

I think one of the film's best attributes is how it visually explains the story and world-building. Indeed, the script doesn't feel the need to hold the audience's hand. I appreciate that it doesn't explain in great detail how the family knows how to use sign language, for example. It simply lets you infer this information through their interactions with their deaf daughter. Trust me, this is something a lesser film would spend time explaining, lest the (assumed) dumb audience doesn't get it. And the film is littered with great subtle moments such as these - the kids playing with soft tokens on their Monopoly board, laying out sand on their regular paths around their adopted homestead, crisps (chips to Americans) being the only food left in the supermarket etc. It's just little visual punctuation marks like that that elevate the film. For the most part this is, for all intent and purpose, a silent film and director John Krasinski knows how to use the visual language of cinema to explain this and how this family has survived as long as they have.

In general, A Quiet Place has a lot more heart than similar horror films. After an unforgettable opening, the film spends ample time getting to know the characters. I'm used to not caring about characters in mainstream horror films but A Quiet Place sets out time for this, making the gut-wrenching third act even more thrilling and actually quite heart-felt. The teenage frustration of Regan. The desire Evelyn feels to give her children a relatively normal upbringing in the horrific circumstances. The constant paranoia of Lee. You feel for these characters and fear for them in a way that is quite rare for the genre. Needless to say all the performances are top-notch though Emily Blunt might take the trophy for an unforgettable sequence as she goes into labour as one the creatures invades their home. Yikes.

A Quiet Place, despite your better judgement, requires to be watched with a good audience - the tension can be felt throughout the theatre

But it's in the simplicity (not as a detriment) of the framing and set pieces of A Quiet Place that sets it apart. The aforementioned labour sequence is just one of unbearably tense scenes the film has on offer and it just keeps piling it on. Krasinski knows how to employ classic Hitchcockian techniques for maximum effect on screen. The most inconsequential sounds have the effect of being noise-bombs that can signal the downward spiral into dread as we anticipate the arrival of the creatures. The fact that we never get a clear glimpse of the creatures is a work of genius and plays in a key role in the film's simple back-to-basics mantra. The most potent sequence finds the kids trapped in a grain silo - honestly, I think I watched that bit through my fingers. No joke.

The film's effectiveness can simply be felt in the theatre. I never thought I'd say this but the film must be seen with an audience (I was almost dreading seeing this with a noisy crowd). We saw the film on a week night at a surprisingly busy screening at our local multiplex. The usual rustling and slurping could be detected as the film began. Oh no, I thought, I'm going to get annoyed. However, 10-15 mins in all this stopped. This collective sense of dread remained until the end of the film when there was an audible sigh of relief as the audience could finally breath again. A Quiet Place is a frighteningly good time with plenty of well-constructred scares and subtle world building building to an incredibly tense finale. I don't think I've curled my toes as much in anticipation during a film in a long time. It's a nerve shredding assault on the senses and also wickedly good fun.