As an Odeon Limitless member, I’m always at a local Odeon. For the amount of films I’ve already seen in 2018, this was the first one which urged me to write this film review. It’s that good!
Let’s get down to my review of A Quiet Place.
Plot
Set in 2020, Earth’s human population has been catastrophically wiped. We’re introduced to the Abbott family. Husband Lee, wife Evelyn, sons Marcus and Beau, and daughter Regan.
The opening scene is the family scavenging for supplies in a store. Bare feet and using sign language. They’re sneaking around for medication and other supplies.
I don’t want to get too deep into the plot (you’ll see why in my review). Minimal awareness of the story will allow you to enjoy this film even more!
Review
This film is being billed as a horror movie, but I think it deserves more credit. It’s not just another typical modern horror. There’s too many of those kind of movies where you can expect a killer or haunting spirit, jumpy moments, people running into danger or falling over. THIS is not one of those horrors. A better description would be that A Quiet Place is a thriller with horror themes.
Key elements of the film
There are so many elements in the first few seconds of the film which foreshadow the narrative. Equally, the film’s title kind of gives away the biggest theme of the film. Quietness.
The opening scene where the Abbotts are scavenging has stuck with me most. Mainly due to the masterful storytelling on show. It allows you to make many observations about the world we’ve been introduced to. There’s an empty food store that has been cleared out of everything, except all of the crisp packets. Such a simple yet powerful touch of storytelling!
Sound is the horror element of this film. Everyone is scared of making any sound, even us watching the film. During the film, I actually diffused a cough. Fed up with people scratching in their bucket of popcorn? Well, no chance of that in this film. You would feel so awkward digging into noisy popcorn.
I’ve been trying to think of a new horror idea of my own for some time. Sound being the fear in this film is brilliant. It’s completely unique. Although there are many films where people try to be quiet in segments when they’re hiding from someone, A Quiet Place uses sound as a fear to the extreme (in a good way). How we associate silence in day-to-day life is completely transformed in A Quiet Place.
The tension created in the film is unbelievable. My fingernails were non-existent by the end of it and my palms were so clammy. There’s not much more to say on the tension, other than YOU WILL FEEL NERVOUS DURING THIS FILM.
Another nice touch is that we’re following a traditional, loving family in a completely untraditional world. But this is what makes this movie so raw and emotional. There’s a clear, underlying love between each of the characters, but every family has their problems. There’s such a strong scene which made me shed a tear. It was such an authentic moment in the film which wasn’t overdone and executed well!
Star Rating: 4.7/5
Although minor, there were a couple of parts where I was a bit confused or I thought were not entirely explained all that well.
One is a scene where Lee lights a fire. We see other fires being lit miles away around him. But what was the point in this? At the time I didn’t really think anything of it. Now thinking back, I’m a bit like, ‘why did they show that?’ Maybe I’m oblivious and it was important to show that there are other people living in this world? I’m not sure, but there’s a scene with an old man that shows there are other people around, so was there really any need for the fire scene?
Anyway, I loved this film. The tension it created, the new fear of sound, the connection and disconnection between the family, the amazing storytelling. Tie it all together and you have a fantastic film!
If you haven’t seen this film, go and see it. You will not regret it!
T. J. Blake #Author 