A Quiet Place (2018) – 31 Days of Horror: Oct 9

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A Quiet Place: A film about people that are not allowed to make a sound, sure seems like a super scary premise. Tiptoe into the the rest of this write-up and I’ll try to explain.

A Quiet Place has received much attention for the star-quality of its cast, but what is the film really about?

Before Viewing

The trailer shows a family of four, Mom, Dad, daughter and younger son living and walking in the woods. The interstitial titles remind us that for those that survived, live by one rule, never make a sound. The family moves as silently as they can, and they use sign language to communicate. When the young boy’s toy make some noise, we see the father sprinting towards him to stop it, constantly glancing into the woods.

It appears that some sort of creatures or aliens have decimated parts of the world, with only small groups of people left. The trailer depicts some of the things the family must do just to survive. At the end of the trailer, the mother is listening to her belly with a stethoscope (she appears to be pregnant) and she sinks into a bathtub whimpering. A strange, monstrous hand is seen behind her as she tries not to scream or cry, because “if they hear you, they will hunt you!”

This sounds like an incredible premise for a horror film, so let’s see how it pans out!

Presented below is the Trailer for the film.

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After Viewing

A Quiet Place is tense, taught thriller that makes good use of a unique premise. Sometime in the near future, the planet has been decimated by an alien species that hunts based on sound. The only way for people to survive is to remain quiet.

The story opens on a family of five looking for supplies in a deserted town, in a dilapidated store. There are a mother (Emily Blunt), a father (John Krasinski), a daughter (Millicent Simmonds), an older son (Noah Jupe) and a younger son (Cade Woodward). The father tells the youngest son, using sign language, that he cannot take the toy spaceship with them; it’s too loud. But the sister sneaks it to him anyway. On the walk home, the boy activates the toy, and attracts one of the creatures who kills him.

Flashforward approximately one year, the mother is now pregnant and everyone tries to go on with their normal life. We see some normal days in the families schedule, but when the new baby decides to come early, while the father and son are out fishing, things go horribly wrong.

The family must fight off the creatures while attempting to keep each other safe, and above all remaining quiet. The ending is an emotional strong, yet hopeful moment, which differs from many other films in this genre.

“I have always loved you.” – Father

The strength of this film, besides a strong idea, is the use of silence. The lack of overt musical score, dialogue or noise allows the stillness and silence to really affect the viewer. Sometimes you find yourself holding your breath, in empathy to the characters on the screen, fearing to make sound.

It’s rare for horror films to have a strong emotional core. But A Quiet Place really creates a bond between the four family members. This bond, creates for a strong emotional climax near the end of the film, as the father chooses to sacrifice himself for his children.

The story is a simplistic one, of a family learning how to survive in this changed landscape. The filmmakers put the characters in a very vulnerable situation, as we all know how difficult it is to not make sounds in our daily lives. However the family learns to adapt and by the end of the film, they have learned how to defeat these creatures, which provides some shred of hope in an otherwise bleak future.

Assorted Musings

• A moment when the mother hides herself from one of the creatures behind a small wall of water is reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character hiding from the Predator by covering himself in mud.