A Quiet Place (2018)
Although this is the third film he directed (I haven't seen the other two: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009) and The Hollars (2016)), this is John Krasinski's first foray into the horror genre, somewhere where many filmmakers over the years have led their trade.
Set in the near future where most of the human race has been killed by the blind, but incredibly fast and powerful, creatures which rely on their hyper sensitive hearing to track down their prey, the film follows Lee Abbott, his wife Evelyn, their sons Marcus and Beau, and Regan, their deaf daughter, as they try to survive, predominantly using American sign language (ASL) to communicate. After a devastating event in the very early part of the film – I won't say what – the events move on a year as the Abbotts live on a farm with grain silos and wheat fields, still a virtually silent existence, but one with a fairly complex security and surveillance system as Lee tries to research the creatures and make a cochlear implant for Regan.
With an impending change to the family dynamics and the children uncertain of their roles in the world and in the family, the burden on Lee grows ever greater.
I really don't want to say any more about the story, the creatures, or the main talking points because that would be to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it and want to – I think it's a case where the less you know, the more you'll enjoy it.
On that, I knew very little about this before watching it so I was flabbergasted when I found out it was produced by Michael Bay and comes from his Platinum Dunes production company. I say flabbergasted because not only is this the first non-Purge Platinum Dunes film I think I have enjoyed and really impressed me, but is such a scary, atmospheric, and intelligent horror film that it goes against the general trend of horror films from the company as it doesn't feature exactly the same over saturated colour palette, along with an overbearing and intrusive soundtrack, isn't a remake, isn't over reliant on gore, and seems to have something to say about the nature of family and communication.
A Quiet Place is an extremely accomplished film with a very good script, taught direction from Krasinski and excellent performances from him, Emily Blunt (Krasinski's real-life wife) and the child actors, particularly Noah Jupe (The Night Manager) and Millicent Simmonds, who is really deaf. It's a film I enjoyed very much and would like to see again the cinema before buying it to watch at home.
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