E's Reviews: A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place is a horror-thriller starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski as parents who are trying to keep their family safe in a post-apocalyptic world where there are creatures that hunt using sound. I was able to catch this film on Tuesday night at the Alamo Drafthouse El Paso and was treated to an almost perfect film. Krasinski and Blunt are incredible in this movie. The film is beautifully shot, the score is terrifying, and the lack of dialogue or even character’s names does nothing to take away any of the thrills and chills that are delivered on screen. The majority of the character’s communications are done via sign language since any small noise could attract these creatures that are now terrorizing our world.

The movie begins several months after creatures have appeared in our world and have all but decimated the human population. We follow a small family (mother, father, kids) as they attempt to survive this world, walking on sand to muffle their footsteps, eating on lettuce leaves and with hands so that they don’t make any noises, using cloth for game pieces, and walking around barefoot. It was sort of refreshing to see a film like this, as the idea was very original to me, even if the don’t make a noise gimmick was already used before, it didn’t feel gimmicky at all. In fact, the gimmick was something that helped build the tension for the film, making it that much more scary and tense.

But the scares aren’t the only things that should make people watch this film. While there are some jump scares for the horror movie fan in you, they don’t overdo them or make them seem useless. Every time there was a jump, it was shown to you what the horrifying thing was that was coming for the family. The film is acted to near perfection, with the family dealing with tragic events from their past, and the majority of the emotion was shown on the faces of our actors. Even the children were phenomenal in this film. There was a real sense of fear and dread in particularly the oldest son, who was near terrified of going anywhere since the creatures (who they never explain their origins) could be waiting for them to slip up at any moment.

I don’t want to ruin too much of the movie, but just make sure you bring tissue along with you, as the opening sequence is a sad one, and the third act was certainly one that broke my heart. The movie’s tension and thrills also had my heart beating at a very rapid pace, and it took a while for me to calm it down. It’s got everything for ever genre junkie out there, so check it out while you can! Easily one of my favorite films of 2018!

Score: 10/10