John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” is a 2018 American horror film about a family trying to stay alive while avoiding deadly creatures. They must remain quiet and communicate with one another via sign language. Sign language has never been used like this for a horror movie, so it is a nice first.
The movie begins with the Abbott family searching and collecting what seems to be medicine and any other valuables in an abandoned supermarket. The audience is then shown a title card announcing “Day 89,” but it is unclear what has
happened. This makes the viewer an active participant in the movie, having to figure out the story for themselves.
The family, consisting of Lee and Evelyn (John Krasinski and his real-life partner, Emily Blunt) and their three children (Played by Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, and Cade Woodward), are walking on a bridge when a battery-operated toy triggers a loud alarm. Viewers watch in horror as the family runs into imminent danger.
Skipping forward one year into the future, the audience sees the family and, a now very pregnant Evelyn. Lee teaches his son how to hunt, and the daughter fumes over the protectiveness of her parents. What happens next is a series of obstacles that the family must go through in order to survive.
It is revealed that the creatures terrorizing the family have no sight and only attack sounds. There is not much told of the past of the family or where these creatures came from, as that is irrelevant to the focus of the story.
There is no end revolution that they were aiming for like other horror movies, but it does not make it any less frightening.
Every noise that one would think would not matter, matters. Even the little sounds that we would not think about in our everyday lives, could jeopardize theirs. The family has made sure to soundproof everything, from the creaking of the floorboards to the basement.
It is a movie parents will relate to, because it shows the extremes that parents will go to to protect their kids. It is entertaining because it surrounds the idea of silence being a necessity, maybe even above food and water in this case. It is a movie worth watching as you have to wait until the end to comprehend everything.
Follow The Westword on Twitter by clicking here.
