a quiet place movie review

It’s 2020 and the world as we know it is gone. In its place is a post-apocalyptic planet where a few survivors live in complete silence to avoid being hunted and eaten by savage mysterious creatures.  A Quiet Place focuses on one family who prior to the ‘invasion’ must have lived a happy and content life out in the country. Now, they go about their daily routines with small, careful movements, so as not to make a noise and attract ‘them’.

This movie is almost silent. By taking away the dialogue, your senses are heightened and this film becomes incredibly tense from the outset and barely lets up. Strangely, I found the spell broken when there was dialogue, although I feel viewers will welcome the brief rest bite before being thrown back into the silent, terrifying fray. Movie tip. Do yourself a favour and leave the noisy popcorn for after the movie. The silence in the theatre adds to the experience.

A Quiet Place is John Krasinski’s (better known as Jim Halpert from NBC’s’ The Office) directorial debut and he does a fantastically good job here. The movie is tight, with a strong story arc focussed entirely on this family. Krasinski also stars as the father, who spends every waking moment protecting his family and finding ways to keep them all safe. Emily Blunt, who is Krasinski’s wife in the real world and this movie, tries to keep some normality, with school lessons for the children and daily chores. She is also pregnant which poses some frightening issues as she gets near to due date, how could you keep a baby from screaming and crying?

The two older children were cast perfectly. Noah Jupe is solid and displays genuine fear and bravery in equal measure, where hearing-impaired actress Millicent Simmonds stands out as a young actress to watch in the future. Thrillers such as this often have all the scares, but you care little for the victims as they picked off one by one. Not so with A Quiet Place. You genuinely root for this family and pray for their survival.

In 90minutes I had 14 mini heart attacks and I cried twice. It’s a rollercoaster ride and if you love to have the wits scared out of you, then book your tickets now. There’s a reason this movie is sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

A Quiet Place is released in Australian cinemas on April 5th and the UK on April 6th.

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Preview Screening kindly offered by Paramount in exchange for review.