I’ve never felt so stressed out in my entire life. A Quiet Place was released April 6th, 2018 and directed by John Krasinski, or Jim Halpert from the U.S. version of the popular TV show, The Office. I am glad that he is trying to break that mold of Jim and becoming his own actor/director. He is going to be the new Jack Ryan in the upcoming TV show as well which should be exciting. However, that’s a story for another day. A Quiet Place also stars Emily Blunt, his wife, who has an amazing performance in this movie as well. Unlike The Office, A Quiet Place has such high quality and esteem for a horror movie and completely unexpected from Krasinski but I am so glad he went for it.
Taking place in an apocalyptic future, a monster/alien has arrived that can detect and kill people extremely fast only through sound. The visual of the monsters is not seen until the end and is only shown through glimpses throughout the movie which is an intelligent way to portray it because just the thought of it can be scarier than the actual thing itself. The movie follows the Abbot family as they try to survive this horrible situation they were thrown into. John plays the father and Emily plays the mother. They have three children, their youngest a boy, the middle child (a boy), and their eldest (a girl). The actress who plays the girl, Millicent Simmons, is deaf in real life so she has the perfect role in the movie and actually a pivotal one, which I will not spoil. The movie starts off with the youngest child getting caught by one of the monsters after playing with a loud toy rocket. The rest of the movie revolves around the guilt that it plays on all the characters in the movie.
Deciding if a horror movie is good is not just about the quantity, or even the quality, or jump scares. Horror movies need not be decided just how scary it is because then again, it is just a movie that uses very similar elements to dramas and other genres of movies. When I watch a scary movie, the key elements I watch out for are the acting and the moral of the story. Obviously, with actors like John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, that first part is already taken care of. Emily Blunt has a very stressful scene, the most stressful in the whole movie (you’ll know it when you see it), and she performs it amazingly. It is Oscar-worthy. The moral of many horror movies seems to be: Don’t go into the scary house because it is scary.
There is no relatability there and I remove myself from the movie because besides the movie, nothing like this ever happens. Although I don’t expect monsters who hear well to be more probable, the story revolves around guilt and the hardships of being a parent and what you’ll do to protect your kid. That happens everyday and will happen until the end of time. By taking a huge issue, putting it into a non-relatable setting, all the while still making it relatable is what makes a good story. The Wizard of Oz is not just about a girl having a dream, it is the longing for home and having the brains, heart, and courage inside you all along (and the troubles during the 1920’s but that’s more in the book). It’s a Wonderful Life is not just about a suicidal man, it’s about the impacts that you can have in people’s life and how important everyone is. Although A Quiet Place may not be exactly at that level, it is worth a watch if you want to see what a good movie is.
I want to talk about why this movie was so good some more but then I would have to spoil it and I want everyone to see this not just for my sake, but for yours, and John Krasinski. I’m excited to see what else he’ll be able to direct because he could go down any path and I’d be excited for it. Also, on the plus side, he is hilarious on talk shows and interviews and I recommend you watch all of them.
This movie gets a 4.5/5 and should be seen with anyone you can hold hands with because seeing it by yourself is not going to be good for your mental health. Not for kids, but for movie lovers.
