I'd like to add a disclaimer before I review: I am not a big fan of the horror genre. In fact, I've only ever seen two other relatively "scary" movies, so I don't have much to compare this film to. There will be spoilers, so if you haven't seen it yet, be cautious as you read or go see it and come back to this review.

Let me start by saying, I absolutely loved watching this film.

Some background information before I dive into the review:

It was directed by John Krasinski (The Office [US]), who also played the role of the father. Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt (The Girl On The Train), played the on-screen role of the wife. The daughter, who was deaf, was played by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe took the role of the oldest son.

The story takes place in a rural New York town sometime in 2020 and beyond; specifically 89 days into an apocalypse of the invasion of alien creatures. The creatures have no eyes and hunt by sound. Therefore, the inhabitants must stay quiet, else an end will come soon.

So now that you have some background, here are my thoughts on this film.

I loved the inclusion of deaf actress, Millicent Simmonds. I think casting her speaks so loudly (pun intended) to the filmmakers of today, inspiring more inclusion of actors with disabilities. John Krasinski; best known for his role as Jim Halpert in the U.S. version of The Office, specifically asked for a deaf actor to be in this film. Simmonds' role ultimately created closure for the film. Her character was created with such specific characteristics that one might miss on first glance. For example, when it was her point of view, all sounds were taken out and all the viewers could do was see what she saw.

Her character, dealing with the self blame for the loss of her younger brother early in the film, creates a barrier between the father and herself. The relationship the two characters, Lee (Krasinski) and Regan (Simmonds), create is so special because there is a push and pull factor. A defiance and a love that is continually trying to redeem. Ultimately Lee shows his love for his daughter (and son) by his sacrifice. He signs: "I love you. I have always loved you" to Regan and gives himself to save his children, creating an important and moving scene to note.

Another thing I loved about this film was the fact that the silence was ultimately a protagonist and sounds were antagonists. It wasn't inherently the alien creatures who were the antagonists, though they certainly aided. The film was not a silent film because there was noise throughout, but only slightly. There were three instances of dialogue in the entire movie. The tension the quiet created was so great that even viewers at the theaters become aware of the noise that they would make; drinking their drinks or eating popcorn creates sound disturbances.

The cast and crew all had to learn how to use American Sign Language throughout the production of the film, imparted by Simmonds’ usage. The use of ASL in the movie made the audience more attentive because they would have to read subtitles to understand the unspoken communication throughout. It kept the audience in tune with what was going on and if you blinked, you could miss something important that was communicated.

Because there was little to no dialogue in the entire movie, the character development was never explicitly created. The audience had to rely on facial expressions, gestures and body language to understand the characters more deeply. This creates a more emotional connection, which was Krasinski's ultimate goal when he was creating the film. The characters show us, rather than tell us, how they feel throughout the screenplay, which is such a contrast to other films.

One of the other prominent things about this film that was unlike other horror movies was the fact that the characters don't make hasty decisions that affect the rest of the characters. So often characters choose to do a deliberate bad decision (i.e. splitting up the group, going into that dark room) which in turn, affects the entirety of the plot. A Quiet Place did well to allow the characters to think about their actions and how they would in turn affect others. The characters acted more selflessly than selfishly.

All in all, I think that this film was on such a different level than others. Especially since there was emotional connections created between audience and characters. I definitely want to see it in theaters a second time, more for critique and less for experience.