A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place? More like The Anxiety Place!

I am not a person with any chronic or regular anxiety, I don't experience it on a daily basis. Generally speaking, I don't have anxiety and it's not a problem for me. This movie made it a problem for me in just over an hour and a half of screen time.

Don't think that this is meant to reflect negatively on the film! In fact it was masterful how well it was constructed to do just that. Everything that happened one scene to the next was meant to keep the tension high, there was always at least one aspect that kept the audience from relaxing. As soon as that fateful night began the problems, chaos, and rush from one life or death situation to the next kept up to the last instance of the movie.

For those who don't know, A Quiet Place follows the life of a family surviving in a post-apocalyptic universe where to make a sound is to die. Creatures hunt the earth, day and night, blind and armored, sensing their victims by sound alone. This family conforms their entire lives to being silent every instant and surviving alone, making do with the resources at their disposal and that which can be scavenged. Their farm sustains them, but for anything outside of that they risk their very lives to attain.

Despite the high tension and often horrific themes, there were many heartwarming or heartbreaking elements. The familial bond of the characters played an important role in engaging the audience. From the start they could be seen as people who are relatable, someone the audience could identify with in the situation, as parents or otherwise. They were strong, but subtly written and the dynamics were powerful. The writing was excellent in and of itself, with so little being said in the film at all and much of what was said being signed. There was no spoken exposition, but you could see from the environment and the behavior of the characters what was happening and what had happened. Often their communication and conveying of feeling was relayed entirely by expression, showing a rare talent from the cast. And with only 7 actors shown in the entire film, it really showed how much story can be expressed with so little.

Overall John Krasinski outdid himself on the entire concept! I think he has finally broken the cycle and created the first good one man show production; that is to say, a film or theatrical work that was written, directed, and lead by the same person. It had the visuals and frame of a big name director, all from someone we all know as Jim from The Office.

If you're looking to be titillated or thrilled, take the time to catch this movie! It's not just for fans of the horror genre, but still provides a fully original idea and excellent horror concept.