[Featured Image: Paramount Pictures]
A Quiet Place is a 2018 sci-fi and horror movie about a family who has to live their life in silence to avoid being hunted by an alien presence that uses sound to track their prey. I have to say right off the bat that this is one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a long time, and it was such a great experience to watch this in a near-silent cinema.
The story itself is simple and wraps up fairly well by the end. Despite the lack of dialogue, a lot is communicated throughout the movie. We get enough of backstory and a reasonable amount of information to understand what’s going on. Don’t get me wrong, some things could have been given more detail but what we do get is enough to allow you to watch the movie in peace without constantly asking questions because you’re confused.
A Quiet Place does some fantastic things with sound that helps to create this tension that only builds over time, creating this unsettling feeling. There are quite a few jump scares but it does it so well. In a movie that’s filled almost entirely with silence, the sudden introduction of loud sounds and/or sudden movement is bound to make you jump. Although some could have been left out, the jump scares feel natural, unlike some horror movies that seem to have one every few minutes just to try and raise the fear factor.
Throughout A Quiet Place, the characters primarily use sign language, meaning that although there is a lack of dialogue, there’s not a lack of communication. This allows for us to understand who these characters are and what they mean to each other. An awesome little fact: Millicent Simmonds is deaf in real life just like her character Regan. While on set the cast all learnt sign language so that it would be correct. Being able to communicate in this way gives this family an edge that a lot of people might not have in the world of A Quiet Place, whether intended or not, there’s a lot of positive light shed when it comes to the importance of sign language.
Even with any flaws, A Quiet Place feels completely original, making the experience of watching it that much better. It doesn’t try to make things overly complicated, and even on the most basic level, it’s a just a beautiful movie to watch. It has really great visuals with a lot of pleasant colours. It keeps you hooked from start to finish and it’s definitely a movie you need to experience, even if it’s just once.
Rating: ★★★★★/5
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