Review of A Quiet Place (2016) by Merijn J — 29 Jun 2018

I didn't know what this was about, nor did I immediately recognise actor/director Jon Krasinski (or know that he is married to star Emily Blunt) - so I guess I came to it absolutely cold, knowing only that it was a horror film, of some sort.

If that's your preference too, then don't read on. From the start, we are only introduced to what appears to be a post-apocalyptic American setting with the strange requirement that everyone has to be as quiet as possible (we figure this out, we aren't told).

Only a few minutes later are we shocked into realising that this is a monster movie and the monsters (distant relatives of Alien's alien, I think) hone in on sounds, since they are blind. Well, the "shock" was fairly clearly telegraphed - and in fact, nearly every suspenseful moment here is bleedingly obvious (monster enters room, everyone freezes), but that doesn't mean you aren't still on the edge of your seat the whole time.

This has strong ties to the Cloverfield franchise, I think (and I read that the writers fought to keep their screenplay from being repurposed as part of those films) - and if I knew that, perhaps I wouldn't have rented this.

There is something to slick about these CGI monsters that I can't get into. But why? The old Ray Harryhausen monsters were a treat and certainly there were plenty of creature double features in my youth.

Perhaps those too could never earn a rating above 3 stars. But if you are in the mood for a thrill ride and don't need to or want to think, here you go!