Review of A Quiet Place (2018) by Dana F — 27 May 2018

Well, it's not just a clever name. This is a very quiet movie... until it isn't. But I'm getting ahead of myself! The premise of this movie is that aliens have invaded and hunt their prey by sound.

.. so you have to be vewy, vewy quiet. It's kind of a cross between the alien invasion movie "Signs" and the dystopian plague film "It Comes at Night". And similar to those films, while the circumstances classify it as 'horror', at its core it's a story about a family's struggle to survive and protect each other at all costs.

This is more of a 'sustained tension' kind of horror rather than things jumping out and going "boo"... though there is a little of that too. The story is incredibly well written - it's lean and concise, allowing the movie to keep a brisk pace without sacrificing story or character.

The 90-minute run time flies by, it was over before I knew it. It's a rare movie that leaves me wanting more! The characters are well developed despite having very little dialogue (they communicate mostly via sign language and barely audible whispers) and all the performances are truly excellent.

Everyone in the movie feels like a real person and you empathize with them immediately. The movie has some unexpectedly powerful emotional moments as well. On the negative side, it does have some pretty significant plot holes, which I can't go into without spoilers - suffice it to say that for people in survival mode, they really struggle with contingency planning.

But for the most part, the story makes sense and the decisions that the characters make are within the realm of possibility, which is something I can't say for most horror films (or any genre, for that matter).

And the ending is SO satisfying. It's a Grade A horror flick and I would definitely recommend it, even if you are not a fan of horror in general... remember, we are at the peak of the Golden Age of Horror, and horror flicks now have thoughtfulness and resonance.

This film is a prime example of how the genre has been elevated - it's the kind of horror film that opts to use its brain instead of spill its guts.