In a post-apocalyptic future, a family is forced to live in
​silence as they avoid creatures who hunt by sound.

HORROR

A Quiet Place (2018)

Directed by John Krasinski

Written by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski

Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds,
​Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward, Leon Russom

​Oscar Nominations - Best Sound Editing

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Connor Eyzaguirre

April 8, 2018

6/10

I had really high hopes for A Quiet Place. The trailers were creepy, the concept was brilliant, and the critical praise was through the roof. When I saw it, I was blown away by how little it had to offer. The entire film acts as a set-up to what would be a much better, more interesting movie. There's very few scary moments, and the film relies mostly on jump scares instead of atmosphere and tension. When it was over, I felt cheated and confused as to why the film garnered such critical praise. Maybe they mistook the lack of dialogue for ingenuity.

I do think John Krasinski did an admirable job, both as director and star. Emily Blunt was great as well. However, you never learn anything about them or their children. Not their names, not their skills, nothing. Knowing nothing about the lead characters makes it difficult to care about them. I think A Quiet Place squandered what could've been one of the most inventive and creative premises in horror movie history. It never took it far enough. These are creatures that (presumably) fell from the sky and ended the world by eating most of humanity. What's left of it learned to avoid the creatures by staying absolutely silent. The possibilities of a world like that are endless, and A Quiet Place gave us an hour and a half long build-up to the movie I wanted to see.

I feel like I'm the only person who didn't like this movie, and I don't understand why. What exactly is everybody else seeing in it? It's being billed as this flawless game changer, yet it suffers from the same tropes and scare tactics that plague every other weak horror film from the past ten years. It reminded me more of It Comes at Night then anything else, which should've been a red flag for me from the start. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this film warrants the kind of attention it's received. It should've been much better.