Horror Cinema Returning To Form?

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2018)

It can be said that after numerous years of ghostly baddies and nasty demons horror has become rather trivial and has reached a point of normalcy. With seats being filled for franchises of mammoth proportions like parnormal activity it is difficult for small films with niche premises to be noticed (not to mention they rely too heavily on their gimmick and are blatantly trying to start a franchise of their own). But a quiet place signifies a change within the status quo of horror. A genuinely horrific and tense ride from minute one to the last frame tells a compelling story of a broken family in a foreign world. The director could have easily framed it as a global catastrophe and sacrfice intimacy for bombastic visuals and little substance but this ignored in favour of character moments that had extensive weight (unlike some big blockbusters being churned out) and emotion behind them. You understand so much from characters that speak very little. Furthermore the creatures are not over utilized and exist as conduits to move the story forward and aren't solely there to fulfill a quota of fear. Sure A Quiet Place does fall into jumpscare traps and has moments that feel contrived to set up tention. But is truly unique and heart pounding in its direction, acting, cinematography, and nearly every other aspect. The only real gripe would be in the creature design (which I admit Stranger Things and other creature features have spoiled me). It is a generic grey entity with pulsating bits of "skin" with lanky features. The design is terrifying but rather uniform in the Hollywood climate today. Still I would heavily recommend this to those who have turn away from horror because of entries like "The Bye Bye Man" or "Happy Death Day".