A Harrowing Tale of Survival

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2019)

When I started watching "A Quiet Place" I did not have much hope for the film as I hold the horror genre in high regard and I have been enticed far too many times only to be left disappointed. However, "A Quiet Place" did not disappoint at all, in fact, I could not look away from start to finish.
Set in a post apocalyptic world where alien creatures with incredibly good hearing have invaded earth, a young family must do everything they can to survive without making a sound. The premise for "A Quiet Place" is eerily similar to "The Silence" and mimics the post apocalyptic world of "Birdbox" the only real difference being the fact that in "Birdbox" people have to wear blindfolds because if the creatures see you looking at them, you die.
However, "A Quiet Place" was a lot better than "The Silence" and "Birdbox" in that the characters seemed more realistic and the actress who played the deaf girl is deaf in real life. John Krasinski was great as Lee Abbot, a devoted husband and father who tried everything to protect his family from these alien invaders. Krasinski who directed the film, played alongside his real life wife, Emily Blunt, who played Evelyn Abbot in the film. Her performance was astounding and the chemistry flowed in abundance between the two of them.
Another noteworthy performance was that of deaf actress, Millicent Simmonds who played Regan Abbot, the only deaf character in the story. What enticed me about Simmond's performance was the way she portrayed Regans' struggle as a teenage girl trying to prove to her father that she is capable of doing everything her brother can do (despite being deaf) and dealing with the death of her younger brother for which she feels responsible.
As for the atmosphere, "A Quiet Place" definitely set the tone brilliantly as there isn't much noise throughout the film and I often felt as if I was deaf. I felt empathetic with the characters and almost felt as if I was in the film with them.
Moreover, the CGI aliens were brilliantly done and they are definitely the stuff of nightmares. While they did not scare me as much as gross me out, I did cringe every now and then when the camera zoomed in on their grotesque appearance and often felt myself stay quiet as I watched them approaching.
All in all, I felt the film deserved the hype it was given. While there were small errors made in the film and some scenes needed a little tweaking, I felt the film captured life in a quiet world much better than "The Silence" did.