What's The Frequency, Johnathan

Rating: 9/10 (5 August 2018)

Talk about effective: I held my own breath, wouldn't speak out loud and made as little noise as possible while watching this. And even way after the movie! THAT'S AMAZING.
Oh, and I picked up a few more sign language motions along the way.
I knew I'd like this, but had no idea how much. This enormously suspenseful, nail-biting, deep and original horror movie needs to be seen by all. Us horror fans wait years for THE RIGHT ONE to come along and, well, here we go.
Egad! There are unexplained monsters on the loose! Unlike the fear pick-me-ups from the terrible After Earth, these just listen for the slightest, and I mean SLIGHTEST of noises to attack and devour. So enter: American Family who's lucky enough to survive over a year since the attack from unknown creatures. Especially after what you see the parents have to put up with.
Yes, it's truly amazing American Mom/Dad have survived over a year with their kids: a scared brother, a rebellious deaf girl, a starry-eyed little boy and another on the way. Truly, this Mom and Pop deserve parents of the year awards.
But, I digress. This movie centers on one really bad/heartbreakingly long day of their survival with every minute that passes. Try to live their day without white-knuckling your way to the end.
Funny, I just got done watching 1927's Metropolis for the first time, a silent masterpiece about a hundred years before it's time. I watched the restored edition which still left out a ton of title cards of the dialogue and that left a minimum of two-thirds of the dialogue unspoken. It was up to me, the audience, to figure out what's being said as the Silent Actors went on and on with only-seen verbiage.
I managed to get most of what they said, thanks to some purposely over-acting. Here, if I didn't have subtitles, I'd be lost on their sign language. But, it would be interesting to watch this movie again without subtitles and see if I can follow along. The movie really does have enough power to let us know what's going on without knowing all that's said. Or unsaid.
Now, that all said...the movie's not without its flaws. But maybe, it's mostly me that has the problem. For one: these kids are absolutely old enough to understand the severity of making a noise and why the hell did no one set a trap for the bad creatures? How did more than a year pass that they were no better off with a defense against "aliens" that have such obvious defects and weaknesses?
Well, the movie DOES establish the most minute sound does draw in the blood-thirsty villains, so I will give them some credit that the new norm: no sound, isn't as easy as someone watching this comfortably from their bedroom. But still...
HIGHLY recommended. It's nice they're still making SOME right choices in horror and not making EVERY SINGLE ONE these days about ghosts or haunted houses. I mean, like...seriously. There are more subgenres of horror out there than just the freaking supernatural! I know it's cheap (note: not just inexpensive) but it's unoriginal at this point. We need more horror films such as this.
Thank you, John(athon) Krasinski. Jim, for short?
***
Final thoughts: Kinda makes the case for Pro-Choice...but, well, you'll see.