A worthwhile experience

Rating: Null/10 (24 June 2018)

Something like this has not been seen before on screen. Yes, there has been scenes in many horror movies where survival depends on keeping quiet. In scenes, but not in entirety, in terms of time (90-minute running time of the movie) or space (the deserted neighborhood that makes up the entire universe of the protagonists). And yet, there is no convoluted suspense, which more often than not end up in bitter disappointment of incompetent twists. For "A quiet place", ten minutes into the movie you already know what it's all about (and what are not explained are irrelevant, at least to the movie). The "suspense" is in wondering guessing the direction the movie would go and kind of closure at the end. "A quiet place" scores high on both counts.
The prologue is brought on by a screen caption of "Day 89", obviously alluding to something that happened three months ago. The exact nature of that "something" is one of those irrelevant details I referred to. What we see, the result, is a family of 5 in a deserted supermarket: parents, two pre-teens (a boy and a girl) and a little one not much beyond a toddler. For some reason they use sign language as they collect various supplies they need. The father takes great pain in telling the little one to be quiet and to leave behind a toy rocket ship as it makes noises. The father even goes to the extent of removing the batteries before leaving the toy behind. As the father's back is turned, however, the little one takes the rocket ship and the battery.
As they file out of the supermarket we notice vaguely that they are all barefoot. This is soon reiterated by closeups as they cross a bridge, on their way home, with the little one holding the rear. He takes out the toy rocket with battery reinserted and turns it on. The ensuing shots are brutally effective: absolute horror on the parent's faces, putting a hand to the mouth of the kids to muffle any sound they might involuntarily let escape. The father makes a mad dash to go back but it is too late. In a split second something swift as a striking hurricane snaps up the little one and is gone.
All these happen before we even see the title of the movie. A few more minutes into the movie, we know all that is to know. Set at about one year later in their isolated farm house, we find out through cryptic shots of headlines on old newspapers what it's all about. There are three deadly "creatures" looming about, and the family appears to be the sole survivors in the immediate neighborhood. These creatures are blind and rely solely on noise (not even smell as in many other movies) to hunt. Alert viewers looking for plot hole may ask at this juncture why could they learn sign language so quickly (that is, by Day 89). The answer is given a bit (not deliberately) later in the movie: the pre-teen girl is deaf, most likely from birth. We find this out as we see the father trying to develop a good-enough electronically- assisted hearing aid for his daughter.
This first half of the movie continues to bring the audience into this soundless world of the protagonists through their simple daily life of cooking, eating, playing monopoly. Two things soon become apparent. First, as the family grieves, the girl has developed an antagonistic attitude towards the father, believing that he blames her for the death of the little one. Second, the mother is pregnant, and nearly due.
At about half way through, the pace starts to pick up, towards the crisis of childbirth, a childbirth that needs to be soundless. I wouldn't divulge any further details other than saying that the closure is satisfying, and the final shot may have you cheering.
A couple of non-spoiler details can be addressed here. The handling of the hideous creatures reminds me of M. Night Shyamalan, where he gives only fleeting glimpses (until near the end) of the monsters, be they aliens ("Signs") or fakes ("The Village"). "A quiet place" does not even bothers to explain what these creatures really are. The absence of such details are assets rather than liabilities to this movie. The movie is not entirely without spoken dialogue. One scene shows father and son having a normal, audible dialogue beside a roaring waterfall.
"A quiet place" is not just a movie, but also an experience, one in which you are likely to invest genuine emotions. Emily Blunt's performance is Oscar-worthy. Her husband John Krasinski has dual responsibilities, director and actor (playing her husband in the movie), both of which he discharged admirably.