The horror of conservative values

Rating: 5/10 (23 March 2018)

In his third film as a director, John Krasinski shows real talent as a helmer. He has a good eye for visuals, deft handling of pace and timing and a writer's understanding of structure (JK has a degree in writing). This results in often pleasingly beautiful imagery - never a bad thing in the horror genre - and a handful of very good thriller scenes, indeed. A Quiet Place could have been made by Shyamalan or Mel Gibson - whom the bearded Krasinski eerily resembles.
But, it's not necessarily a good thing that your work can be mistaken for someone else's. Worse still is if your movie doesn't make sense and breaks its own rules.
The premise: creatures appear, who are indestructible, ruthless, blind and are attracted by sound. Even New York is in lockdown. Horror. Krasinski's country family literally lives the quiet life on a farm somewhere, meticulously avoiding making noise. Infuriatingly, this hasn't stopped Krasinski from knocking up his wife (played by JK's real wife, Emily Blunt, in the best performance of the film). It makes for a great horror premise, but very little sense. To be mean: apparently abortion - or contraception - is a big no-no for this Christian family (who prays together) even under this unimaginable threat.
A Quiet Place speaks (...) for conservative, family-centered values, which is fine. Whatever. But it really shows its true colors during the final moments, where the real redemption is once again achieved via guns. Which is contradictory to the basic premise of the movie. It feels like a rug pulled from under your feet.
In the end, A Quiet Place is conservative also in execution. Krasinski opts for tear-jerking sentimentalism, when he had in his hands the ingredients for a really scary horror movie. And, isn't it a bit contradictory that a movie about the importance of silence has a blasting soundtrack? One can only imagine what this movie could have been without any soundtrack at all.
And yet, I can't with good conscience not recommend A Quiet Place. For what it is, it provides really good moments of excitement, and it doesn't take too long.
For what it is.