No one dared disturb the sound of silence

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2018)

If you glance at the current IMDb rating, or quickly browse through the user comments and external reviews, you can't but assume that "A Quiet Place" must be the most brilliantly intense and original new horror movie of the past 10, 15 or perhaps even 20 years. I honestly don't know if the film deserves all the superlatives and standing ovations that it's receiving, but I'll easily admit that it's a very tense, absorbing and beautiful thriller with a couple of unforgettable moments of fright as well as emotion. The concept of "A Quiet Place" is original and innovative. If you really want to be historically precise, you could maybe state that the idea is somewhat similar to "Tremors" or inspired by "Day of the Triffids", but in the contemporary era of loud and visual effects driven blockbusters, it's quite unique to stumble across a genre film that primarily thrives on silent suspense and atmosphere. Around 2020-2021, the world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland with only a small number of survivors. It wasn't zombies or nuclear bombs that exterminated humanity this time, but instead a primitive alien monster race that cannot see, smell or sense. However, these creatures have an ultra-developed hearing capacity and relentlessly attach every sound or minor vibration they pick up. Judging by the old newspaper headings, it took quite a while before people realized they had to keep their mouths shut, and thus there aren't that many left. One family is still complete, though, largely because the oldest daughter is deaf-mute, and every member is fluent in sign language. Survival nevertheless remains challenging, even despite their remote farmhouse being equipped and prepared for every possible monster threat. They go through an immense tragedy together and face new ordeals as the mother is expecting another baby. How do you give birth without making a single sound? Being a veteran horror fanatic and advocate for the genre, I'm happy that "A Quiet Place" is so popular and well-received. Good to see that people, especially younger audiences, can still be impressed with basic but solid craftsmanship. One thing that director/lead actor John Krasinski does terrifically well is engaging the viewer. Whilst watching, you will be just as quiet and focused as the protagonists, and you're even likely to give angry looks to fellow spectators opening a can of beer, chewing too loud on their potato chips or making any other random noise. Compliant with the oldest, but still most effective rules of the horror book, the monsters largely remain an unseen but omnipresent menace. Only during the extended and action-packed finale, they are fully shown, and I must add they look fantastic! Think of a crossover breed between the legendary beasts in "Alien" and a cenobite from "Hellraiser".