Only The Strong...

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2019)

Generally, with few exceptions (i. e: THE RING, DEVIL), I don't care for PG-13 horror movies, usually finding them too tame / watered down, in order to attain mass appeal. A QUIET PLACE hits the mark. Yes, it's a horror movie, an apocalyptic monster movie in fact. However, it's mostly a story of survival, great loss, family unity / love, sacrifice, and human adaptability in the face of extinction. By now, everyone knows the basic plot: Unknown creatures have wiped out most of the Earth's population, leaving those who remain to figure out how to stay alive. Lee and Evelyn Abbott (John Krasinski and Emily Blunt) and their children are uniquely qualified for this new nightmare world, since they communicate w/ each other using sign language, and the invaders are blind, using sound to track their prey. Still, though this helps a great deal, one can only imagine the pitfalls of living in a situation where any noise could get you killed at any moment! A QUIET PLACE is that rare, poignant horror film. It also has to be inventive, since keeping up suspense and thrills w/ almost no spoken dialogue is no small feat! Many have complained about the plot holes and lapses in logic in the film. There are some fair criticisms in both of these areas. Also, we are simply dropped into the middle of the story w/ no explanation of what happened to get there, or any backstory / character development whatsoever. Alas, this all seems to be part of a long-standing trend in modern cinema. Still, for reasons already stated, this is more than a typical horror / sci-fi adventure. The CGI monsters are well-realized, but it's the humans who make the movie...