Movie Review: A Quiet Place (2018)

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2018)

Every now and then a film comes along and blows you away, this is that film. This film was written and directed by the star of 'The Office' John Krasinski,
this film is his sophomore effort but his debut into the horror genre. I personally feel he has found his niche and look forward to seeing more from him in the near future. The writing, the casting, the direction and the cinematography are damn near perfect for this reviewer.
The film stars Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Cade Woodward as "The Abbott Family" who must live in pure silence and communicate through sign language as the creatures that now live amongst and hunt them have highly ultra-sensitive hearing.
The film is almost completely void of dialogue, most of the sounds and noises you hear come from the creatures and nature itself which in turn adds even more to the fear aspect of the film. The family dynamic is written
so well, that you deeply relate and truly feel for these people when they are dealing with all of the trials of their apocalyptic surroundings and its inhuman inhabitants. You cheer, you get angry, you almost weep for these people due to how well they are written, it is truly a great film.
The film has one of the most intense opening sequences I have seen in a long time. I haven't felt such tension and dread in a film since I last saw the French horror 'Haute Tension'.
The opening starts off with a slow build and then without giving any quarter kickstarts into a massive derailed train and doesn't let up and continues throughout the entire film. Its a roller coaster ride of 100% pure intensity, it hardly ever lets you catch your breath. What I enjoyed about the film is the way it doesn't start from the beginning and explain or show too much. It picks up during the aftermath and focuses on the survivors and how they are living and surviving and dare I say co existing with "them". Something else that I haven't seen ever in a horror film was a deaf lead character, that was smart writing. It was also something the hearing impaired horror fans could enjoy and relate to as well.
Something else that was also refreshing and always makes for a great horror film and the director knew that and followed through, was the fact you never see the creatures you only see glimpses and hear them. This continues on until about halfway and when he finally allows the viewer to see the beasts...what a payoff, they are well worth it. There is also a scientific and realistic approach to their way of fighting the creatures, as well as how they seem to adapt and survive in the wasteland which adds to the believability of their situation. I can't emphasize enough on just how the tension is built, it truly is the highlight of the film and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the epic finale of the film.