Too stretched

Rating: 4/10 (21 December 2019)

A QUIET PLACE is the latest Hollywood "high concept" horror that left me cold and unexcited throughout. As usual, it's a post-apocalyptic world, where a small family are attempting to live normal lives amid the chaos: this time around it's monsters (who look like a cross between the insects in STARSHIP TROOPERS and the Alien) who have acute hearing and destroy anything that makes a sound. Basically, somebody has watched similar 'sound' focused set-pieces in the likes of THE WALKING DEAD and JURASSIC PARK and decided to make a whole film out of it.
The problem with this is that the material is stretched to breaking point and there are long, tedious scenes where nothing happens. The viewer is stuck in the company of boring and/or unlikeable characters, particularly the usual cliched annoying kids who managed to do silly things AND be self-centred despite this whole post-apocalypse thing going on. Emily Blunt fails to be likeable once again and John Krasinski just feels wooden. The direction is nothing special and the film only comes alive for an extended climax; it's predictable stuff but at least SOMETHING is going on. I much preferred the similar BIRD BOX, if I'm being honest.