Silence is Crucial in A Quiet Place

I remember watching an episode of The Office where Steve Carrell's incompetent Michael Scott made an action home movie staring himself and his work associates. The end result wasn't what he hoped for, putting an end to that profession. Who would have predicted that John Krasinski's Jim Halpert, would go farther than his boss.

Jim's early proposal during his years at Dunder Mufflin.  

A Quiet Place marks Krasinski's third film as a director following the comedies Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (2009) and The Hollars (2016).

In a post apocalyptic future, mankind has been wiped out by a monstrous alien race. They can't see or smell but their enhanced hearing is what makes them lethal. Silence isn't golden, its essential, for one little peep and your dead. In addition to co-writing and directing, Krasinski and his wife Emily Blunt star as Lee and Evelyn Abbott, a married couple who are the last survivors in a small little town with their kids Regen (Millicent Simmons) and Marcus (Noah Jupe).

The movie doesn't offer anything that is groundbreaking. Countless genres have covered situations where a character must stay silent to avoid getting caught but I will give praise for making this the entire premise and most of the run-time dialogue free. I never realized how much I would miss small talk.

In terms of a chills ans thrills there are plenty with Emily Blunt giving an intense performance in the movie's most blood-curling scene.

When it came to the monster's weakness I wished it went the route of World War Z of the audience not knowing the solution immediately. In that film we see vague hints along with the characters of how to combat the monstrosity but aren't given the full picture until the very end. The less the audience knows the thrills are more effective because we don't know how such creatures can be defeated. That is not the case in this movie as the flaw is presented straightaway. For a good while the audience knows it but not the characters, paving the way for some frustrating scenes and a climax that left me both exasperated and heartbroken. As for the ending, it made sense on the direction it went but could have used for a couple more minutes.

Actor/Director John Krasinki 

Interesting how Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes, the same company that did the recent Ninja turtle movies, unnecessary Horror remakes (Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw to name a few) as well the Purge and Ouija movies, had a hand in the making of this movie with Bay himself as producer. I guess he owed Krasinski a favor for his work on 13 Hours. All joking aside, A Quiet Place shows the best of Krasinski, even Bay, surprisingly. I'm not with masses on saying its the best of the year but its still good enough to recommend.

Final Verdict: (B)

Theatrical Poster