Films I Loved - A Quiet Place

 

Directed by: John Krasinski

Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds 

Great, great, great film that I would not like to watch again. Not ‘cause it’s evil or whatever, it just stresses me out with its premise and the adult fear scenarios within. I’ll hold up over and over that this film was fantastic, and that its opening scene - which for many films would’ve been an alienating point for me - was good enough by itself to be a short film in itself. 

To discuss that briefly (skip down to the bar if you don’t want the first scene spoiled), that scene works so well because it’s about a reality of parenting, which is that you aren’t attentive properly to your kid, they may end up dying! The parents in A Quiet Place are GOOD parents (everything we saw of them said this), and even THEY just miss the slightest thing in the moment and it ends with grim consequences. How much more then, might it happen to us!

 I think most parents don’t need that reminder, but the parents who do REALLY need it. You can let your kid get away with something you really know they shouldn’t and excuse it with, “oh, that one thing’s not a big deal,” but that‘s what gets your kid in trouble. The fact that this big feature film was able to say that so eloquently and straightforwardly in its first few minutes of screen time is the thing that would’ve made this film great by itself even if the rest wasn’t as good. 

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Spoilers Over

This film really was quite good, though. It’s a tight, little suspense horror film that doesn’t rely on body horror, belated backstories, or ghost characters.  The plot is tight. It knows how to use its gimmick of silence enough, and it knows how to flow without freaking you out too much. The one complaint I have is about the ending, and that’s more of a “hey, I feel attacked” moment rather than a genuine gripe. The fact that they were confident enough to make a sequel that looks pretty good says a lot about this film’s reception. It’s not for everyone - it’ll probably freak you out if you’re a parent - but it’s a good little film. Recommend.