A QUIET PLACE

(director/writer: John Krasinski; screenwriters: story & screenplay by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck; cinematographer: Charlotte Bruus Christensen; editor: Christopher Tellefsen; music: Marco Beltrami; cast: Emily Blunt (Mom, Evelyn), John Krasinski(Dad, Lee Abbott), Noah Jupe (Son, Marcus), Millicent Simmonds (Daughter, Regan); Runtime: 90; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Michael Bay/Andrew Form/Brad Fuller; Paramount; 2018)

“A clever monster survival film, but its bland characters didn’t engage me even if well-crafted and intelligent.“

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A clever monster survival film, but its bland characters didn’t engage me even if well-crafted and intelligent. It’s about a family of four, in upstate New York (Little Falls), who survive by remaining silent as ferocious mysterious blind bird-like creatures hunt by sound and threaten their lives if they can be heard. Director-co-writer John Krasinski (“The Hollars”), known primarily as a comic actor, also appears in this horror film, that’s based on a story and screenplay by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. The nuclear family consisting of the protective dad (John Krasinski), his caring wife (Emily Blunt, real-life wife of Krasinski), his son (Noah Lupe) and his daughter (Millicent Simmonds) must elude the predatory monsters by being quiet. It’s unexplained why the monsters are there, but it’s apparently a post-apocalyptic period that could have been caused by an ecological disaster. Since their son is deaf, they are all able to communicate in sign language (with subtitles used to translate). The son is only deaf for the film, but the girl is deaf in real-life. We follow the well-prepared and resourceful family living in fear in their remote farmhouse shelter and see how they have survived for over a year by only taking occasional car rides into the decimated town for supplies. The mother is pregnant, and the danger of a noisy childbirth threatens their existence. It’s the kind of film that magnifies how golden is silence. Ultimately the mom asks “Who are we if we can’t protect our children?”, which seems to be the film’s theme.

REVIEWED ON 4/7/2018 GRADE: C+ https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/

Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”

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