A Quiet Place - Review

Ok, I know I'm pretty late to the game here but I thought I missed my chance to see this movie when it came out in cinemas in April; but yesterday while I was at the cinema to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom with a friend we spotted that A Quiet Place was still showing and just decided we'd go see that too. And I am so glad we did! What a movie! It was a cinematic experience like none I have ever from my horror movies. Give me a good psychological thriller over a gore and jump scare filled movie any day. So when you take a movie and make it pretty much all about silence you're already prepared to be kept on edge and with an uneasy feeling from start to finish. Every breath, every floor board creaking, every twig breaking builds the terror and anxiety while watching the movie.

Another aspect I really liked about A Quiet place was the fact it started 89 days into the monster invasion so the action is immediate and introduced right from the start. I hate when movies have such a long build up to the scary bits cause I tend to get bored and uninterested in the story line quickly. A Quiet Place avoids messy story telling and explanation of what has occurred and just gives the audience the basics of what they need to know through newspaper clippings and whatever information the characters relay to each other.

And the acting! With a movie where the entire premise is that you have to stay silent to survive it is vital to have amazing actors that can keep the audience's attention and really sell the story line through their expressions, reactions, and body language. And the entire cast of A Quiet Place were just remarkable! I've always been a fan of Emily Blunt so I wasn't worried that she wouldn't be able to sell it to me. And there was a scene in particular with a nail (I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers) where her acting was just on a whole other level! But the rest of the cast were unknown to me (yes I know, I haven't seen The Office yet, shame on me!). But they were all just amazing! Jon Krasinski was amazing as Lee Abbot, the father in the film. And when I found out he also directed the film I was even more impressed with him as the direction was just spectacular! But for me the standouts were the three children - Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Cade Woodward. Children in horror movies always amaze me. Its astonishing how well they can convey terror so effortlessly, especially when playing opposite a CGI monster who isn't even present on set! But these three young actors also have to convey said terror without the use of dialogue and relying solely on their acting abilities which just blows my mind. What a bunch of talented young people!

I never thought the day would come where I'd be gushing over a horror movie but this one was without a doubt one of the greatest pieces of cinema I have seen in a very long time! Everything from the acting, the story and screenplay (by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck), the score (by Marco Beltrami), the cinematography (by Charlotte Bruus Christensen), the direction, the special effects were just flawless. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish with an uneasy feeling right down to my core which is exactly what you want from a horror,right? I'f you haven't yet and still have the opportunity to watch it in the cinema I highly recommend you do. And if not I definitely think it's a movie that would be more appreciated if watched alone, on a laptop, with headphones or with a smaller group of people with the volume turned right up.

Rating: 

Plot: 10/10
Cast: 10/10
Score and Sound Design: 10/10
Direction: 10/10
Cinematography: 10/10

Overall: 10/10