Shhhh || A Quiet Place

I like to think that I like quiet places. I, for one, enjoy quiet. A lot. Almost too much. Then, I came to realize that maybe I don’t like quiet as much as I thought I did. Maybe I love to remain quiet, but I enjoy listening to the noise around me. Some sign of life or something. That brings the question of just how much or how long I can go quiet without making as much as a sound if my life actually depends on it?

A Quiet Place (2018)

A post-apocalyptic world, and there are only a few who have survived. These few are a family. Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) and Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) are a married couple who are the survivors of this apocalypse, and constantly find a way to protect their children while finding a means to fight against what hunts them. What hunts them? The world they are in is ruled by extra terrestrial beings who are blind, but because of that, _{or not} have a heightened sense of hearing where the slightest sound or whisper is enough to cause your death. They are big. They are strong. They are everywhere, and worst of all, they hear everything.

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I think watching a film based on hype is practically the worst thing you can do. Especially if you’re the observant type while watching. For this film, however, I put aside all of that and decided to see it. I’m appreciative of horror and thriller as a concept, but I almost never go out of my way to see it. I went out of my way sometime in 2020, and it was rather a fitting experience.

The premise of the movie on its own captivated me. I’m wary of post-apocalyptic films, but blind and noise-sensitive creatures was a unique concept that made me eager to unfold what lay within. The ingenious use of sign language by the family to give themselves a fighting chance against the creatures was beyond fascinating to me. The lengths the parents on their own were willing to go for the protection of their children spoke to me as well. The storyline was captivating, just as it was breathtaking.

Another thing was the masterful use of silence. Sometimes, silence scares me. It is more potent than the loudest noise, and that’s what freaks you out the most. Silence becomes so loud, you can cut it with a knife. I had to hold my breath several times due to the acute tension created by the absence of dialogue in the film. I think I grew weary of it at a point, though. The silence was nearly too much to bear, and I nearly quit seeing the film at some point. But of course, I didn’t.

Let’s talk about the performance, shall we? Nothing short of breathtaking. Emily Blunt playing the role of Krasinski’s wife, even as she is his wife in real life, was sweet. So, you just know that the chemistry in the film is real, lending a sincerity to the emotional depth of the film. Both of them outdid themselves in the interpretation of their roles, and it was truly a beautiful sight. The cinematography and themes explored transcended it from a mere horror flick.

But as expected, there are misgivings. The loop holes in plot and basic common sense that almost make this film a hard watch, The usual frustration in horror flicks because the leads make some silly decision that makes you feel like they are devoid of common sense, i.e, the decision to make and have a baby when that is literally the loudest thing you could do in a setting like this, lol.

If you’re willing to let go of a good part of your common sense, this shouldn’t be a hard film to watch. Certainly, one of the very few pieces in the horror genre that I didn’t feel bad about watching, even though I was at the edge of my seat and biting my nails almost the entire time. What are your thoughts? Have you seen the rest of the productions in the franchise?

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