A new twist to the horror-suspense genre

Film review: A Quiet Place

MANILA, Philippines —  A Quiet Place is a horror-suspense film that stars and is directed by John Krasinski. In much the same manner that last year’s Get Out proved that something different and fresh can still come out of the genre, A Quiet Place manages to successfully blend human drama with the bumps and scares that are considered must-have tropes for this kind of film. That it also stars Krasinski’s real-life partner, Emily Blunt, makes this a family outing that’s really worth coming along for.

In some dystopian near future, a nuclear family is introduced to us, foraging through a deserted village. Communicating via sign language, the parents, two sons and daughter might be first considered mutes. But it’s only the daughter who wears a hearing aid. Soon, we realize that what the members of the family are doing is making a little noise as possible — for in this bleak future world, the predators are hideous creatures that rely purely on sound to hunt down their victims. In other words, the quieter one is, the less likely the chance of ending up on the creatures’ kill list. That even young children are indoctrinated (or should be) into this reality is painfully seen in the film’s prologue.

And what a prologue it is! Masterfully, it sets the tone for all that follows. Family, survival, relationships and misunderstandings — they all become part of the elements of the unfolding human drama that allows us to invest in the characters. Whether we love them, sympathize or silently curse them or we are impatient with them, the point is we care about the characters that are arrayed on the screen.

And then there are the suspense-filled action sequences, where trepidation, fear, actual pain, and even a pregnancy all play a role in developing the action. While certain set-ups are reminiscent of Jurassic Park and Alien, the original premise of the sound-activated predators constantly keeps us on edge and makes everything seem unique.

This isn’t The Shining or Alien. It isn’t destined to be an iconic film of the genre in the future, but there is an original premise; it’s well-directed and acted, and it knows how to keep us on the edge of our seats. A Quiet Place knows how to make its own kind of noise.