Directed by John Krasinski
Written by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck (story and screenplay), and John Krasinski (screenplay)
Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Leon Russom
Soundtrack: Marco Beltrami
It’s not technically his inaugural feature (which is probably why it feels so self-assured), but, as far as the general public is concerned, A Quiet Place is John Krasinski’s directorial debut, and what a debut it is.
The horror genre, at least as far back as the 1950s, has often been rooted in gimmicks (cheap or otherwise), sometimes straight-up recycled, but in the case of A Quiet Place, more so sliced, diced, and sautéed. After all, this isn’t the first movie to feature monsters hunting by sound (and it probably won’t be the last), but A Quiet Place takes the necessity of silence to a new level.
I’ve said it before in regards to The Man From U.N.C.L.E that sometimes style can effectively become substance, which is fair to say of A Quiet Place, although that’s not to say it’s without some legitimate depth. The core story is really a family drama that you could port into a myriad of other scenarios, this one just happens to be a post-apocalypse with creepy sound hunters, but nonetheless there are actual themes and emotions beyond “SPOOKY MONSTERS SCARE ME”, which is pleasantly surprising.
As far as performances go, everybody’s on point to the point that it’d be hard to ask for much more given the material and the sparseness of the cast (it’s really just the one family for the whole movie). Everybody’s appropriately taking it seriously and the family dynamics in particular feel genuine, not to mention Krasinski and Blunt bring a natural chemistry from their real-life matrimony into their on-screen version.
Beyond that though, I’m happy to report the movie was shot on 35mm, and it does generally look pretty great. As far as digital photography has come in terms of daylight shooting, the night shoots still give it away, and in a film like this it absolutely makes a difference.
If I have any nitpicks, for one, I wish the studio would have kicked in more of a budget for the aliens, not that we need to see them more, but, I don’t know, I felt like, at least theoretically, they could have been done better; and second, there were a couple of moments where the inherent schlockyness of the premise shined through, and it felt out of character given everything else in the movie, but that’s about it.
It’s not earth-shattering by any stretch, but on the whole A Quiet Place is of a quality I wish we saw more of in contemporary genre films, and it’s certainly worthy of a theatrical experience.
So, go get some friends together, find yourself a nice, dark moviehouse, and, by all means, STFU.
Your life may depend on it.
Rating: ★★★★☆