“A Quiet Place” leaves audiences speechless with suspense

By Grace Dietz

Online Arts Editor

Viewers cannot keep quiet about “A Quiet Place.” With a suspenseful plot and outstanding acting, this horror film takes tremendous strides in its rise to fame.

“A Quiet Place” is exceptionally well-written, with intense action scenes and distinctly heartwarming moments. The actors show a sensational amount of dedication and determination through their performances, but the lack of dialogue often leaves viewers uncertain about the background of the characters and the beasts.

Directed by the former star of “The Office,” John Krasinski, and produced by Michael Bay, “A Quiet Place” opened on April 6 as #1 at the box office and continues to hold that position. The film brought in over $50 million in ticket sales in the opening weekend and has become the most profitable original horror movie in an opening weekend in movie history. John Krasinski, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods wrote the screenplay and Paramount Pictures is the distributor of the film.

“If they hear you, they hunt you.” The story focuses on Lee Abbott (Krasinski), and Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt), parents who struggle to protect their two children from monsters that attack at the slightest of sounds. This small family of four must adapt to their new surroundings and go completely silent in order to prevent attacks and survive the beasts that try to prey on them.

The nail-biting action scenes draw viewers in and keep them wanting more throughout the movie. The lack of dialogue in the majority of “A Quiet Place” makes the heart-pounding scenes even more suspenseful, as they take viewers by surprise. The tension builds throughout the entirety of the movie and sticks with the audience, even after leaving the theatre.

Beyond offering suspense, “A Quiet Place” moves audiences to tears at times with emotional scenes as the story focuses on the father and daughter relationship between Lee and Regan Abbott. The film offers a painful depiction of the struggle to maintain a healthy relationship in a torn-apart world where you must do whatever you can in order to survive.  In the film, Regan believes that her father does not love her, creating an emotional layer in the movie and laying the foundation for more sensitive scenes.

Krasinski, Blunt and Noah Jupe learned American Sign Language from Millicent Simmonds, who is deaf, in order to add authenticity to their roles. Although the movie has very limited dialogue, the facial expressions and body language of each of the actors passionately express their characters’ emotions and showcase their raw talents throughout the film.

One shortcoming of “A Quiet Place”  is that it fails to introduce the monsters and the characters’ names properly. These omissions leave viewers confused, as they don’t know where the monsters or family come from. Without a substantial backstory, the film leaves viewers to fill in the blanks that it does not cover.

“A Quiet Place” starts out slowly and was uninteresting in the beginning due to the lack of dialogue and action scenes. Although the movie feels boring at first, it quickly hooks viewers into the plot with later anxiety-inducing scenes and a remarkably eerie soundtrack.

The emotional scenes intertwined with the tense moments in “A Quiet Place” make for a horror movie that needs to be seen. Krasinski should be taken seriously as a writer, director and star of this original horror movie, as he proves that he is more than just that actor from “The Office.” The ensemble’s strong performances help make the movie more entertaining and the weak opening of the film is quickly overpowered by suspense that ropes viewers in and keeps them wanting more.

“A Quiet Place” is rated PG-13 and is playing in theatres nationwide.