![]() Similar to the tension that accompanies peering into a dark room, silence acts as a medium that your mind fills with its deepest fears. The lack of constant booming audio serves to enhance the terror when it eventually does enter. In contrast to movies in the same genre, less is more. Krasinski cleverly places similar visual cues throughout, like the presence of a shotgun or a particularly sinister nail, keeping viewers on their toes. The detail is so minor yet so powerful because it reveals the discipline and ingenuity of the characters. One example of this is the trail of soft sand the family treads on to avoid noise. We are never explicitly told as an audience what something is or why it’s there. This offers a unique look into the challenge of purely visual storytelling, an approach that is not commonly seen in horror. In a stressful environment such as this, they have to internalize the powerful emotions that surface. The Abbotts are forced to communicate with sign language to each other. Couple that with a late term pregnancy and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. These larger than life monsters are extremely sensitive to sound, creating a psychological atmosphere of silent dread. Building upon great horror films of the past, A Quiet Place taps into man’s most primal fear, being stalked by an unknown creature, much like a lion would its prey. The impression the film gave from the get go was that it wasn’t afraid to flip your expectations on their head. What ensues is every parent’s worst nightmare. As the family leaves to return home, the youngest child takes a noisy toy with him. The abandoned buildings and absence of sound allude to a post-apocalyptic environment where silence is survival. The movie begins with the Abbott family of two adults (Emily Blunt, John Krasinski) and three children scavenging for supplies in a store. ![]() The effect the soundless world had on me was refreshingly original. I was no longer watching a movie at the cinema, but partaking in an experience. It felt as though the quiet itself took me prisoner. Despite having all sorts of snacks at my side, I was reluctant to break the deafening silence. When I saw the movie in theaters, I was shocked at the effect it had on the audience. In fact there isn’t any real dialogue until a good portion of the way through. Instead it serves to enhance the experience. This tactic is so noticeable, yet it doesn’t feel like a crutch. The idea of John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” is unique from the very beginning. ![]()
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