The story of "A quiet place" is more or less that of a classic dystopia. Aliens have taken over the planet and killed all but a few human beings. The special thing is that these aliens are blind but have a very strong hearing. So in order to survive it is essential to be very quiet.
Up till now the Abbott family has done just that. They communicate with sign language and have constructed a network of sandy paths around their house. But Mrs Abbott has become pregnant. A silent delivery is hard to imagine and babies don't talk sign laguages.
Horror is a genre with a lot of B-movies that does not linger in the memory for long when the film is finished. For the horror genre 2018 was however a good year. Two young and fresh directors made their debut in this genre with above average horror movies. Apart from John Krasinski making "A quit place" I am talking about Ari Aster with "Hereditary".
The first half of "A quiet place" is really good. It made me think of "Night of the living dead" (1968, George Romero). Admittedly this film is about the undead and not about aliens, but on closer inspection this makes not so big a difference. Both are aggressive and in both films there is no explanation where they come from. They are just there. What matters is how the survivers organise their defence. In "Night of the living dead" this is problematic because of disagreement. In "A quit place" the Abbott family on the other hand is highly disciplined, but the coming baby is a danger looming in the future.
Unfortunately director Krasinski does not manage to maintain the high quality in the 2nd half. This is due to a couple of reasons.
In the first place the aliens appear more and more in the second half. In "Cat people" (1942) director Jacques Tourneur learned that suggestion is often more scary than explicit images. Maybe it would have been better if Krasinksi had took this lesson to heart.
Secondly the explicit images c.q. The special effects of the aliens were disappointing to me. The aliens in "Aliens" (1986,James Cameron) were scarier.
Last but not least, towards the end (when the baby is approaching) family values become more and more prominent in the story, thereby passing the line beyond which the story becomes moralistic.
Up till now the Abbott family has done just that. They communicate with sign language and have constructed a network of sandy paths around their house. But Mrs Abbott has become pregnant. A silent delivery is hard to imagine and babies don't talk sign laguages.
Horror is a genre with a lot of B-movies that does not linger in the memory for long when the film is finished. For the horror genre 2018 was however a good year. Two young and fresh directors made their debut in this genre with above average horror movies. Apart from John Krasinski making "A quit place" I am talking about Ari Aster with "Hereditary".
The first half of "A quiet place" is really good. It made me think of "Night of the living dead" (1968, George Romero). Admittedly this film is about the undead and not about aliens, but on closer inspection this makes not so big a difference. Both are aggressive and in both films there is no explanation where they come from. They are just there. What matters is how the survivers organise their defence. In "Night of the living dead" this is problematic because of disagreement. In "A quit place" the Abbott family on the other hand is highly disciplined, but the coming baby is a danger looming in the future.
Unfortunately director Krasinski does not manage to maintain the high quality in the 2nd half. This is due to a couple of reasons.
In the first place the aliens appear more and more in the second half. In "Cat people" (1942) director Jacques Tourneur learned that suggestion is often more scary than explicit images. Maybe it would have been better if Krasinksi had took this lesson to heart.
Secondly the explicit images c.q. The special effects of the aliens were disappointing to me. The aliens in "Aliens" (1986,James Cameron) were scarier.
Last but not least, towards the end (when the baby is approaching) family values become more and more prominent in the story, thereby passing the line beyond which the story becomes moralistic.