HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: A QUIET PLACE


9/10

A family of four is living in the middle of nowhere. Night and day they are being hunted by monsters that react to sound. The family learned how to adapt, communicating by sign language and living quietly, but one night all precautions fly out of the window and all hell breaks loose.

If Hitchcock was alive today he could have made THE QUIET PLACE. Director John Krasinsky has never made a horror movie before. As a director there are only three previous credits to his name, including two comedies I had never heard of, plus a few episodes of the American version of THE OFFICE. Sometimes comedy makes a horror movie better, but there are no jokes in A QUIET PLACE. As soon as we are introduced to the family a sense of doom hangs thick in the air and as 50 percent of the cast are children the stakes are raised pretty high from the start. Our protagonists are being hunted down by monsters, but their origins are surrounded by mystery. Don’t expect a back story or detailed explanation. What’s important is the situation at hand. When things go terribly wrong, how will our characters survive?

The psychological element is played simply and effectively, the set pieces come one after another, in different locations of the farmland where the characters live, one situation is more unsettling than the other. The appearances of monsters is cleverly played out, they are always just one glance away and for most of the film you cannot see them up close. When the creatures are finally revealed they are eerie and disturbing. As a horror fan I have seen it all, but these vicious buggers have their own wicked personality. They are creepily spectacular and fun to watch.

I could call A QUIET PLACE a family horror movie, keeping its cards close to its chest as the story unfolds bit by bit, giving each character a mini story ark it is a dark fairy tale that keeps gore to minimum and suspense to the max. The plot still does not forget family values - united any monster can be conquered. It is also an honest and surprisingly moving film. 

The final shot put a big grin on my face. Most importantly A QUIET PLACE is a badass.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the f...
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - t...
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema...
Read more