A Quiet Place

A great idea which sweetened the horror waters of the year 2018. A movie where there is little talking, because it’s set in a dystopian world with an extraterrestrial civilization that destroys everything that speaks aloud. There is a whole array of logical errors, but the simplicity and originality overshadow the contents. The suspense is literally spouting from the movie and the married couple Emily Blunt and John Karsinski are truly enjoying this family horror drama. Just like the viewer, after all. Only from a slightly different perspective. (10/11/2018)

A Quiet Place has such a terribly well-constructed world, such a brilliantly layered narrative and such precisely built tension that one does not want to spoil it with nitpicking and cynical remarks. And there would be a number of them, the first of which being how suicidal it is to walk through this world with a spoiled teenager around one’s neck. However, that is not the case here and similar comments show defects in us rather than in the film. A Quiet Place may faulter in particular mishaps, but its power comes from its excellently thought-out world and its presentation through narration. And just like a slice of life from this unique world, the film is absorbing and fascinating. (05/16/2020)

What seems to be a boosted Spielberg style family drama with a clear concept that sets the rules by inner tension in the first half (before the fireworks) is a silly survival low-budget movie with cheap spooky sequences constantly violating the rules, showing one logical lapse after another and following the scheme of genre clichés the second half (after the shower). Slowly built tension in Shyamalan style (from the times of the Signs) versus glitz and dull-acting characters pushed like puppets moving from one adrenaline-packed adventure to another. The first half is excellent, the second is solid. But they are incompatible and go against each other. This should have been either a quiet cat with soft paws or an insanely barking dog during the whole footage but it is something in between. As a result, the most impressive part is prologue, which would perfectly work as a self-sufficient short-movie; (04/30/2018)

A straightforward family survival spiced up with one interesting variation (the motif of silence, even if it’s not exploited to the its fullest) that is tense rather than scary. The first half is held up by that one idea and great craftsmanship, but the second half is brought down by silliness and breaking the rules the film has laid down. It’s a bit of a problem when at the beginning we are told the monsters are sensitive to the tiniest crack, but during the chase at the end, their sensitivity works in any way that is convenient to the script. Why, for example, in a key moment the boy runs into a corn field is something I can’t make any sense of (I’ve never run into a corn field, but I guess it would be pretty noisy). And the second half is full of moments like this. The monsters are unfortunately shown way too often and they look disappointing, like run of the mill creatures that seem to have fallen out of a Marvel movie (the typical alien minions of the main villain that are there so the super heroes will have something to fight). Although I sound critical, A Quiet Place is an above average film, thanks mainly to the quality of its craftsmanship and the performances. With regards to the horror, at the time of release (April) it will hardly reach this year’s TOP 3 and the comments of it being the best horror film in the last years are totally unwarranted. (05/13/2018)

A Quiet Place, though I didn't quite believe it at first, is definitely the best modern horror film since The Conjuring. People who are stuck in the 80s and condemn anything new don't even deserve to see it. It's amazing to see a horror film in the cinema after a long time where you experience those uncomfortable feelings like chills, cold sweat and repeatedly jumping out of your seat (one gentleman fell down the stairs on his way to the toilet). John Krasinski clearly loves the horror genre, he has a great idea which he handles with grace, he avoids clichés, everyone involved behaves rationally and the monsters kick Alien's ass with ease (the appearance, the annoying noises, their speed, intelligence and the way they work in general is awe-inspiring). Kudos to Krasinski!! The contrast of the absolute silence that flips to an intense rumble in a moment stands out very nicely, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere as well as some very sneaky jump-scares that are unexpected and very effective. High praise for the music. Emily Blunt is better than ever and I felt the birth scene with her (and it f*cking hurt). Pleasingly, the film is R-rated, so there's a bit of gore too. A very powerful intense 90 minutes of terror that has some nerve wracking scenes and is very emotional and depressing at the end. My only criticism is the last few seconds, which will please the critics, but not much for me as a viewer. The cinema was packed, I hope a sequel or prequel is around the corner! Quite an experience and I'm glad I saw a scary horror film that didn't work with ghosts or demons. I'm curious to see if anyone can dethrone A Quiet Place, for now a clear number one this year. 95% (04/06/2018)