John Krasinski was born in Newton, Massachusetts on October 20th, 1979. He began acting in elementary school and continued until graduating from high school. From there he taught English as a foreign language in Costa Rica for a short time and then enrolled at Brown University. After graduating in 2001 as a playwright, he decided to pursue acting in New York City. He landed some small roles in commercials and TV shows but it was the 2005 American version of The Office that gave his career a considerable jolt. His notoriety began growing and while starring on that show, John was able to land major parts in such films as Leatherheads, Promised Land, and Away We Go. He also decided to get behind the camera in order to direct the films: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, The Hollars, and his latest creation entitled A Quiet Place.
It’s 2020 in a dystopian world where blind monsters with heightened hearing abilities have completely ravaged everything. The only way to stay alive is to be as quiet as possible. A small family of survivors is living through the madness by using sign language to communicate, scavenging nearby areas for supplies, and by prepping their living situation for a possible attack. When the mother of the family (Emily Blunt) becomes pregnant, the father (John Krasinski) must teach his children how to survive in the world they’re currently living in.
Even though I’m not the biggest fan of horror films, I really enjoy when they attempt a new concept within the genre. The 2016 film Don’t Breathe had a similar approach where the antagonist of the film was blind but could hear quite well. It was a terrifying experience when I first saw it due to the fact that the protagonists were nearly an inch away from being killed at any moment. Now the great thing about A Quiet Place is that it has a similar concept however it’s expanded into the entire world instead of being rooted only in a single house. By increasing the overall danger area it made almost every place feel completely unsafe as well as it ratcheted up the tension in brilliant and startling ways. Due to that expansion, I was literally on the edge-of-my-seat from the very start of the film up until the credits began to roll.
While most horror films, unfortunately, lack significant character development, A Quiet Place luckily steers away from that trope with grounded and believable characters. Right from the start, we can see how their family works around the dilemma of being completely silent as well as their interpersonal relationships that help to divulge their strengths and weakness as a person. Despite the situation that they’re in, they still argue and having differing opinions on what the right course of action should ultimately be – just like a real family. In addition, everyone still acts like a completely realistic, terrified human when the monsters appear even though they’ve been living with their presence for over a year.
Although this is definitely one of best horror films that I’ve ever seen, it still has a couple of issues that I can’t get over. One is the ending and how it wraps things up so quickly. It’s definitely far from terrible but I really wanted a few more minutes to fully engage with the world that it creates. Also, some of the characters’ decisions were slightly on the stupid side but not as bad as what you’d typically see in other horror films. So looking at A Quiet Place as a whole I’d definitely say that it’s worth seeing despite a few minor flaws.
About A Quiet Place
Synopsis: A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
Director: John Krasinski
Writers: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, John Krasinski
Stars: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes
Just call me “Turbo” because it sums me up in a single word. I’m originally from Visalia, California but currently reside in Mesa, Arizona. I’m a movie and video game fanatic with a BA in Film and Media Production from ASU. I try to see every movie that I can (new and old) as well as play the latest video game releases. My goal in life would be to create a feature length film which viewers absolutely love. However, until then I love to entertain people with my 100+ voice impersonations as well as fill them in with the latest movie/ gaming news on Twitter. Facebook.com/turbizl, Twitter: @turbizl
