Horror films are different in scope. They can have scared people running from the monster. They can have people calming their fear, and confronting the monster. There are also the ones, where trying to avoid the monster, and staying alive, are their main goal. A Quiet Place has the protagonist’s striving for the third goal. It is the most logical choice, considering the antagonist is an alien invader. The alien has hearing so keen, that a dog would be envious. The catch to this movie is that the Abbott family consists of three people, who cannot hear. The fourth member, the father, Lee, played very well by John Krasinski, is able to hear. This enables him to perform the traditional patriarch role. He has rigged the basement, with various things, including a radio, and signaling devices. He also has on hand, the weapon of choice in many horror films-a shotgun.
Lee Abbott aside from his children, Regan, (Millicent Simmonds), and Marcus, (Noah Jupe), has his pregnant wife, Evelyn, (Emily Blunt), to protect. Blunt is Krazinski’s wife in real life. Together, the pair form the horror version of Tracy and Hepburn. Lee Abbott has a great failure. His youngest son was a victim of the aliens. This weighs heavily on him. His failed efforts to develop hearing aids for his daughter frustrate him. It also upsets his daughter. The young actress, Millicent Simmonds, is hearing impaired, in real life. Her performance in this film, helps it a great deal. She is not overshadowed by the adults. Her character is very strong willed, and refuses to stay behind, when asked by her father.
This film works well in part due to John Krasinski at the helm. He has made it well paced. He has directed children in this and his wife. Emily Blunt was hesitant about working for her husband. Other actresses were considered, but she agreed to do the film. She shows her acting chops, in a very suspenseful scene, involving the aliens. The most difficult thing for the director, in this film is dialogue. There is very little. The communication is done by signing. The dialogue appears on the screen. A hard job and under appreciated one is sound editing. Erik Aadahl was in charge of this, and has delivered. The directing was good in this movie. John Krazinski had another perhaps more difficult job, than directing. He wrote the final screenplay. He also played the alien in some scenes. His talents allowed him to breakaway from his comedy background. He played Jim Halpert on The Office, for several years.
A Quiet Place is an achievement, in horror. It has the necessary suspense. It doesn’t show the alien until the climax. The movie also has solid acting. This is something that is missing from many modern horror movies. A Quiet Place, is a movie that would make Alfred Hitchcock smile.