Intro - I’ve seen this film twice and I came out of both viewings, completely gobsmacked. I am not a fan of horror films, but after watching “Get Out”, I realized I can endure some. This horror film, to me, was near perfection. I have never seen a prefect horror film but I imagine this comes close to being one. From the clever story to the fantastic actors to the play on sound and all the way down to the hidden messages. The extent of bravery the parents go to in order to protect their children is a beautiful aspect of this film. At the end of the movie, it is the parents unconditional love they give to their children that truly sticks with me.
Story - This story couldn’t be more original. It’s such a simple idea and it worked beautifully well. The take on sound makes it even creepier. The setting is in a post-apocalyptic world. One single family is forced to hide and live in silence from the monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. If they hear you, they will follow you. The part that makes this film scary for me were the constant jump scares. They were a good amount of scares to get the audience that more engaged. There is so much built tension that you think a jump scare would occur, but then there’s a pause. That brief pause is meant to fool you. Just when you think everything is fine, the jump scare suddenly comes out of nowhere and jumps at you. I think that’s what make horror films so popular and intriguing to watch.
Cast - The cast is beyond phenomenal. The director and actor of this film, John Krasinski, is leading the way. Not only did he direct and star in it, he helped write the screenplay. He mastered in all three categories so well. Emily Blunt, lovely and amazing as always, plays his wife. In real life, they are a married couple. It’s kind of like ‘life imitating art’. In the poster, Emily Blunt is in a bathtub scared to death. That already says it all about her acting skills. The two children are wonderful. The actors are Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds. After Simmonds 2017 debut in “Wonderstruck”, she has again graced the screen with her impeccable acting. The actress is deaf in real life. This is the second time she has played a deaf girl. Her on screen relationship with John Krasinski was so emotionally touching and you immediately empathize with her struggles. Not just her struggles, but you do end up empathizing with the family’s endeavor.
This is one of those films that need to be seen on a big screen. The monster itself is just as scary as the whole premise already sounds. There’s something here for horror fans and audience members who just want to watch a good movie. The master of horror, Stephen King, called the movie an “extraordinary piece of work”. If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will. I can’t rave more about this film. I loved it so much for its originality that it ended up scaring up an audience. This film came out a year after “Get Out”. “Get Out” was a box office and critical success. This movie is following very well in the footsteps of a great horror film trend, all recently being released. Since “A Quiet Place” did so well, a sequel is already in talk. Maybe we aren’t done with these monsters yet.
Rating: 10/10