Another film that alludes to the senses of the viewer, or at least tries to play with them. Next to A Quiet Place and Bird Box we get The Silence, in which you must be silent, how the name revealed, because if you get loud, you'll regret it. The film is a book adaptation and therefore not a copy of the other two films, but it still remains in their shadow.
The Story:
A team of researchers is in a cave about to open a shaft. They are uncovering a new species of animal that has been confined there for millions of years. Aggressively and brutally the animals graze the researchers and kill them. The swarm of these strange flying dinosaurs is directed towards the city, where they are attracted by the noise. It quickly makes its rounds in the news and social media.
The family Andrews learns about it and they set off to leave the city. During their attempt they stumble on detours and also on a spooky priest, who is after the deaf daughter Ally...
My Opinion:
The Silence is not A Quiet Place or like Bird Box and the movie doesn't come close to them, although it's not bad in terms of content. At the beginning the film creates a good atmosphere in which you can see the idyllic Andrews family, who, although they have to struggle with their own problems, especially because they have a dove daughter, still lead a balanced life.
Slowly the threat of the aggressive mini flying dinosaurs creeps up and the tension builds up very well. On TV and in the social media we hear how hell is breaking out on earth and chaos is reigning because of these little creatures. Very early we learn that the flying killers are attracted by noises.
Then there is a scene in the metro, where a handful of people are sitting in a wagon. Suddenly a baby starts crying. The people want the mother and her baby to get out. The mother agrees and gets out with her baby. Then the baby starts crying again and you can see the hungry aggressive brutal animals come flying to the tunnel...
Here I thought, this can only be good, but wrong thought! Because from here on the film disintegrates super fast and from the moment when the Andrews family leaves the house it is only a survival film. Here and there the film knows how to build up some tension but on the whole it doesn't have much to offer.
What you see has been seen countless times in other movies and what is hinted at is not only predictable but also happens as usual as you know it. Especially the allusion to Hitchcock's The Birds is not rejectable.
Nevertheless, the film isn't really bad. The actors give the film their touch, because their acting art is what keeps the film alive. Of course, the little killer flying dinosaurs are the movie's focus, because they keep appearing and being always present, but after a while you get bored of them. Even the priest, who doesn't have a tongue anymore, who has his eye on the daughter Ally, just screams at the viewer that he will be killed by the father at the end. So nothing new...
You can watch the movie if you don't have anything else to do and you want to kill time, but it's not a special you absolutely have to see. From me The Silence got 5 stars at IMDb.
