A Quiet Place

There’s a certain type of movie-goers I’d like to define, based on box office results, and that type is what I always call: Horror Moths. Mostly for jump scares (the ones I’ve skipped for obvious reasons), I mock them with an alien voice “MUST SEE SH*TTY HORROR MOVIE.”

However in other cases, there are horror movies that are smart. Last year, we had the Oscar-nominated “Get Out,” the thrilling “It,” and this year, we are given “A Quiet Place.” And all these movies are smart, thought-provoking, and thrilling. I saw this in a full house, and I was at the edge of my seat.

Don’t say: “That’s what they said about “Paranormal Activity,” and look what happened: they made too many sequels.” “A Quiet Place” is better than that in a lot of ways.

The movie takes places in a post-apocalyptic town, where a family avoids a deadly alien race that has such sensitive hearing, any noise they make, may be their last. They communicate through sign language and some whispers, and the only places the monsters can’t hear them, is the local waterfall, and an underground bunker they make.

John Krasinski directs himself as Lee, who leads his family to safety. They consist of his pregnant wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real-life wife), their deaf daughter Regan (the deaf actress Millicent Simmonds from “Wonderstruck”), and their hearing son Marcus (Noah Jupe from “Wonder” and “Suburbicon”).

Regan feels like her father hates her because of how she let her other little brother (apparently they had two boys) have a battery powered toy rocket that resulted in his slaughter. Marcus checks with his dad about that, just to help clarify her drama, but he tells the young lad: “It’s no one’s fault.”

But it’s Evelyn who mostly steals the show. She is devastated about how she and her husband may not be able to protect their kids, especially with a new baby on the way. And when the monsters come in the house, that’s when you really need to sit down.

Maybe the aliens might be a bit too cliche, but all and all, “A Quiet Place” keeps you guessing from beginning to end. It doesn’t have typical characters; it has smart and frightened ones-ones you can relate to in a time of crisis. Krasinski directs himself, Blunt, Simmonds, and Jupe with vulnerability.

It’s tests our emotions with the sounds and silences, and even the aliens shock you at the right spot. And wait till you see how the movie closes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2