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John McCann says ‘A Quiet Place’ is a terrific tense horror thriller that might turn out to be one of the year’s best films…
With the recent critical and commercial success of films such as ‘Get Out’, ‘It Comes at Night’ and ‘The Witch’, the horror genre has enjoyed a rebirth in our cinemas with audiences flocking to see a new wave of more thought-provoking and understated horror films.
They not only rely on the jump-scare, but are more reflective and multi-layered and as a result leave a much more resounding effect on the viewer.
John Krasinki’s ‘A Quiet Place’ is a prime example of this new wave of film and one that sits comfortably in the company of the strong thrillers that have come before it.
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The premise of ‘A Quiet Place’ is quite simple – in this modern horror thriller, a family of four must navigate their lives in silence after mysterious creatures that hunt by sound threaten their survival. If they hear you, they hunt you!
A Quiet Place.
In a world where even the faintest sound can get you killed, director Kraskinski relys on the camera to build the tension and he does that superbly with silence the perfect ingredient to build tension throughout (during the screening I attended you could hardly hear a pin drop from start to finish).
With minimal dialogue, the film is completely reliant on strong performances from its cast and in this case they all deliver emphatically with Emily Blunt and Millicent Simmonds in particular contributing to what is a nerve shredding 90 minutes of superb cinema.
As frightening as this film is (you will not feel comfortable in your plush cinema seat – even for a second!), it is the drama, heart and unconditional love at the centre of the story that elevates this feature from one that is simply a shock fest to one with that resonates long after the end credits roll.
Not being a huge fan of the horror genre and despite shifting uncomfortably in my chair throughout, I have to admit that ‘A Quiet Place’ was a lot more than a simple scaremongering exercise.
It is similar in many ways to Jordan Peeles ‘Get Out’ which was a huge hit last year, insofar as, despite an incredulous and implausible premise with the help of a sharp score, some high quality performances and a director that throttles the audiences attention ‘A Quiet Place’ may just turn out to be one of this year’s best. Highly recommended!
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• For more of John McCann’s movie reviews, check out his Facebook page here and website here
