A Quiet Place Review of Reviews
By: Eric Hindy
A Quiet Place (2018) is a masterfully crafted horror/thriller released in theaters April 6th. This movie stars the husband and wife duo John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. John Krasinski is not only the main character, the patriarch of the film, but also the Director and draft writer of the film. Ironically, the true star of the show is Millicent Simmonds (Regan) who plays the deaf daughter of Krasinski and Blunt. In general, A Quiet Place tells the story of a family forced to live in silence to hide from creatures that hunt by sound. To add to the creepiness of the storyline, the setting of the movie is a secluded farm rigged to be self-sufficient with added security. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the reason for the existence of the creatures or the beginning of the ‘apocalypse’ remains a mystery, but as you become invested in the characters, story, and nail-biting thrills this information becomes unimportant to the viewer. According to the many reviews online, this movie packs a punch for thrill seekers and horror buffs alike. There are many edge-of-your-seat and heart pounding moments to be enjoyed. Common themes among reviewers include; “intense cinematic experience”, “an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster ride”, and “effective thriller”. What makes this film a brilliant masterpiece is creating a nail-biting thriller with barely any dialogue, probably about 2 pages worth in total. So, what are the media giants relaying to their audiences? This blog post will compare and contrast online views of this movie as published by Rogerebert.com and The New Yorker.
By: Eric Hindy
A Quiet Place (2018) is a masterfully crafted horror/thriller released in theaters April 6th. This movie stars the husband and wife duo John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. John Krasinski is not only the main character, the patriarch of the film, but also the Director and draft writer of the film. Ironically, the true star of the show is Millicent Simmonds (Regan) who plays the deaf daughter of Krasinski and Blunt. In general, A Quiet Place tells the story of a family forced to live in silence to hide from creatures that hunt by sound. To add to the creepiness of the storyline, the setting of the movie is a secluded farm rigged to be self-sufficient with added security. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the reason for the existence of the creatures or the beginning of the ‘apocalypse’ remains a mystery, but as you become invested in the characters, story, and nail-biting thrills this information becomes unimportant to the viewer. According to the many reviews online, this movie packs a punch for thrill seekers and horror buffs alike. There are many edge-of-your-seat and heart pounding moments to be enjoyed. Common themes among reviewers include; “intense cinematic experience”, “an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster ride”, and “effective thriller”. What makes this film a brilliant masterpiece is creating a nail-biting thriller with barely any dialogue, probably about 2 pages worth in total. So, what are the media giants relaying to their audiences? This blog post will compare and contrast online views of this movie as published by Rogerebert.com and The New Yorker.
According
to Brody (2018) as published on newyorker.com writes “The success of “A Quiet
Place”, the new horror thriller directed by John Krasinski, is a sign of
viewers craving emptiness, of a yearning for some cinematic white noise to
drown out troubling thoughts and observations with a potently simple and
high-impact countermyth”. He goes on to
describe this white noise as being unconscious and conspicuously
regressive. The storyline is described
without giving away too much information or spoiling the experience for anyone
interested in seeing this movie. Emphasis
is placed on the fact that the movie is mostly silent but mentions that the
viewer will experience ‘blaring music’ throughout. He also talks about the scenes of the movie
that are suggestive of Regan’s point-of-view and how her deafness is reproduced
through the soundtrack. He implicates
that the writers chose to make the characters blank and undefined to create
mystery and keep them unobtrusive. Brody
muses that “A Quiet Place” can be compared to Clint Eastwood’s “The 15:17 to
Paris” when examining the similarity of both films creating an idealistic
element of gun culture. He also remarks
on the fact that the American family in this movie is white and live in fear of
the dark others hunting humans. In closing
Brody (2018) states, “Whether the Abbotts’ insular,
armed way of life might put them into conflict with other American families of
other identities is the unacknowledged question hanging over “A Quiet Place,”
the silent horror to which the movie doesn’t give voice”. The message of this blog was to get people
talking about and examining the political aspect of the film versus a review.
In contrast, Brian Tallerico wrote a review blog on rogerebert.com
which praises not only the movie, but also the actors, writers, and
director. According to Tallerico (2018),
“John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” is a nerve-shredder. It’s a
movie designed to make you an active participant in a game of tension, not just
a passive observer in an unfolding horror”.
Tallerico describes the movie as “a thrill ride” which “quickens the
heart rate”. He unfolds the intricacies
of the story without adding spoilers to preserve the dignity of the movie and
viewer. There is no mention of politics,
as The New Yorker posted in Brody’s blog, nor is there any conspiracy theory declared. It is a pleasant and positive review to read
and creates a need to go to the movies to see this film as soon as
possible. The soundtrack is mentioned,
but not as “blaring music” as read in Brody’s blog, but as a way to compliment
the visual storytelling and, of course, to add to the jump scares. Although, he does mention that sometimes it
seems a bit louder than necessary. In his
conclusion he writes, “A Quiet Place” shreds the nerves, but it does so in a
way that feels rewarding. You don’t just walk out having experienced a thrill
ride, you walk out on a high, the kind of high that only comes from the best
horror movies”.
References
Brody, R. (2018). The silently regressive politics of “A Quiet
Place”. Retrieved from newyorker.com.
Tallerico, B. (2018). Posted as a blog on Rogerebert.com April 6,
2018. Retrieved from rogerebert.com.
Upon reading these two accounts of "A Quiet Place" I want to watch it! Maybe because I love John Krasinski (who doesn't?) or maybe because it sounds like an interesting take on horror. How can you have a horror flick without screaming and eerie sounds from whatever might be hunting the main characters? Both the New Yorker and rogerebert.com review the movie in a way that makes me want to watch it. However, I don't know that I see much of the politics and conspiracy theories in your review of The New Yorker. I can see how the family being white and being hunted by dark characters could begin to delve into politics or hot contemporary topics but other than that, I don't see the political takeaway from the film. I would love to read the post myself to see more of what you are talking about here. For the most part, these two posts about "A Quiet Place" seem to be similar -- speaking to the movie's quiet nature and abstract take on horror. I would to hear more about the contrast in these two articles as opposed to the similarities because I am certain that there are plenty of differences as we, as active audience members, tend to interact and consume films differently.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that one review by Brody from newyorker.com focused his review on politics. I am not one for horror movies and I have not seen this movie, but after reading your post, I think I want to see the movie with his opinion in the back of my head to see for myself just what he is talking about. I think it is interesting how both authors mentioned the music of the movie but in 2 different ways. Depending on how you react to the movie will determine whether you find the music to be "blaring" or find that it helped to create a more impactful scene. It seems Tallerico was able to review the movie and critique it but did so in a respectful way, as shown through your example of his description of the music. I feel our attitudes going into a movie will ultimately impact our personal review of the movie. If we read reviews prior to seeing a movie we develop expectations that may not have been there before, which will impact how we interpret and enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteLet me start off by saying I just watched the trailer, and I really want to check this movie out now! It definitely looks like a jumpy, edge of your seat type movie. The New Yorker review was a bit odd, and to me isn't the type of movie review that I would find helpful. To make the movie more into a political statement isn't a movie review at all. I much rather read the rogerebert.com review. It was more about the actual film vs political agendas. The fact that the movie was described as a "nerve-shredder" makes me want to see it that much more.
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