A Quiet Place

A drama/thriller/horror film that I'm honestly surprised didn't already have a thread.

Following a family trying to survive in a world in which it is crucial they make as little sound as possible. Some are already calling it an instant horror classic - not sure if I'd go that far, but I did think it was a really good movie.

Wrote, directed, and starring John Krasinski from The Office, and also co-starring his real life wife, Emily Blunt.

I saw it yesterday. Probably a definitive example of how important sounds, editing, and camera work can be when you don't have dialogue and other things to convey plot. It was great and I loved it.

Courtesy link- A Quiet Place.

Saw it tonight and generally agree. It's an example primarily of the strength of a director confident in their vision more than anything else. The sound design is great, but also not played up as a gimmick. It works in tandem with the performances, visuals and editing to create an atmosphere. You become aware of every sound the same way the characters are, there were times I wasn't sure if a noise was from the movie or an audience member shifting in their seat.

In many ways it reminded me of Get Out!, mostly in how the direction was confident in its script, but I had similar feelings of disappointment when the movie edges back into the horror genre, which this film does extensively in the second half.

Massive hit, something like $45 million on opening weekend, which is about $2.50 for every dollar spent making the movie. Which just goes to show that this thread may get to, oh, ten posts.

edited 8th Apr '18 10:43:37 AM by jamespolk

I remember seeing someone saying: “John Krasinski’s strength as an actor is his silent Aside Glance bits on The Office. So he made a movie that consists entirely of that.”

So that weird dude from The Office made a great horror movie? What's with comedians making excellent horror movies lately?

Matthew Perry is banging away at a keyboard as we speak.

Comedy is just taking the horrors of life and finding something to laugh at. Horror is just taking one step fewer.

edited 8th Apr '18 6:23:33 PM by InkDagger

All great stories from any genre have some underlying commentary about the human condition. Get Out! is a lot more obvious about it, but a large number of horror films from the past few years have really built up that genre past the generic slasher trappings. Blumhouse Productions is responsible for a lot of them, including It Follows and The Purge. Traditionally, a lot of horror films were appealing to younger filmmakers to get their foot in the door because they are actually surprisingly cheap to make, they film in darkness so you don't have to show anything clearly, use existing locations, make gallons of fake blood for only a few dollars and say you have a special effects heavy movie. That's why Sam Raimi did The Evil Dead.

Funny enough, I was initially under the impression that the movie was rated R before I saw it, after seeing it I saw it was PG-13 and was surprised. There is quite a lot of blood and some VERY intense scenes.

I saw this! Pretty cool! That's all I can add to the conversation!

(ackshually) Blum didn't have anything to do with It Follows.

This movie's box office take is hugely impressive, and the Cinemascore is good for a horror movie, too. To think that all it took for Platinum Dunes to make good horror movies was to stop doing micromanaged creatively bankrupt remakes and start being more like Blumhouse. Hopefully, other studios learn the right lessons.

Just saw it on a whim (not a horror guy), and I'll echo the praise. Extremely well-executed, and a perfect use of the medium of film to enhance the story and premise. I couldn't imagine it as a written story. It doesn't lean on over-dramatic jump scares, but relies on spectacular sound design and subtle tension-building to make the scares land. Pacing is terrific. The economical storytelling and world building show trust in the intelligence of the audience. And most importantly, at the center of everything is genuine emotion and characters you care for.

John Krasinski has a lot of potential as a director in this genre. And it's proof that PG-13 doesn't have to be a limiting factor for horror films if you execute well. I've never heard a cinema so quiet in my life. Overall, this may be the best thing Michael Bay's name has ever been attached to.

edited 15th Apr '18 6:36:12 AM by edvedd

There's gonna be a sequel to this movie. Not sure if it has it's own thread or not, so I'm bringing it up here.

I'm curious about what a sequel could do because I felt the first film was very "open-and-shut". Doesn't seem like continuing it would be the best idea to me. But since the first film was so good, and with Krasinski still behind the wheel and some great additions to the cast I want to have some faith that this will be good.

Here's the trailer for it. I guess we're going the Walking Dead route where they find a colony of survivors that'll inevitably be fucked up by the aliens when they get there.

Here’s the trailer for the prequel:

And the poster:

And the page: A Quiet Place: Day One

Edited by BigBadShadow25 on Feb 7th 2024 at 9:37:43 AM

So like Cloverfield but more dangerous.

Lupita Nyong’o has perfected the art of looking ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED.

Interesting. WE kinda already saw day one of the invasion with the Prologue of Part II, but now we get to see how much worse it must have been in a more crowded area.

I'm also curious to see how the Military deals with the creatures. On the one hand, Tanks and air support would be expected to do some damage. On the other hand, we know these things survived the trip through space and the crashing of the Asteroids that brought them, and that they're only affected by the frequency that cripples them. Plus, deploying those vehicles will mean attracting those the aliens, so I can picture the military getting immediately set upon before they actually have a chance to try and fight. That being said, ships at sea might be able to do something since the creatures can't swim, so launching attacks from the ocean might work.

It's just that I figure they're not gonna put much of a dent in them.

Honestly, as interesting as the premise is, it is kinda silly that, during all those years (especially during the initial attack) the Alien's weakness to loud noises was never discovered.

It was only more than a year or so.

And they hit hard. Plus people learned that Loud noises attract them, so the thought they were weak to it probably never occurred to anyone, since they would have been actively avoiding it.

It's fairly clear the frequency that is debilitating to them is a fluke from Reagans cochlear implant. Other frequencies may annoy them but they go into a frenzy rather than have their skull fracture. As said, they are attracted to sound and the speed at which they move plus being able to withstand at least 12 gauge means any research had a high fatality rate.

It seems like the military will at least be bombing New York, especially considering that shot of the fighter jets and the bridge collapsing.

I'd imagine that given their speed and lethality, the world didn't really get time to try and see what their weaknesses were, that they couldn't swim and were caused pain by high-pitched noises.

Edited by theLibrarian on Feb 8th 2024 at 6:37:16 AM

Indeed. This isn't an attack, but you'd never know it. Landing all over the entire planet and immediately attacking everyone everywhere.

I mentioned that the military was probably only able to launch attacks from the ocean since they can't swim, so unless some of the asteroids landed near them (which isn't out of the question) most aircraft carriers and submarines are probably good.

Probably anyone offshore avoided the worst of it (so people on oil rigs, cruise liners, etc).

This is why we need to reinvent Blimps. Very quiet.

Also, Submarine Yachts. Those are apparently either a thing, or something people have tried to make a thing.