A Quiet Place: A Review

A Quiet Place was one of the movies I listed in “6 Spooky Movies, Series And Documentaries To Watch In 2018.” Judging from my social media accounts, I wasn’t the only one anxiously anticipating its release. Lots of people made going to see it opening weekend a top priority.

I was very excited I got to see it right when it came out. That doesn’t always happen. Here’s why: my old man doesn’t like horror movies. And by “doesn’t like” I mean “hates.”

But he knew what he was getting into when he married me. Although in his defense I think by the time we said “I do” he was still hoping my love of horror movies was just a phase. I had to grow out of it eventually, right?

So far, wrong.

Anyway, even though he doesn’t like them, he will suffer through them from time to time.

Like this past weekend. I told him weeks ago, “When A Quiet Place comes out, I’m seeing it opening weekend. Just letting you know.”

I reserve such disclaimers only for movies I really want to see. That way he knows how important it must be to me.

He had the chance to let me go with a horror movie loving friend, but he chose to play his Brownie Points card. (That’s when he wants to rack up credits for doing something good.)

So, he opted to go with me. (This is why we’ve been together over 30 years. Compromise. You can’t have a successful marriage without it.)

Anyway, he did not like the movie. (No surprise.)

But what did I think?

Here we go…

Pros

It’s high on suspense. Good setting and atmosphere.

The acting, directing, and cinematography are all wonderful.

It also doesn’t pull any punches. Without giving away too much of a spoiler, main characters die. That was sort of refreshing.

Because, let’s face it, Life is a Bitch. The good guy, the innocent guy, doesn’t always finish first and none of us gets out of it alive. At least that was honored in the film.

Cons

Sadly I can’t give A Quiet Place the rave reviews I was hoping –and that so many others are giving it.

I thought the trailer was scarier. The actual movie was a bit of a let down.

For the most part it was very predictable.

I was also disappointed in the “hunters” as far as their looks went. Same old FX kind of movie alien we’ve seen over and over and over again. A sort of mashup between any of the Aliens, some of the Cloverfield beasties, sort of the mouth from the Predator alien, and even the Skitters from the TV series Falling Skies.

I was hoping for something…else. Something a little fresher and more original.

Also, speaking of the aliens…I had a hard time suspending my disbelief these things conquered earth. You assume there’s a certain level of intelligence in an alien species getting here and dominating us, right?

Unless one of our space missions brought them here, how did they get here? They’re mostly brawn, not brains. You’re going to tell me they built an advanced space craft?

Nope. That’s where the movie lost me.

Also, this isn’t really a spoiler but I am about to mention the ending so…stop here if you don’t want to know anymore.

Okay, so the ending was Signs, just with frequency waves instead of water.

Rating

Even though my rational side party pooped on the fun, John Krasinki and Emily Blunt are always a pleasure to watch on screen.

The kids, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe, rock.

And it is beautifully shot. Thankfully, unlike Signs, which was a little slow and drawn out in some places, A Quiet Place‘s tempo is just right.

Mostly it is a good one.

If you’re a fan of any of the Cloverfield movies or Signs, you will see similarities between those movies and this one, but you should also find A Quiet Place a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half.

Even for all we didn’t like, Skell and I still give it four out of five skulls.