A Quiet Place made a Loud Splash

*includes spoilers

The film A Quiet Place directed by John Krasinski came out in early 2018, and now nearly two years later a part II is being released. In anticipation of part II it is quite necessary to review the origin of the story, the dramatic thriller A Quiet Place.

A Quiet Place is a must-see film which contains the perfect blend of emotions and action while portraying lessons evident throughout the entirety of the film. In addition, the film provides a creative concept for the antagonists and overall plot of the story. The story takes place in a world overtaken by mysterious creatures known as Death Angels. These creatures attack and kill whenever they hear any sound and society has plummeted with their arrival on Earth. Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and Lee (John Krasinski) are introduced as two parents who have to protect their family at all costs.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the movie is the creativity of the overall plot. The antagonists are freaky looking alien monsters who are blind, but have very sensitive ears and attack at the slightest sound they hear. Throughout the film there is limited dialogue because everyone knows what will happen if any sound is made. Most of the film takes place in silence and the Abbott family communicates mostly in sign language. The viewer sees all the creative precautions the Abbott family has taken to sound proof their life through varying communication mechanisms, traveling methods, and technology. The film goes into extraordinary depth to show what life has become for humans to be able to survive since the arrival of the Death Angels on Earth. The silence of the films adds a new element of suspense and horror to the story as well. All of these elements of the film really provides a new twist on the typical horror/drama movie which has never been seen before.

The various emotions present within the movie add another intriguing aspect to the film. Right from the beginning the tone is set when the youngest child of the family, Beau is brutally slaughtered by one of the monsters when he makes noise with a toy plane as the family is walking back to their home. This devastation in the very first few minutes of the movie sets the stage for the rest of the story. Evelyn and Lee are heartbroken and Regan (Millicent Simmonds) feels like she is the one responsible for her younger brother's death because she had given him the plane. The necessary silence of the family results in an unspoken, yet quite evident tension throughout the story. Regan feels as if Lee does not love her because of the tragedy she had felt she caused. Lee is especially hard on Regan, but also tries to help her hear through the use of various technology since she is deaf. Regan has a hard time understanding this and many other things in life as a result of her disability. This conflict adds an extra layer of depth to the film overall because it introduces another physical barrier the family has to endure in an already dangerous world. To add to the various emotions already present in the story, the development of Marcus Abbott's (Noah Jupe) character portrays the transition from a scared little boy to a brave young man by the end of the film. Lee takes his son Marcus out into the wilderness to teach him how to hunt small creatures such as fish food and other tips necessary for survival without attracting the attention of the dangerous Death Angels. Marcus is terrified at first, but quickly learns from his father and his leadership. A deeply strong father-son bond is found between these characters. On top of it all, Evelyn's pregnancy leads to another obstacle for the Abbott family to endure while also providing a source of joy in each of their lives. The mixture of all these emotions takes the audience on a roller coaster ride along with the Abbott family on their journey to survival.

The strongest message the film portrays revolves around the importance of sacrifice for loved ones. In the climax of the film the audience is kept on the edge of their seat as a big sacrifice has to be made. When Evelyn goes into labor she makes too much noise and the Death Angels hear. As they come to attack Evelyn has to hide and Lee comes running from the forest to help his wife. Marcus demonstrates his bravery as he sets up a distraction with fireworks to attract the beast to the noise. Evelyn is able to successfully have the newborn baby and her and Lee take a moment to appreciate this new joy in their life, which is another twist of emotion in the film. Lee and Evelyn then realize the kids are in trouble outside and before Lee goes to help them his wife says "What are we if we can't protect them." The quote perhaps foreshadows what would happen in the final minutes as Lee realizes right then and there what he will have to do to protect their children. With the audience most definitely on the edge of their seats, the monster has both Marcus and Regan cornered and Lee mouths to both his children that he loves them and suddenly shouts at the top his lungs. This attracts the monster's attention away from the children and they are able to safely get away, but Lee is killed. The ending is both devastating and shocking, yet it is effective in portraying the importance of sacrifice. It is quite evident that Krasinski wanted to show the audience that unlike what many movies often portray, there cannot always be a totally happy ending. By having Lee sacrifice his life for his family it leads to an emotional ending. The film shows that the family was saved but at a large price that had to be paid, and that is what sacrifice is about. This strong message is one of biggest aspects of the film that makes it so effectively multi-dimensional.

All in all, A Quiet Place is a phenomenal movie that is suspenseful from beginning to end. The film will toy with your emotions and mess with your head and the silence adds to it all. The film is unique in so many ways and best of all- there will be a part II in 2020. A Quiet Place was great, now will part II live up to the expectations?