A Quiet Place

Here are 5 reasons you should see A Quiet Place:

​1) It's Unique
     In this day and age, there are noises all around us, and when things get quiet and still, it actually becomes unsettling because we instinctively think something is wrong or not working. In the spooky world of A Quiet Place, the opposite is true. The monsters that exist in that world respond to sound. So as long as the people stay quiet, they are safe. It was something I had to get used to in the movie. Naturally, I was tense at the beginning when the characters were taking light steps and moving slowly and carefully, but I came to accept it as the norm for them. And when something made a noise, that's when things get scary. It's a horror experience like nothing I've seen in a movie before. It's such a simple concept, but it has a big effect.
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2) It Doesn't Treat You Like An Idiot
     Now, I bet you're wondering how the characters communicate to each other if they can't talk. Well, it turns out the family of the movie had a deaf daughter before the monsters came into being, and so they knew sign language, which they used to their advantage. It's little things like this that make the movie clever in its storytelling, and the best part is that they don't have to explain these actions to you. They trust you can figure it out. They do explain some rules about how the monsters work, but other than that, the movie doesn't waste any time explaining the world and why things are happening (I'm looking at you Justice League.). The story keeps progressing, and it holds your attention from beginning to end.

3) The Cast
     If you don't recognize John Krasinski's name, well you probably know him as Jim from The Office. You know, the funny, sarcastic prankster. Well this time around, he's a serious father who's trying to keep his family safe. It's weird to see him not cracking jokes, but you know what, he pulls it off. I sincerely believed him as a character and actually forgot he was Jim from the The Office at one point. Not only does he star in it, but his real life wife, Emily Blunt, plays his wife in the movie. Of course, we all already knew Emily was a great actress, and seeing these two together on screen is so great. It's a wonder why they haven't played husband and wife in other movies before; their chemistry is so natural and compelling that you can't help but feel for them. What makes these two even better on screen together is the fact that John directed this movie while starring in it, and you can tell that he and his wife had long conversations together about what their characters need to do and how they could pull it off. I imagine this gave them freedom to act how they pleased, and with this comfortable position, they could give the best performance that they could. Not only do we get to see these two wonderful actors perform, but John casted a real-life deaf girl to play the deaf girl in the movie. She was a real delight to watch, and her disability allowed her to channel her real-life struggles into the character. It was wonderful to see someone with a disability shine on the big screen.

4) It's About A Family
     A lot of horror movies focus solely on the monsters and the scares that the story is either nonexistent or craptastically bad *cough* Halloween *cough* Friday the 13th *cough*. This movie though actually has a lot of heart in it. The movie isn't about the monsters terrorizing people; it's about a family going through struggles of trust, responsibility, and jealousy. The moments I got emotional didn't revolve around the horrible attacks from the monsters; it was when the family shared heartfelt moments with each other that brought out emotions in me. This is a horror movie that has a story to tell and a message to share, which brings me to my last point.

5) Its Message
     There's a moment in the movie where John has the camera right in front of Emily, and she says as she looks directly into the camera with teary eyes, "What are we if we can't protect them?" The character was talking about being a parent amidst the crisis, but because she was looking directly at the audience, it felt like maybe, perhaps, she was actually talking to us. With so many awful events happening with children recently, it seems as though that they are growing up in a world full of monsters. And the movie teaches us that the way we protect our children is through supporting them, sacrificing for them, and, above all, loving them. Love is how we face our fears. Love is what beats the monsters. Love is what saves the world.

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