I’ve seen A Quiet Place twice now, and both times, my reaction has been…conflicted. I think fondly of the film, but when I begin to recall specifics, I have nothing but complaints.
My first viewing occurred in the comfort of my own home. Throughout most of the run-time, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that, “I need to be watching this in a real theater.” Perhaps this has more to do with the buzz around A Quiet Place’s sound design. In a way, I expected my home viewing to be underwhelming.
For those who missed its aggressive advertising campaign, A Quiet Place is about a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic scenario. The family is forced to maintain silence, because the creatures that have ravaged the world react to sound. Most of the film involves characters working very, very hard to keep quiet.
With a premise like that, there are bound to be maddening scenarios where characters fuck up and attract the unnamed creatures. Most fuck-ups lead to an action sequence. If you’re someone who just can’t stand the traditional horror trope of characters making poor choices that affect their livelihood, A Quiet Place will likely frustrate you.
The technical aspects of the film are impressive, I guess. A majority of the film is completely silent, with a very subtle score. This means that when a scary monster pops out and the soundtrack shits itself, it has a fairly significant impact. The sound mixing is by far the most impressive aspect of A Quiet Place, and definitely justify the jump scares that occur.
The second time I watched the film was in a small art-house theater with six or seven other people, and I now somewhat retract my earlier feelings that A Quiet Place is a theater-or-don’t-bother movie. Because most of the film is close to silent, you’re left to deal with every movement, sip, and handful of popcorn. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT acquire popcorn for this film. I imagine that most who saw this during its first run were treated to an alternative soundtrack comprised of unpleasant chewing noises. Don’t be that person.
Because the sound design was certainly impressive, I can definitely say that a theatrical experience accentuates the film’s strong points. Unfortunately, even with the sound design, it’s a fairly standard and forgettable movie with a well-executed gimmick. It doesn’t do much to justify its existence as a feature-length film that could have been a great episode of The Twilight Zone. It’s worth checking out, and I’m sure there will be plenty who enjoy the film far more than I did.
5/10