The Quiet Place (2018)

There's a lot of buzz about The Quiet Place being the best horror film of the year (we're only into April, so that might be a bit premature). Fortunately, I hadn't heard much of this before I saw it, which meant I saw it with no expectations. In fact I nearly didn't watch it at all, as I was feeling lazy and didn't know if I wanted to bother.

Ninety minutes later and I was practically bouncing out of the cinema wanting to tell everyone how much I enjoyed the film.

For those who who can't stand the gore that has proliferated through much of modern horror, The Quiet Place will come as something of a relief. It isn't entirely blood free, and there's at least one wince-making moment (that's telegraphed so far in advance that I was fully prepared to be looking away when it happened - so I don't actually know what was shown on screen at that point), but for the most part it's about the tension and the fear, not voyeuristic depictions of bodily harm.

It's also notable that for all the tension and the scares, it's a movie that doesn't leave you walking away feeling battered senseless. There's a careful management between tension, action and the slower moments (I would have written quieter moments, but in the context of the film, that wouldn't make sense). It feels like a roller coaster horror film lensed through an Indie film-making sensibility.

The story plays on primal fears - be quiet or the monsters will get you. It appeals to childhood fears, inhabiting the same landscape as the Grimm Fairy Tales, but it's also very much an adult tale about protecting your family.

Like last year's Get Out, The Quiet Place should do a lot to redeem the image of horror as a respectable genre. In fact, I can see future generations of filmmakers being inspired by this - although hopefully they'll take away the right lessons from it.

Perhaps I'm over-selling it, but I genuinely loved this film. For a relatively novice director, John Krasinski has crafted something very special, which should do wonders for his directing career, if he ever gives it a chance amid all the acting gigs.