A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place 2: Movies Reviewed by Warren Bull

 

Image by Ally Griffin on Unspace

A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II: Movies reviewed by Warren Bull

These wickedly frightening horror films were written by Bryan Wood, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski from a story by Woods and Beck. The two developed the story in college. Krasinski read their spec script in 2016. He was hired to do additional writing and directing the next year.

Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, were cast as parents (Lee and Evelyn) who try to protect their children played by Millicent Simmonds (Regan, who is deaf), Noah Jupe (Marcus, the second-born) and Cade Woodward (four-year-old Beau) after the world is invaded by blind monsters with acute hearing, incredible speed, toughness, and viciousness.

Millicent Simmonds was cast for her role in part because she is deaf and has used American Sign Language (ASL) for years. She taught the rest of the cast to use ASL. It made sense for parents to know sign language since they had a deaf daughter. The father used short messages striving for survival and protection of his children. The mother was more emotional and inclusive. The daughter used angry teenage signs, defiant and confrontational. Subtitles were used to clarify the experience for the audience, but the signing alone was beautifully expressive.

As something of an experiment with silence, special care was taken with sounds of the film. Scenes from Regan’s point of view were completely silent to reflect her experience. Small sounds like dice rolling on a table were added and amplified in the studio. When sounds occur, the shots were staged to show what made the sound. The eyeless monsters made clicking sound like the echo-location of bats. 

The film was shot almost exclusively in Dutchess and Ulster counties in upstate New York. Filmmakers spent the budget locally including buying 20 tons of corn from local farmers. They used, a soundstage in Pawling in Dutchess County for some scenes. Main street in Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York and the Springtown Truss Bridge in Ulster County were prominent actual locations used in the movie. 

The plot starts after the aliens have landed. The back story was cleverly told in the headlines of yellowed newspapers and signs on deserted store windows. The family had developed visual alarms around their farm and created barricades. The tension built with a believable series of events that I refuse to reveal, considering how often painstakingly planned twists and surprises are ruined for readers and movie goers by reviewers.  

The film was chosen by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the best ten films of 2018. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award. Emily Blunt won a Screen Actors award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role.  It grossed more than $350 million world-wide. Stephen King said, “A QUIET PLACE is an extraordinary piece of work. Terrific acting, but the main thing is the SILENCE, and how it makes the camera’s eye open wide in a way few movies manage.”

For A Quiet Place 2, John Krasinski wrote and directed the continuing saga. Although the release was delayed by COVID, this story adds Cillian Murphy and Dijmon Hounson to the cast all of whom perform admirably. Although Krasinski was reluctant to direct a sequel at first, he thought of an approach that appealed to him as a father and presented his idea to Paramount. He was given a budget three times as big as the original movie. Publicity was extensive. 

Without trying to create a franchise, the plot involved more action, but maintained the importance of sound and silence. It did not try to do too much. The sound editor said they did not want to be “too cool.” There was no sophomore slump. The film was released for streaming 45 days after its theatrical release. Predicted to earn between $40 million and $125 million world-wide, it grossed $297.4 million and became the first post-COVID film to gross $100 million. 

Both movies scared the daylights out of me. I give them my highest ratings.