Menacing scare tactics

John Krasinski

Imagine getting scared out of your wits, but you can’t scream. In the case of “A Quiet Place’s” beleaguered family of five, even a whine, groan, sob, snivel or whimper could spell imminent doom. The golden rule is: If you’re audible, you’re edible.

In John Krasinski’s sci-fi nail-biter, that’s the life-or-death dilemma the Abbotts have to contend with to keep themselves out of harm’s way, after much of Earth’s human population is decimated by sightless but sound-seeking creatures that hunt their prey with pinpoint accuracy.

Provocative meditation

Lee Abbot (John) and his pregnant doctor-wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), stubborn deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and young sons Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward) communicate by sign language as they scavenge for food and supplies.

But, as it is with life, things don’t always go as planned because some actions and reactions are involuntary—like sneezing, coughing, cutting a finger, impaling a foot, the cry of a hungry neonate, etc.

The film astutely incorporates its provocative meditation on guilt and intimations of mortality as it weighs in on the underappreciated value of silence and stillness in a world that can’t seem to accomplish anything without noise.

Metaphor

For Pinoy viewers, the production can also be seen as a metaphor—for an increasingly antiegalitarian society that frowns at (and conveniently silences) dissenting voices.

Moreover, can you imagine how peaceful the world would be if these monsters could only “hear” all the self-entitled whining and know-it-all cynicism on Facebook and Twitter in the discombobulating age of social media? But, that’s just us digressing. Tee-hee.

“A Quiet Place” calls to mind the seamless efficiency of “Get Out’s” menacing scare tactics—and is one of the best films we’ve seen so far this year.