As a movie junkie, I have noticed that horror movies haven’t been very successful in the past few years; the storylines are often all over the place and have no real point, and the watcher doesn’t really feel a personal connection to the characters.  However, I was optimistic about watching A Quiet Place, and I was very impressed.  It is the best horror movie I have seen in years.

The film takes place a few years into the future, and it is about a world with these creatures who attack and kill anything that makes too loud of a noise.  They have impeccable hearing abilities and are very fast and agile. The plot focuses on a family trying to survive in a world where “silence is survival”, and “if they hear you, they hunt you”.  The family has to adapt to their new reality, where they have to figure out which sounds are safe and use sign language to get their way around.

The first reason, and the most obvious, why this is a great horror movie is because it is genuinely scary.  I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 90 minutes of the film, from the introduction to the last scene.  With the buildup of suspense, it wasn’t only sudden pop-ups that made me jump. Even the slightest movement startled me a little bit.  Of course, good scares isn’t just what makes a horror movie good, but that is a big part of it. I’ve watched some horror movies that have been recently released, and when a supposedly scary jump-scare pops up on the screen, I’m laughing instead of being on edge and scared.  One thing I can say is that during A Quiet Place, laughing is the one thing I did not do.

A Quiet Place had a storyline that slowly unveiled as I kept watching.  Good and interesting storylines as well as character development are vital to making a good movie.  In the movie, there is a lot of extra details in the background that really show what their situation is like.  For example, the family has newspapers all over the house with headlines that read about these monsters taking over the world, and that the world now lives in silence.  The father, Lee Abbott, (played by director John Krasinski) tries to contact many countries, but is unsuccessful. There is also a whiteboard shown in the background many times that shows the strengths, characteristics, and weaknesses of the creatures.  These details are like pieces of a puzzle that when put together, reveal a picture.

The character development in this movie is that it causes the watcher to have a connection to the characters, and makes certain scenes more emotional.  This makes A Quiet Place different from other horror movies. I gained a personal attachment to every character, so every action they took and every interaction made was a lot more impactful.  For example, we get a look at the father-daughter relationship between Lee and Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and the conflicts they face as they try to create a hearing device for her, since she is deaf.

 If a movie doesn’t leave you feeling some type emotion, then it is not a very good movie, and horror movies haven’t been really doing that.  This is exactly why A Quiet Place stands out from the other movies from the same genre.  I felt fear, sadness, surprise, and there were also some bittersweet moments between family in this movie.  I recommend this film to anyone who’s looking for a good scare, and to be leaving the theater thinking about this movie. I watched this movie over 2 days ago, and I’m still thinking all about A Quiet Place.