Shh! Don’t. Make. A. Sound. Every single thing makes some amount of noise. It seems impossible to live in almost complete silence. However, the characters in A Quiet Place are forced to to love silently in fear of the creatures that will kill them if they make a noise.  

This family of four, soon to be five, lives in a farmhouse padded with blankets and soft items to block as much sound as possible. They must complete everyday tasks with extreme caution. They walk on sand so to avoid making noise, making sure they step on the marked floorboards which don’t creak, and eating dinner in soft lettuce wraps rather than a normal crunchy shell.

Director and male lead John Krasinski told multiple sources that once he started preparing and making the movie, he found out its message was much more than one of a stereotypical horror film. The underlying goal of the movie was to portray how far people would go for their family. The various emotions, other than sheer terror, that the storyline provokes sets A Quiet Place apart from other horror films. Because of the family’s incredibly close bond, viewers not only feel the pain of one character when facing these monstrous creatures, but they are pulled into the heart-wrenching agony the family members feel for each other.

The character Regan Abbot is deaf in the film, and what better way to showcase the true experience of the hard of hearing than to cast a deaf actress, Millicent Simmonds. The producers of the movie completely cut sound when showing things through her perspective. Having a deaf character in the movie emphasizes the fear of not being able to communicate easily with your loved ones, especially in crisis situations.

Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of this film is the performance of each actor. Since they are not able to speak and can only communicate through sign language, these actors must display every emotion, thought, and fear through facial expressions and body language alone. Their spectacular and gut-wrenching performances transport viewers into the old, creaky farmhouse, trapped by the fear of the blind creatures who hunt sound. Actor Noah Jupe, who plays Marcus Abbot, puts on a riveting performance, especially in the life and death scenes. The audience is not only able to see and feel his terror, they are able to understand that his fear extends much past his own life and onto the lives of his family. Actress and mother of two, Emily Blunt (Evelyn Abbot) carries her motherly instincts onto the screen when she makes the family’s house feel more like a home by setting up comfy blankets on hay barrels, gardens, and modifying board games so they can be played silently. She does everything she possibly can in order to normalize the completely abnormal situation of living life in fear of the consequences of sound.

If you are looking for a film that will make you smile but also leave you on the edge of your seat (or curled up in a ball), racked with terror and sorrow, then A Quiet Place is the movie for you. You will find yourself walking out of the theater awestruck and cognizant of every sound, from the crunching of the popcorn bags to the voices that fill the room around you. A movie that truly affects your everyday life must be acknowledged for its impact on its audience. A Quiet Place is not one you want to miss. Grab a friend, a huge sweatshirt to shrink into, and head to the theater to view this cinematic experience.