Noise has become so boring in movies today. The thundering “WAAAAAAAMMMPP” of a background chorus, forced and repeated “I love you’s” and “Get downs.” We’ve become so attached to the same old dialogue that we’ve gained opposition to anything different. I saw A Quiet Place’s trailer back in 2017 and was drawn in by the tagline: “If they hear you, they hunt you.” The trailer didn’t reveal anything for once either, other than that no one could talk, and something was hunting them. I went to see it as soon as it came out, and I was not disappointed.

SPOILER ALERT: This will contain some spoilers to people wanting to go in blind, which I recommend, but if you’re OK with some plot points let’s find out what is leaving audiences speechless.

“A Quiet Place” takes place in the near future (or past) of 2017, in which some sort of hostile force has arrived on earth and wiped out most of civilization. The only thing we really know about them is that they hunt by noise, and are invulnerable to bullets, as stated by some newspapers hanging up. Most of the movie has very little dialogue because of this, with most interaction taking place in sign language. In fact, one of the most emotional scenes takes place in sign language with the actors using their their body language to convey emotion. Without any dialogue, and subtle music and sounds, it makes every noise feel powerful and purposeful, and works in the movies favor more than a regular conversation would have.

I was honestly surprised by how much character was evident in the family in the movie, which I did not expect. The father being the inventor and hunter who is stern, but loves his kids, the mother being scared for her unborn child, but becoming a protective mother bear, the fearful and anxious son, and the guilty deaf daughter. The characters felt like they had some real history and meshed very well, although I have a suspicion the child actors having very little spoken dialogue helped. I honestly have no qualms with this movie other then the “meh” monster design, but thats been an issue for all movies lately. I rate this movie a 9.5/10 and recommend you see it if you get the chance.

-Ethan Clark

(Also still not a Curse of Osiris review lol.)