I’ve accepted the idea that Hollywood movies are currently embracing the ‘silence or you die’ theme. First came A Quiet Place (2017), then Bird Box (2018), and now director John R. Leonetti’s The Silence.

The premise of The Silence is similar to that of the above mentioned movies. All three feature a family who have to stay silent in order to survive the deadly creatures terrorising Earth.

Starring Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka and John Corbett, I settled into the pace and style of The Silence at the start quite nicely. Especially the introduction of the family at the centre of the story. I enjoyed this phase so much that I did then miss it once the scary creatures came to obliterate the peace.

I like that there’s a fair amount of tension-filled ‘scary’ moments in The Silence. Not the kind of scary that would induce nightmares but rather the more ‘suspenseful-scary’ variety. In fact, for me the most horrifying thing in The Silence isn’t actually the deadly, primeval species with acute hearing – but rather the intentions of a specific group within the story. I also liked the Tucci / Corbett dynamic and the design of the primeval species.

Overall I think The Silence is OK. The parts I wasn’t overly enthused by include the final cut of the car crash because it looked to me as though a clip of the crash was missing. There’s also a moment when the family seemed to have forgotten about a vulnerable family member during a particularly dangerous time that annoyed me. I know that almost anything can happen during desperate times, however… maybe I just don’t know, but I found it hard to believe that everyone forgot to do a ‘head count’ of their loved ones during such a desperate moment. The last part that left me wanting is the ending. I understood it but it felt flat and disappointing.

On summary, none of the ‘silence or you die’ movies are perfect but A Quiet Place does sit at the top in my mind. It did come first but I also really connected with the characters, appreciated the pace, the heart and I was more impressed by the cleverness / ingenuity when it came to how to survive a silent world. In second place is Bird Box, mainly because of the films last thirty minutes. 

Watch The Silence if you’re so curious. 

Happy Film Loving 

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