‘A Quiet Place’ isn’t just a horror movie, it’s a cinematic experience

With hundreds of movies being released every single year, it’s difficult for filmmakers to make a wholly original film that is entertaining, engrossing and a true cinematic experience.

So when a movie that’s able to do that comes along it’s a real treat — and that’s exactly what we get from “A Quiet Place.”

The film stars John Krasinski, who also directed the movie, alongside his real-life wife Emily Blunt. The film’s premise is simple and intriguing: A family struggles to survive in silence as monsters that hunt by sound lurk all around.

“A Quiet Place” is a pulse-pounding and emotional thrill ride, and it may be the best thing to come out in 2018 thus far. Here are just a few of the reasons “A Quiet Place” is a truly cinematic experience.

It takes hold of you

At the end of the day, “A Quiet Place” is billed as a horror/thriller, but it’s much more than that. Since it is considered a horror movie, it should deliver on scares, and it does.

It’s not the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, but it was scary enough. I jumped on a number of occasions, but more important than that, it grips you by the throat from the first scene and refuses to let go until the end.

These characters live in constant fear with death hanging around every corner and hiding behind every tree and you feel that tension as much as they do.

I literally could not sit still in the theater. I found myself constantly sliding down in my seat and then suddenly I’d be at the edge of it trying to get comfortable. It never worked because the movie grips you.

It’s a new experience

Along with my constant dread and worry “A Quiet Place” also gave me a moviegoing experience I’ve never had before.

About 30 minutes in, I realized I was doing everything in my power to stay quiet. I found myself mimicking the actions of the characters in that I did not want to make a sound.

As I became aware of my own silence I noticed the whole theater had taken on the same attitude. Popcorn munching ceased, soda slurping halted and candy boxes stopped rattling. I was even aware of how loudly I was breathing.

By the time the movie was over, I almost felt a sense of camaraderie with the rest of the audience knowing we had made it through this experience together and that we would never be the same after.

OK, that may be a bit dramatic, but people who had never met couldn’t help but smile at one another and start conversations about what we had not just watched, but experienced.

Even when I got home and I could hear my wife getting ready for bed in the bathroom, all I could think was, “She’s making too much noise.” This is a movie that isn’t leaving you alone once you leave the theater.

It’s so much more than a horror movie

Calling “A Quiet Place” just a horror movie is a mistake. It’s a scary movie, but it’s also a tale of family and love.

The movie captures what it means to be a parent in such a real way that it resonates within you and will stay with you for days, which seems absurd considering it’s placed in a post-apocalyptic world filled with monsters and silence.

In some ways the movie was predictable, but that was OK. It’s predictable because the actions of the parents are exactly what almost every other parent would do to make sure their family was safe and protected.

“A Quiet Place” struck a very emotional chord with me, and I think it will with most people, whether they are parents or not.

Conclusion

Much like any horror movie, you’ll walk out of “A Quiet Place,” thinking, “Why didn’t the characters just do this? Or why not just stop doing that?” But those little questions won’t do much to take away from a movie that is unlike almost anything I’ve seen before.

All in all, there are maybe a dozen spoken lines of dialogue throughout the whole film and that’s a generous estimate. But don’t mistake a lack of spoken words as boring, because this movie is anything but.

Calling it a roller-coaster ride would be a mistake because it’s more of a leap from an airplane with no chute and the ground is nowhere in sight for 90 minutes.

“A Quiet Place” will be rolling around in my head for a long time and I’m excited for others to experience it.