The Terrifying Invisible Puppet Master in A Quiet Place

Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) enduring the agony of labor,
unable to stay silent as a creature sneaks around searching for the source of the sound.

In the post-apocalyptic world of A Quiet Place, directed by John Krasinski from hit-show The Office, blind and heartless creatures with supernatural hearing abilities roam the woods to quench their thirst for blood, slaughtering anybody who makes even the slightest of noises. The dark and thrilling horror film follows the Abbott family in an isolated rural setting as they take every necessary precaution and account for every life-depending detail, from strictly using sign language to always walking on a trail of sand. When the youngest of three children gets killed at the beginning of the movie after turning on a beeping toy spaceship, the rest of the family try to deal with the grief and guilt of the tragedy, live as normal and purposeful a life they can, and hope that they will survive through the seemingly unavoidable end of the world.

Movie Link: Free to watch w/ Amazon Prime

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Needless to say, A Quiet Place (2018) is one of the most exhilarating and suspenseful, yet emotional and human, horror movies in the past few years. It’s 95% rotten tomato score and $340 million box office run, with just a $17 million budget, according to IMDbPro, back that up fairly well. With A Quiet Place Part II (2020) just days away from hitting theaters, which critics are saying is even better than the first, it's important for you to get caught up on why the world of A Quiet Place is so special and appealing to its millions of fans, one of which might soon be you. And if the sequel happens to get postponed due to the coronavirus, then I guess you'll have the first movie to keep you company while stuck at home.

Opening scene where the Abbot family walks back to their farm on a path of sand from a supply run, 
unaware that in the back, youngest child Beau is playing with a fateful electronic toy.

Even rated PG-13, everything about the film manages to exceed expectations. It delivers both on the horror front, and perhaps more importantly, the storytelling front, an area where many generic horror franchises like The Conjuring, Annabelle, and The Exorcist always seem to miss the mark. The actors and characters in the movie all felt authentic and provided for the movie’s core theme of family. The set design and lighting allowed for both the desperate and heartfelt side of the tone to remain consistent throughout the whole movie. The cinematography connected viewers to the perspectives of the characters and kept us on our toes at all times. Finally, the screenplay was incredibly smart and well-thought-out, to the point where every action and object on screen was cleverly integrated to make the movie believable, intimate, and engaging. 

Lee Abbott holding an axe sensing a creature lurking nearby. 

Of course, being a fantastic chilling film, A Quiet Place combines many of its incredibly well-crafted components in an effort to do one imperative thing — build tension. While watching the movie on a plane to Hawaii through Prime Video on my tablet, I frequently found myself holding my breath, tensing my legs, and grimacing in fearful anticipation, almost, but not quite, looking away. Obviously, the jump-scares, blood, action, dramatic irony, and slender bug-like monsters played a huge part in disrupting my nervous system. But for me, what was most horrifying and riveting about A Quiet Place was not that which I could see, but rather the invisible element of the film.

Sound.

Although one of the least popular awards at the Oscars, sound editing, especially in A Quiet Place, acts as a character of its own. Not to be mistaken with the score and musical components, sound editing makes up the real noises that we and the characters can simultaneously hear as if we were put into their shoes. Throughout a movie, it can be dynamic, powerful in the right moments, and intensifying during suspenseful scenes. In a way, sound, which editors strive to make creative but realistic at the same time, bridges us to the world of the movie, playing with our senses just as it does to the characters.

Related optional video from Insider: A special look at how the sound effects of A Quiet Place were made.

For films in general, sound is one of the important tools used to bring the screen to life, but for A Quiet Place, sound is more than just that. It serves as a narrative device and haunting creature that frightens us even more than the monsters themselves.

What you'll quickly notice, either from the first scene or the title, is the gaping absence of dialogue that runs through the entire film. Because of this, an eerie and lonely sensation washes over you when watching, reinforcing the idea that this family is on their own in an isolated, declining world. However, the supervising sound editors, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryan, didn't just remove all the noise and call it a day. They created supernatural sound effects of the creatures moving and using their special abilities, as well as ambient sound, or surrounding sounds, like the rustling of leaves, the breeze of the wind, and the chirping of crickets, to add a realistic sense of environment.

Lee Abbott protecting his son after encountering a hopeless old man who screams to commit suicide.

For example, in the scene when Lee and son, Marcus, communicate near a river in broad daylight, the contrast between their silent sign language and the ripples in the river reminds us that the woods, and the creatures inside, are still very much alive. Moreover, when there's a close-up shot of someone walking, you can hear the soft padded touch on the sand with each step. But when the camera cuts wide and far, these noises close to the family members are cut out, to simulate the concept that if we can hear their movements, then so can the creatures.

Since this film heavily plays into an emotional conflict in the daughter, Regan, who feels immense guilt for giving Beau the spaceship, A Quiet Place makes sure to put the deaf character's perspective into focus, again, using sound. When the camera cuts to Regan by herself, all the atmospheric ambient noise is stripped, making it dead silent. Powerful moments of stark contrast like this connect us to Regan's experience and make us feel empathetic towards her inner struggles and conflict with her father. In a few particular moments, this creative technique with Regan adds a level of petrification as we would see the monsters appear through her eyes without ever hearing them coming.

Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds) with a dysfunctioning cochlear implant in the right ear, struggling to overcome the past.

You might not realize this when watching, but A Quiet Place uses a cycle of sound to create dynamics in order to keep us hooked in the story. The volume starts out low, but as tension rises, sound does too, both ascending until the movie reaches the climactic breaking point when the volume and action on-screen explode into chaos. But in a matter of seconds, the film transitions, hushing back down to a familiar quiet place. Sometimes the climb is gradual, and sometimes it's rapid, but repeatedly, the cycle resets and works its way to the point of loud, pandemoniac mayhem, as pictured below in three moments. Like a couple, the sound and action work hand in hand to build tension and create an engaging dynamic range of emotions and thrill.

        

Breaking points of havoc in the movie that create an enthralling dynamic in sound.

To be honest, I've never been a fan of horror movies, that is, until I watched A Quiet Place. There was just something about the film that struck me in an inexplicable way. I couldn't quite grasp whether it was the cool creatures, apocalyptic and survivor-type world, or likable characters. It turns out, everything about the movie was captivating, but what really separated it from other horror and sci-fi movies was its original use of sound in such a powerful and meaningful way, tying all the movie's other elements into a perfectly wrapped package of gripping imagination. The outstanding film truly proved how sound can be the powerful puppet master of emotions, and in horror's case, tension.

Before that heart-stopping plane ride, I hadn't even thought about sound editing in the film industry. I knew that it existed thanks to the Oscars, but looking back at how I treated the sound award presentations as the perfect restroom and snack-grabbing opportunity, I've realized that I'd never really given sound a chance, at least not enough to learn about what role it plays in a movie and why it's so important.

Unpopular Best Sound Editing Award at the Oscars.

In my opinion, the sound design industry deserves a lot more credit and recognition, as demonstrated by A Quiet Place's technical brilliance. I just think if people knew more about certain fields like sound design, then these areas of film and the hardworking people working in them would gain much-needed attention and appreciation.

Following A Quiet Place's tremendous success, leading the way with its unique style, I'm curious to see how the horror genre adapts and learns from this movie's breakthroughs. Hopefully, the genre will branch away from being so rigidly generic and instead, come out with original films with intellectual meaning behind them, perhaps even turning more PG-13 to attract a wider audience so that these fascinating stories can reach more people.

Trailer | Poster courtesy of Paramount Pictures

With John Krasinski's highly anticipated second installment of the franchise, A Quiet Place Part II, on the horizon, and fellow comedian Jordan Peele's Candyman looking fresh and sweet, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if and how the horror genre evolves and strives to take the movie industry by storm.

Trailer (Warning: Rated R) | Poster courtesy of Universal Pictures

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