''A Quiet Place'' is a 2018 American
post-apocalyptic horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...
and written by
Bryan Woods
Bryan Woods (born September 14, 1984) is an American writer, director, and producer. He was born in Davenport, Iowa and raised in Bettendorf. Woods co-writes and co-directs with filmmaking partner Scott Beck. Together they co-wrote ''A Quiet Pla ...
,
Scott Beck
Scott Beck (born October 22, 1984) is an American writer, director, and producer. He was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. Beck co-writes and co-directs with filmmaking partner Bryan Woods. Together they co-wrote ''A Qui ...
and Krasinski, from a story conceived by Woods and Beck. The plot revolves around a father (Krasinski) and a mother (
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. ...
) who struggle to survive and rear their children (
Millicent Simmonds
Millicent Simmonds (born March 6, 2003) is a deaf American actress who starred in the 2018 horror film ''A Quiet Place'' and its 2020 sequel ''A Quiet Place Part II''. Her breakout role was in the 2017 drama film '' Wonderstruck''. For ''Wonders ...
and
Noah Jupe) in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind monsters with an acute sense of hearing.
Beck and Woods began developing the story while in college. In July 2016, Krasinski read their
spec script and was hired to direct and rewrite the script in March the following year. Krasinski and Blunt were cast in the lead roles in May 2017. Filming took place in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
from May to November 2017.
''A Quiet Place'' premiered at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
on March 9, 2018, and was released in the United States on April 6, 2018, by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. It grossed more than $350 million worldwide and received critical acclaim. The film was described as a "smart, wickedly frightening good time" by
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, and chosen by both the
National Board of Review and
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
as one of the top ten films of 2018. The film was nominated for several awards, including a
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score; an
Academy Award for Best Sound Editing
The Academy Award for Best Sound Editing was an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound design or sound editing. Sound editing is the creation of sound effects (such as foley). The award was usually ...
; a
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay; and a
for Blunt, which she won.
A sequel, ''
A Quiet Place Part II'', was released on May 28, 2021, with Krasinski returning to the director's chair and the main cast also returning with the addition of
Cillian Murphy.
Plot
Sightless aliens with sharp hearing have taken over the planet and killed most of the human population. The Abbott family — mother Evelyn, father Lee, deaf daughter Regan, and sons Marcus and Beau — live on their isolated farm in the middle of a forest in upstate New York, and have survived by taking up special precautions in order to make as little noise as possible, such as laying sand paths to avoid stepping on crunching leaves, and using
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
when communicating.
When the family goes into the nearby town for supplies, Beau finds a toy space shuttle, which Lee makes him leave alone because it would make too much noise. As they are getting ready to leave, Regan secretly gives him back the toy, but without its batteries. When they leave, Beau secretly takes back the batteries. While walking back home, Beau turns on the toy space shuttle, which starts making noise. The sound alerts a nearby creature which immediately jumps out of the forest and kills him.
Almost a year after Beau's death, the family has seemingly gone back to normal, with Evelyn several months pregnant. Marcus reluctantly goes fishing with Lee while Regan, upset that she cannot go, visits Beau's grave. While everybody is gone, Evelyn goes into
labor; while going downstairs, she steps on a nail and drops a photo frame, which alerts nearby creatures. She flips a switch, turning the surrounding lights around the house red. She tries to go upstairs but finds out that one of the creatures has entered the house. Soon after, it enters the basement; Evelyn sets an egg timer, distracting the creature and giving herself time to run upstairs. She begins giving birth in the bathtub upstairs as the creature slowly makes its way towards her. Lee and Marcus, who are back from fishing, notice the red lights and set off fireworks to create a diversion.
Regan, seeing the fireworks, runs back to the house. Lee then enters the house and brings the baby and Evelyn into the basement. The baby cries, alerting a creature into the basement. This creature fails to find the source, but breaks some water pipes. Marcus and Regan go to the top of a silo and light a fire. Meanwhile, Evelyn wakes up in the flooded basement with the beast still inside; she hides behind a waterfront as this creature moves towards her.
After getting into an argument, Marcus falls through the silo's roof, and Regan jumps in after him. The creature in the basement runs towards the silo and attacks Regan and Marcus. Regan squeezes her
cochlear implant, making a high pitched noise. The creature, in pain, runs off, breaking a hole in the silo. Lee finds Regan and Marcus, and tells them to get in his truck and drive back to the house. A creature then appears, attacks Lee, and wounds him; Marcus screams inside the truck, turning the creature's attention to them. Lee, realizing that his children are about to die unless he intervenes, signs to Regan that he has always loved her, before screaming loudly. The creature then kills Lee, giving Regan and Marcus time to drive back to the house.
Back at the house, the children are greeted by Evelyn and they embrace. After hearing a nearby creature shriek, they retreat to the basement, where Regan sees that her dad was studying cochlear implants to help her hear. A creature comes into the basement; Regan takes off her cochlear implant and slams it on a guitar amp; the resulting noise makes the creature shriek in pain and expose its soft inner mouth, allowing Evelyn to shoot and kill it. With Marcus and the baby hiding in the corner of the basement, Regan and Evelyn look on the screens connected to the security cameras and see two other creatures running towards the house. Regan turns up the wattage and lifts the microphone. Evelyn looks at Regan, smiles, and cocks her shotgun.
Cast
![Emily Blunt and John Krasinski](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Emily_Blunt_and_John_Krasinski.jpg)
*
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. ...
as Evelyn Abbott, wife of Lee, and the mother to their four children, Regan, Marcus, Beau, and baby Abbott. Krasinski said her character wanted to ensure that their children "be fully-formed, fully-thinking people."
*
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...
as Lee Abbott, an engineer who is Evelyn's husband and the father of Regan, Marcus, Beau, and newborn baby Abbott. Krasinski described his character as a
survivalist focused on getting his family through each day.
** Krasinski also provided the motion-capture for the extraterrestrial creatures.
*
Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott, the second child and eldest son of Lee and Evelyn, and Regan's and Beau's brother. Krasinski noticed Jupe in the 2016 miniseries ''
The Night Manager
''The Night Manager'' is an espionage novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1993. It is his first post- Cold War novel, detailing an undercover operation to bring down a major international arms dealer.
Plot summary
Jonathan Pin ...
'' and watched an early screening of the 2017 film ''
Suburbicon'' to evaluate Jupe's performance.
*
Millicent Simmonds
Millicent Simmonds (born March 6, 2003) is a deaf American actress who starred in the 2018 horror film ''A Quiet Place'' and its 2020 sequel ''A Quiet Place Part II''. Her breakout role was in the 2017 drama film '' Wonderstruck''. For ''Wonders ...
as Regan Abbott, Lee and Evelyn's teenage deaf daughter, and Marcus' and Beau's older sister. Krasinski said he sought a deaf actress "...for many reasons; I didn't want a non-deaf actress pretending to be deaf ... a deaf actress would help my knowledge and my understanding of the situations tenfold. I wanted someone who lives it and who could teach me about it on set."
* Cade Woodward as Beau Abbott, Lee and Evelyn's four-year-old son.
*
Leon Russom as a man in the woods.
Production
Development and writing
''A Quiet Place'' is a production of
Platinum Dunes
Platinum Dunes is an American production company founded in November 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form. The company produces horror films, such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', ''The Purge'', ''Friday the 13th (20 ...
produced on a budget of $17 million.
Krasinski wrote the screenplay with
Scott Beck
Scott Beck (born October 22, 1984) is an American writer, director, and producer. He was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. Beck co-writes and co-directs with filmmaking partner Bryan Woods. Together they co-wrote ''A Qui ...
and
Bryan Woods
Bryan Woods (born September 14, 1984) is an American writer, director, and producer. He was born in Davenport, Iowa and raised in Bettendorf. Woods co-writes and co-directs with filmmaking partner Scott Beck. Together they co-wrote ''A Quiet Pla ...
. Beck and Woods grew up together in
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
and had watched numerous silent films in college, and they began working on the story that led to the film. They used their experience growing up close to farmland as the setting, including a grain silo as a place considered dangerous in their upbringing.
Beck and Woods began writing ''A Quiet Place'' in January 2016, and Krasinski read their initial script the following July.
The concept of parents protecting their children appealed to Krasinski, especially as his second child with actress
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. ...
had just been born,
and Blunt encouraged him to direct the film.
By March 2017, Paramount had bought Beck and Woods's script, and they hired Krasinski to rewrite the script and direct the film, which was his third directorial credit and his first for a major studio.
Blunt did not want to be cast in the film, but she read the script on a plane flight and immediately told her husband, "I need to do it."
He agreed, and they were both cast in the starring roles.
After considering developing the film as a potential fourth installment in the
''Cloverfield'' franchise, Paramount and Krasinski decided that it would work better as a standalone film capable of forming an independent franchise.
Filming
![Wallkill River Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Wallkill_River_Bridge.jpg)
Production took place from May to November 2017 in
Dutchess
Dutchess County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeeps ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
counties in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
. Filmmakers spent their budget locally, including a purchase of of corn, which they hired local farmers to grow. Some filming took place on a soundstage in the town of
Pawling in Dutchess County, as well as on-location in the county's city of
Beacon. Filming also took place on the
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in
New Paltz of Ulster County, using the Springtown Truss Bridge. Outside Dutchess and Ulster counties, filming took place on Main Street in
Little Falls in
Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...
.
Sound and music
During filming, the crew avoided making noise so
diegetic synchronized sounds (e.g., the sound of rolling dice on a game board) could be recorded; the sounds were amplified in post-production. A traditional musical score was also added, which Krasinski justified in wanting audiences to remain familiar with watching a mainstream film, and not feel like part of a "silence experiment."
Supervising sound editors
Erik Aadahl
Erik Aadahl (born September 16, 1976) is an American sound editor. He is best known for providing Godzilla's roar in the 2014 film of the same name. He also voiced Bumblebee in '' Transformers: The Last Knight''.
Career
He graduated from the U ...
and
Ethan Van der Ryn
Ethan Van der Ryn (born October 21, 1962) is an American sound editor.
He won 2 Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and ''King Kong''. He earned further Academy Awards nominations for ''Transfo ...
worked on ''A Quiet Place''. For scenes from the perspective of the deaf daughter, sound was removed to put greater focus on the visual. They also advised on organizing shots to reflect the creatures' perspective, like showing them noticing a sound, then showing what was causing the sound. Composer
Marco Beltrami
Marco Beltrami (born October 7, 1966) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror (''Scream'', ''Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, A Quiet Place' ...
provided the sound editors music to work with in a way that would not interfere with the sound design throughout the film.
In the film, creatures are blind and communicate through clicking sounds. Aadahl and Van der Ryn said they were inspired by
animal echolocation, such as that employed by bats. The sound of feedback, normally avoided by sound editors, was woven into the story at a loudness level that would not bother audiences too much.
Use of sign language
The characters communicate in
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
(ASL) to avoid making sound, so the filmmakers hired deaf mentor Douglas Ridloff to teach ASL to the actors and to be available to make corrections. They also hired an ASL interpreter for deaf actress Simmonds, so that spoken and signed language could be interpreted back and forth on set. Simmonds grew up with ASL, and she helped teach her fellow actors to sign. She said, "In the movie, we've been signing together for years and years. So it should look fluent." She observed that each character's use of sign language reflected his or her motivations: the father had short and brief signs which showed his survival mentality, while the mother had more expressive signs as part of wanting her children to experience more than survival. Krasinski said that Simmonds's character used "signing that's very defiant, it's very teenage defiant."
Simmonds said that she suggested for the daughter to rebel rather than cower during a sign-language fight with her father. She also said that the script originally had the father sign "I love you" to his daughter at the end of the film, but she suggested for him to follow with "I've always loved you" to make up for their arguing earlier in the film.
Producers
Andrew Form
Andrew Form (born 1969) is an American film producer, best known for producing the films '' Friday the 13th'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', and ''The Purge''. He is the co-founder of company Platinum Dunes along with Michael Bay and Brad F ...
and
Bradley Fuller
Bradley Fuller (born 1965) is an American film and television producer. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, partnering with both Michael Bay and Andrew Form.
Early life and education
Bradley Fuller was born in 1965 into a family of theatre owners.Motion ...
said that they initially planned not to provide on-screen subtitles for sign-language dialogue while providing only "context clues," but they realized that subtitles were necessary for the scene in which the deaf daughter and her hearing father argue about the modified hearing aid. They subsequently added subtitles for all sign-language dialogue in the film.
Creature design
Production designer
Jeffrey Beecroft
Jeffrey Beecroft (born April 1, 1956) is an American production designer. He was nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award in the category Academy Award for Best Production Design, Best Art Direction for the film ''Dances with Wolves''.
Se ...
headed the creature design, and
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
created the creatures, led by visual effects supervisor
Scott Farrar
Scott Farrar is an American visual effects supervisor. He is also known for being the lead visual effects supervisor of the '' Transformers film series'' and the film '' A Quiet Place 2''. He has been nominated for an Academy Award six times, win ...
. The director wanted the creatures to look like they had evolved to no longer need eyes, and to be "somewhat humanoid" in nature. Farrar said the initial creature design showed them with rhinoceros-like horns out of their faces, later redesigned. ''
Vanity Fair'' reported, "The team immediately set about pulling references; prehistoric fish, black snakes, and bats, particularly their movement patterns. Inspiration was also drawn from
bog people
A bog body is a human cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog. Such bodies, sometimes known as bog people, are both geographically and chronologically widespread, having been dated to between and the Second World War. Fischer 199 ...
: cadavers that have been mummified in peat, turning the skin black and giving it a sagging, leathery look." Krasinski provided motion-capture for the creatures.
Marketing
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
released the first trailer for ''A Quiet Place'' in November 2017.
It aired a 30-second commercial for the film during the US football championship
Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018. Of the seven trailers that aired during the playoff, ''A Quiet Place'' and ''
Red Sparrow
''Red Sparrow'' is a 2018 American spy thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, ...
'' were shown during the pregame and had the lowest views and social conversations. ''A Quiet Place'' had 149,000 views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, 275,000 views on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, and 2,900 social conversations. On February 12, 2018, Krasinski appeared on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' to present the full trailer for ''A Quiet Place''. The studio spent an estimated $86 million on prints and advertisements for the film.
[
]
Release
Premiere
''A Quiet Place'' had its world premiere at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
film festival as the opening-night film on March 9, 2018. It was selected from 2,458 submissions, and earned "raves" from critics, according to ''IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
''. Following its premiere, the film experienced social media growth to under views across multiple platforms, outpacing ''Get Out
''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...
'' (2017), which had views.
Box office forecast
''The Tracking Board'' reported on , "The stellar reviews out of SXSW, coupled with the fact that there isn't anything like it in the marketplace, should help it stand out among its bigger-budget competition." ''Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' said on that the film was projected to gross around $20 million in its opening weekend. '' Variety'' reported on that the film "is tracking to open between" and , which reached a basement of low-$20 million by the week of its release.
''BoxOffice
''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP.
History
It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with ...
'' initially estimated on , 2018, that ''A Quiet Place'' would gross in its opening weekend, and that it would gross a total of in the United States. By , it increased its estimate to an opening weekend gross of and a US total gross of . The magazine said the film's trailer was well-received online and that it appeared frequently in previews for '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. ''BoxOffice'' wrote, "The horror genre has also shown a knack for over-performing against expectations at the box office in recent years, setting this release up for potential success." It added that ''A Quiet Place'' would have to compete against another horror film, '' Truth or Dare'', which would be released the following weekend. The magazine's staff drew "very favorable" comparisons between ''A Quiet Place'' and the 2016 films ''10 Cloverfield Lane
''10 Cloverfield Lane'' is a 2016 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Dan Trachtenberg in his directorial debut, produced by J. J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber and written by Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Damien ...
'' and ''Don't Breathe
''Don't Breathe'' is a 2016 American horror-thriller film produced and directed by Fede Álvarez, co-produced by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, and co-written by Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. The film stars Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatt ...
''.
Theatrical run
''A Quiet Place'' was first commercially released in theaters in the first week of April 2018 in multiple territories, including North America. The film grossed $188 million in the United States and Canada, and $152 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $341 million. ''Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' estimates the net profit of the film to be $93 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
Paramount Pictures released the film in in the United States and Canada on , 2018, alongside '' Blockers'', '' Chappaquiddick'', and '' The Miracle Season''. The film made $18.9 million on its first day (including $4.3 million from Thursday night previews at ), increasing weekend projections to $47 million. Unlike most horror films, which are front-loaded on Friday and experience drops the rest of the weekend, ''A Quiet Place'' made $19.1 million on Saturday. It went on to debut to $50.2 million, topping the box office and marking the biggest opening for a Paramount film since '' Star Trek Beyond'' in July 2016.[
*]
The film made $32.9 million in its second weekend, dropping 34% (better than the 50+% that horror films normally see) and finishing second at the box office, behind newcomer ''Rampage
Rampage may refer to:
Places
* Rampage Mountain, a mountain in Montana
People
* Quinton Jackson (born 1978; nicknamed "Rampage"), American mixed martial artist and actor
* Randy Rampage (1960-2018), Canadian musician
* Rampage (rapper) (born 1 ...
'' ($35.7 million). The hold represented the second-best-ever second weekend for a scary movie behind '' It''. The film regained the top spot the following week, grossing $20.9 million (a 36% drop), but dropped back down to second place the following weekend behind newcomer '' Avengers: Infinity War'' with $10.7 million.
Through its first two weeks of international release, the film had made $51.7 million, with its top markets being the United Kingdom ($9.2 million), Mexico ($5.1 million), Australia ($4.6 million), Brazil ($3.9 million), Indonesia ($3.4 million), the Philippines ($2.7 million) and Taiwan ($1.9 million). It also debuted to $2.2 million in Russia, the biggest-ever opening for a Paramount horror film in the country. In its third weekend overseas, it dipped only 37% for a total of $15 million from 57 markets. In its fourth weekend in international markets, it grossed $6.6 million. As of May 20, 2018, the film's largest markets were United Kingdom ($16.3 million), Australia ($9.3 million), Mexico ($7.5 million) and Brazil ($6.9 million). The film was released in China on May 18 and made $17.7 million from 8,731 screens in its opening weekend.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "''A Quiet Place'' artfully plays on elemental fears with a ruthlessly intelligent creature feature that's as original as it is scary – and establishes director John Krasinski as a rising talent." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 55 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 81% overall positive score and a 63% "definite recommend".
Writing for ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', Peter Travers gave the film 3.5 out of 4, praising the movie's exploration of themes about parenthood, and saying "This new horror classic will fry your nerves to a frazzle."
'' Variety''s Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
said, "''A Quiet Place'' is a tautly original genre-bending exercise, technically sleek and accomplished, with some vivid, scary moments, though it's a little too in love with the stoned logic of its own premise." Michael Phillips of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the film 2.5 out of 4 and said, "My favorite moment, an encounter between Regan and one of the monsters in a cornfield, plays with sound and image and tension, creatively. Other bits are more shameless...I don't know if I'd call ''A Quiet Place'' enjoyable; it's more grueling than cathartic."
Author Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
praised the film in a tweet, saying, "A QUIET PLACE is an extraordinary piece of work. Terrific acting, but the main thing is the SILENCE, and how it makes the camera's eye open wide in a way few movies manage." Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
called ''A Quiet Place'' "Krasinski's breakthrough as a triple-threat entertainer, but it's been a long time coming... By no accident, he's tackled the horror genre while relying on the unique strength that can be seen throughout his acting work, and one that has made him relatable as an everyman across TV and film—expressive silence."
Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' says: "In its simplicity and punch, this is a film that feels as if it could have been made decades ago, in the classic age of ''Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...
'' or ''The Omega Man
''The Omega Man'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Man'') is a 1971 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston as a survivor of a pandemic. It was written by John William Corrington and Joyce Corrington, b ...
''. It is a cracking back-to-basics thriller that does not depend too much on what these creatures look like."
Matthew Monagle of ''Film School Rejects
Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006.
The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...
'' said ''A Quiet Place'' seemed to be "the early frontrunner for the sparsely intellectual horror movie of the year", like previous films '' The Babadook'' (2014) and ''The Witch
A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft.
Witch, WITCH, or variations thereof may also refer to:
Animals
* Witch (lefteye flounder) (''Arnoglossus scapha''), a Pacific flatfish
* Witch (righteye flounder) (''Glyptocephalus cynoglossus''), a Euro ...
'' (2015). Monagle said Krasinski, who had directed two previous films, was "making an unusual pivot into a genre typically reserved for newcomers", and considered it to be part of a movement toward horror films layered "in storytelling, ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
character beats not typically found in a horror movie". Tatiana Tenreyro, writing for '' Bustle'', said while ''A Quiet Place'' was not a silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
, "It is the first of its kind within the modern horror genre for how little spoken dialogue it actually has." She said the rare moments of spoken dialogue "give depth to this horror movie, showing how the narrative defies the genre's traditional films even further".
Accolades
Commentary and themes
Parenthood
Krasinski identified the primary theme of the film as a dramatization of "fears associated with modern parenthood". Krasinski, who had recently become a father, said in a conference interview that he "was already in a state of terror about whether or not ewas a good enough father", and added that the meaning of parenthood had been elevated for him by imagining being a father in a nightmare world, struggling to simply keep his children alive. Krasinski has told CBS News that "the scares were secondary to how powerful this could be as an allegory or metaphor for parenthood. For me, this is all about parenthood."
Travers' ''Rolling Stone'' review argued that "the question Krasinski tackles is what defines a family and what's needed to preserve it? 'Who are we', asks Mom, 'if we can't protect our children?' The answers are worked out with satisfying complexity and genuine feeling, proving indeed that home is where family is." ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''s John DeFore described the film as "a terrifying thriller with a surprisingly warm heart" and said, "you might have to go back to Jeff Nichols' 2011 ''Take Shelter
''Take Shelter'' is a 2011 American psychological thriller film, written and directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. The plot follows a young husband and father (Shannon) who is plagued by a series of apoca ...
'' to find a film that has used the fantastic this well to convey the combination of fear and responsibility a good parent feels".
Other themes
Speaking of the political and social commentary the film encouraged, Krasinski said, "That's not what I was going for, but the best compliment you can get on any movie is that it starts a conversation. The fact that people are leaving and talking about anything is really fun—but certainly about deep stuff like that, is awesome." Krasinski, who did not grow up with horror films, said that prior films of the genre such as ''Don't Breathe
''Don't Breathe'' is a 2016 American horror-thriller film produced and directed by Fede Álvarez, co-produced by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, and co-written by Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. The film stars Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatt ...
'' (2016) and ''Get Out
''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...
'' (2017) that had societal commentary were part of his research. In addition to considering his film a metaphor for parenthood, he compared the premise to US politics in 2018, "I think in our political situation, that's what's going on now: You can close your eyes and stick your head in the sand, or you can try to participate in whatever's going on." He cited ''Jaws
Jaws or Jaw may refer to:
Anatomy
* Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth
** Mandible, the lower jaw
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker''
* ...
'' (1975) as an influence, with how the protagonist police officer moved from New York to an island to avoid frightening situations, and was forced to encounter one in his new location with shark attacks.
Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Barron was surprised by what he saw as strikingly religious themes in the film. He likened the family's primitive, agrarian life of silence to monasticism, and commends their self-giving love. Barron suggested pro-life themes, especially in the choices of the parents, as Mrs. Abbott risks everything to give birth to a child, and her husband lays down his own life so that the children can live: what Barron sees as the ultimate expression of parental love. Sonny Bunch of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' also commented and expanded on a pro-life message.
Richard Brody, writing for ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', criticized ''A Quiet Place'' for what he perceived to be the inclusion of conservative and pro-gun themes in the film. He described it as "the antithesis of 'Get Out'" and "both apparently unconscious and conspicuously regressive" and opined that it " ringsto the fore the idealistic elements of gun culture while dramatizing the tragic implications that inevitably shadow that idealism." Krasinski addressed Brody's criticism in a subsequent interview with ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'', stating that he did not write the film with an intentional political message. Krasinski said, "I never saw it that way or ever thought of it until it was presented to me in that way. he filmwasn't about being, you know, silent and political... my whole metaphor was solely about parenthood."
Home media
''A Quiet Place'' was released on Digital HD
A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, or Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) wit ...
on June 26, 2018, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on July 10, 2018. Paramount Pictures released a 4K, Steelbook+Blu-Ray+Digital version of the film on February 25, 2020.
Sequel
A sequel to ''A Quiet Place'', titled ''A Quiet Place Part II'', was written and directed by Krasinski and stars Blunt, Simmonds, Jupe, Cillian Murphy, and Djimon Hounsou. Production took place in Western New York
Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...
from June 2019 to September 2019. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
planned to release ''A Quiet Place Part II'' in theaters on March 20, 2020, however the film was rescheduled to September 4, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. It was delayed to April 2021 from July 2020, delayed again from September 2020 to January 2021, before being moved to May 28, 2021. The film would also be made available on Paramount+ 45 days after its theatrical release.
See also
* List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing
* List of horror films of 2018
This is a list of horror films that were released in 2018.
References
External links
Horror films of 2018on Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horror films of 2018
*
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 20 ...
* Sign-language media
Sign-language media are media based on a media system for sign languages. Interfaces in sign-language media are built on the complex grammar structure of sign languages. Generally media are built for oral languages or written languages, and are o ...
* Disability in horror films
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiet Place, A
2010s monster movies
2018 films
2018 horror films
2010s pregnancy films
Alien invasions in films
American monster movies
American pregnancy films
American science fiction horror films
American Sign Language films
Apocalyptic films
Films about deaf people
Films about families
Films directed by John Krasinski
Films produced by Andrew Form
Films produced by Bradley Fuller
Films produced by Michael Bay
Films scored by Marco Beltrami
Films set in 2020
Films set in 2021
Films set in farms
Films set in the future
Films shot in New York (state)
Films with screenplays by John Krasinski
Films using motion capture
Paramount Pictures films
Platinum Dunes films
American post-apocalyptic films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
Films about disability