SquidFlicks

Tag: thriller

  • A Quiet Place: Part 2

    After the COVID pandemic shuttered theaters and delayed theatrical releases throughout 2020, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2018’s surprise horror/thriller smash hit from John Krasinski landed in May 2021. I marked the celebration of a year of quarantine and boredom by enjoying QP2 in the glorious setting of a theater, the first film I have watched in person since the pandemic. That weird dynamic of a mostly empty theater even after mass vaccinations and the lowering of restrictions only added to the spookiness of the apocalypse in the Quietverse.

    Quiet Place 1 did not give us any prologue – we are dropped right into day 472 of some kind of vague global calamity, which is revealed through the story to be some sort of invasion by a blind, highly aggressive and predatorial alien species that hunts by sound and has wiped out a lot of the population (as people are quiet noisy in a modern life). QP2 starts with Day 1, and actually shows the initial destruction of the population from the beasts, which we all know to be sound-based predators, but Day 1 folks find that out the hard way (or not at all). After that intro, we are dropped back to moments immediately after the end of the first film. The cut is seamless, and no doubt was filmed at the same time for continuity. It is an awesome cinematic move and immediately transports you back into the gravity of the situation as you recall what just happened (in 2017) and wonder what will happen next.

    QE2 answers that “What will happen next?” question – the family, now one member less strong but now understanding a rudimentary way to defeat the monsters, decides to leave the homestead and search out another group of survivors. What follows is the exploration of a world that is physically larger but still a still feels as claustrophobic and empty as the farm in part 1, rife with new elements like a safe refuge and raider gangs. It is a logical step in the world building of the Quietverse, and there aren’t many missteps.

    One qualm you could have would be in the pacing at times – the movie seems to move in uneven intervals but I feel as though that may keep you from expecting the next jump around the corner. Additionally, the monsters didn’t really add any new moves to their repertoire, which means that the methods to deal with them are remarkably simple to a certain degree, taking some of the fear out of facing them. There is an added wrinkle to the water element that was introduced in the first film, but I won’t spoil that detail. Overall though, the lack of change in predation by the stalkers contrasts with the doom and dread you feel in part 1 when they are seemingly invulnerable. We have become ‘used’ to the threat of them, as have the other survivors, and complacency can kill in these situations. To the movie’s credit, some complacent survivors do not make it.

    Overall, QP2 is an excellent continuation of the story, and has a satisfactory closing while still potentially allowing for a part 3. I know John Krasinski was hesitant to write part 2, but I feel like as long as he maintains the level of control he has on his IP, this series can continue to make a big impact. Here’s to hoping if there’s a part 3, he’s going to remain at the helm and not farm it out.

  • A Quiet Place

    John Krasinski (venerable character Jim Halpert from The Office) makes his screenwriting and directorial debut with a sound-based thriller. The year is 2020, and for the past 472 days, the planet has been terrorized by fearsome monsters that hunt completely by sound. The survival of one family, the Abbotts, is linked completely to their ability to adapt to this terrible new reality – staying as quiet as possible, using sign language and non-verbal cues to communicate, and creating silent walking paths through the use of sand and paint (to avoid creaky spots in wooden floors). The clever ‘solutions’ to a normally noisy human world are inventive and make you realize how much the family has changed to survive – they are no strangers to the brutal nature of this harsh new world, having already lost a young child to the ravenous predators that stalk them.

    The story is told over three days, all happening after the initial appearance of the ‘attackers’, whose origins are never expanded upon. The film opens on Day 72, highlighting the Abbott family’s search for medicine and supplies in an abandoned pharmacy. All appears to be going smoothly – the scene impresses the viewer that something is not quite right with the world, and the Abbotts take all precautions to avoid making noise. This strategy falters when the youngest Abbott son finds a toy space ship and proceeds to play with it, sound blaring – thus introducing us to the monster they were all trying so hard to avoid. The final two acts of the film occur over two subsequent days, 472 and 473. It has obviously been a painful year since the attack on Day 72, but life finds a way to soldier on. Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is pregnant and expecting soon, while Lee (John Krasinski) spends his time researching how to fight the monsters and reach out to other survivors. He also tries to impress the urgency of survival on the two older children – oldest daughter Ragen and younger son Marcus – but tends to favor Marcus, which strains Ragen’s relationship with her father. When the time comes for Evelyn to deliver her new child, no one is around to assist, and the noise she accidentally makes attracts the wrong kind of attention. The rest of the day is spent trying to survive and protect all that the Abbott family has left – each other.

    Sound (or more aptly, the lack of) plays a huge role in the film. The oldest daughter is deaf, and has a non-functioning cochlear implant, something that her father has been laboriously trying to repair with no success. There is a strong feeling of survivor’s guilt that is shared by all living members of the Abbott family, and since there is never really a ‘safe’ time to talk about it, they all assume each other is bearing the burden alone, leading to a strained dynamic. It is a silent, painful agony – a problem you know can be solved if you could just have a good cry, a deep conversation – but the danger of making any sound and the consequences for doing so are too great. The minimal score by Marco Beltrami (Hellboy, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark) and sound design paint a nerve wracking and unsettling world.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I’m not sure how ‘rewatchable’ it is, but the first run through is absolutely terrifying. One of the strongest points of this film was the subtlety and nuance needed to communicate in a silent world. The decision by Krasinski to cast a deaf actress in Millicent Simmonds as daughter Regan made her role and the interactions in sign language between the family seem genuine, which was critical to make the viewer feel connected and invested in seeing the Abbotts survive. The monsters – creepy, scary, and you don’t get a good look until they are far to close for comfort. The set design was creative, the world that the Abbott family surviving in is interesting but sparse on details or explanation. The only background about the monsters that you get is from newspapers and magazine articles that Lee has tacked on a corkboard in his basement command center, along with security cameras and a shortwave radio setup from which he has been searching for survivors across the world to no avail. The plot suffers from a some of weak spots, but this isn’t a film focused on the details – it is the story of a family trying to survive against all odds, and finding strength from what many would consider a weakness. Regan Abbott, the deaf girl in a world where unintentional sound can get you killed, becomes the humanity’s greatest hope. If that isn’t a moment of triumph, I’m not sure what is.

    This was a great work from Krasinski and I look forward to his next project – and I will be ever more vigilant about keeping the nails on my stairs flush and free from the foot stabbing anarchy they caused in this film. The whispers are indicating there could be more films set in this quiet universe, possibly including a prequel that could shed more on the attackers. Count me in!

    4/5 Gold Squid Rating

    Trailer:

  • The Babadook

    the-babadook

    When you experience loss, it is important to let yourself experience grief. It is a natural emotion and for many, it is just a part of life. If grief is left to its own desires, however, it can tear a person apart. The Babadook is a psychological horror film that tackles this concept head on, to great effect.

    The movie focuses on a widow, Amelia, and her young son, Samuel. The movie opens to a slow motion nightmare of Amelia’s, reliving the car wreck that claimed the life of her husband when she was in labor with Sam. The viewer is quickly acquainted with what has become of Amelia’s life as a single mother with a whacked-out son – a stressful slog with no real help or end in sight. Sam’s behavior is incorrigible, taking apart items in the house to construct elaborate weapons to vanquish the various monsters he claims to encounter.

    Amelia is clearly miserable and has not moved on from the loss of her husband, keeping his belongings locked up in the basement and reacting violently to anyone who mentions him. She suffers from tremendous depression and sleep deprivation – I’d wager to call it melancholy. Sam’s behavior has driven her to wit’s end, and it shows. The final straw comes when Sam brings his weapons to school and is consequently expelled. Amelia is stuck with Sam at home and it’s not helping either one cope with the obvious emotional issues they possess.

    Amelia lets Sam pick a book for his bedtime story – problem is, it’s not one that Amelia remembers putting on the shelf, much less buying. With the title ‘Mister Babadook’, you immediately know this is the beginning of the end. What follows after opening that book is the culmination of a possession – or psychosis. It appears as the metaphorical opening of a door that can’t shut because of a lack of proper emotional/spiritual latches.

    That’s the beauty of this movie – it works on multiple levels. At face value, the Babadook is an evil demon that feeds on children and wants nothing more than to inflict misery on all who let him in to their homes. If you dig a little deeper, you can see the symbolism and manifestation of Amelia’s grief, causing severe psychosis and sleep deprivation. This one-two punch leads to Amelia’s wholesale abuse and neglect of young Sam, who acts out because he is powerless to handle the situation he’s stuck in.

    Amelia has internalized the abuse of her son and conveniently packages it as the fault of a boogeyman – The Babadook. Subtle hints are scattered throughout the film, but the one that led me to the realization that things weren’t as they seem came when Amelia admitted to writing children’s books in the past. She created ‘Mister Babadook’ during one of her manic episodes, and doesn’t realize it when she normalizes. The ending is about as ambiguous as you can get, (I think she’s dreaming and actually ended up doing something horrible to Sam) and the entire ride is well worth it.

    The Babadook was one of the best horror/thriller films I’ve seen. I really appreciated the lo-fi, practical effect approach (being more reliant on lighting and obscured shots to build tension and fear without resorting to incessant jump scares. Excellent execution throughout – the movie seems concise and every scene plays a role in building the larger story, and really build that age-old lesson that our own monsters are far worse than anything we can conjure up. Additionally, the book and illustrations were very well done, and would make an awesome reproduction prop. They really should produce and sell that to kids. That’s just some good, clean fun for all ages. =D

    It’s a must watch!

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    Let it in! Let it in! Let it in!

    Trailer

     

  • Atomic Blonde

    Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is an MI6 agent tasked with recovering top secret KGB intel in East Berlin before the wall falls in the waning days of the Cold War. Can she navigate the coldest city before the heat gets turned up?

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  • First Look – Alien: Covenant

    I’m super excited! We have a lot to look forward to from Ridley Scott in 2017 – A sequel to Blade Runner, and the latest entry in the Alien saga, Alien Covenant. I hope you’ve prepared yourselves for the latest Weyland-Yutani Corporation disaster!

  • Get Out

    From what has become one of my favorite thriller/horror production companies now, Blumhouse and comic-turned-director Jordan Peele (of Mad TV and Key & Peele fame) comes Get Out – and it’s gaining a lot of attention because of how damn creepy it is. In my book, it’s an instant classic.

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