A Netflix original based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Tim Lebbon, The Silence is a 2019 horror movie, directed by John R. Leonetti (arguably best known for 1999’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation). After an accidental unearthing of prehistoric creatures which hunt by sound, the recently-made-deaf Ally (Kiernan Shipka, Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and her family – father Hugh (Stanley Tucci), mother Kelly (Miranda Otto), brother Jude (Kyle Harison Brietkopf) and grandmother Lynn (Kate Trotter) – must try to survive against overwhelming odds.
+ much like A Quiet Place and Don’t Breathe, I do get a kick when the monsters can hear but not see, and too often it seems that simply hiding behind some flimsy paddings are enough to stop most horror movie monsters from locating their prey. It’s not an original concept, but it is one that I enjoy
+ the creatures themselves are kind of endearing, though that is certainly not the intent
– none of the acting is particularly good. Tucci comes the closest, but he looks bored throughout, and I am a big fan of his. Shipka is supposedly deaf (though only recently so) but she spends the bulk of the movie speaking normally and acting as she normally does
– although I do like the concept of sound-based hunting, this is much more of an aggressive horror movie, with none of the nuance that A Quiet Place had in regards to sound in a horror movie situation. There is blood and gore a plenty here, to its own detriment
– once a few things become clear (such as how much sound is too much sound, or what noises in particular the creatures are drawn to/can distinguish between, etc.) it just gets unwatchably silly. I’m all for making up rules in your own fiction, but you have to stick to it
> I really like Miranda Otto. Every time I think of Eowyn in Lord of the Rings I wonder what she’s up to, and of course she shows up sooner rather than later in something else I watch
> I did not care enough for this movie to go back and get a screenshot
Should you see this film: No. Though not quite the rip off of A Quiet Place as many may have you believe, this is simply not a good movie. An interesting premise is hampered by faux drama and average-at-best acting, and even Stanley Tucci cannot drag this up from its hideous lows.
MoshFish Reviews 