Warning: Light spoilers ahead
To call âThe Silenceâ a rip-off of âA Quiet Placeâ is unfair. However, it would be completely accurate to call âThe Silenceâ a failed and lackluster attempt from Netflix to live up to âA Quiet Place.â
âThe Silenceâ is based on the 2015 novel by Tim Lebbon, meaning the story actually predates the 2018 sleeper hit âThe Quiet Place.â The Netflix film centers on deaf teen Ally (Kiernan Shipka), who lost her hearing in a car accident three years prior. Thanks to a cave research team accidentally unleashing a horde of pterodactyl-like creatures, Ally and her brother, grandmother and parents (a shamefully wasted Stanley Tucci and Miranda Otto) must flee. The creatures hunt by sound, so the family races to leave the city to escape to the quiet of the woods.
The plot will sound strikingly familiar to audiences who had the pleasure of seeing âA Quiet Place.â But âThe Silenceâ lacks all the elements that made its predecessor terrifying, heartfelt, and engaging. âThe Silenceâ boasts what should be a killer cast, yet each member of the cast phones it in. Take Shipka and Otto â a devilish duo that delights as aunt and niece in the Netflix original series âThe Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.â Yet they canât muster up that same chemistry here as mother and daughter. Even Oscar nominee Tucci falls flat in this film, as he barely shows an ounce of emotion as his best friend sacrifices himself for himself and his family.
âThe Silenceâ also canât quite figure out what type of horror movie it wants to be. Clearly, we start off in the monster movie genre, wasting no time to bring on the shrieking âvesps.â In its final act, a dangerous cult is introduced, pushing the vesps to the background of the story. At the same time, audiences are left to ponder whether or not director John R. Leonetti intended to turn this film into a family-driven drama/horror, in the likes of what modern horror directors John Krasinski and Jordan Peele have successfully pulled off.
If Leonetti had set his sights on one of these sub-genres of horror, instead of trying to encapsulate the entire horror genre in a 90 minute movie, maybe âThe Silenceâ would have stood a chance. While it is unfair to compare this film to âA Quiet Place,â it is inevitable. And for audiences looking for a silent scare, they would be wise to skip âThe Silenceâ and choose âA Quiet Placeâ instead.
-by Brynne Ramella
