Warning: Light spoilers ahead
To call “The Silence” a rip-off of “A Quiet Place” is unfair. However, it would be completely accurate to call “The Silence” a failed and lackluster attempt from Netflix to live up to “A Quiet Place.”
“The Silence” is based on the 2015 novel by Tim Lebbon, meaning the story actually predates the 2018 sleeper hit “The Quiet Place.” 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 “A Quiet Place.” But “The Silence” lacks all the elements that made its predecessor terrifying, heartfelt, and engaging. “The Silence” boasts what should be a killer cast, yet each member of the cast phones it in. Take Shipka and Otto – a devilish duo that delights as aunt and niece in the Netflix original series “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.” Yet they can’t 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.
“The Silence” also can’t 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 “vesps.” 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 “The Silence” would have stood a chance. While it is unfair to compare this film to “A Quiet Place,” it is inevitable. And for audiences looking for a silent scare, they would be wise to skip “The Silence” and choose “A Quiet Place” instead.
-by Brynne Ramella
