Sound design can be so crucial in the creation of a horror movie, as every scene – every pulse-pounding moment of dread – can be greatly amplified by shrill music. Or a prolonged moment of silence.
It’s practically the lifeblood of every jump-scare, but with A Quiet Place, writer-director John Krasinski is going one step further. Best known for his long stretch on The Office – along with those rumors of a possible role in Fantastic Four – Krasinski has crafted a fascinating family thriller in which his isolated home is hounded by “an unknown threat.”
Sound familiar? The twist here is that the mysterious monsters of A Quiet Place are only attracted by sound, meaning every peep can be fatal – every breath a brush with death. It’s a deeply unsettling pitch, and real-life husband and wife, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Mary Poppins Returns), have already spooked audiences with their debut trailer (see above).
And now, to fuel the excitement, IGN has premiered a bunch of eerie photos that prove, yes, sometimes silence is golden.
Krasinski, meanwhile, told IGN that silence is as much a character in the film as his own haunted father figure, who fights to protect his family by any means necessary.
Silence is absolutely a character in the movie, along with each family member. It is sort of the magic trick of the movie. Could we make a silent movie? One of the fears was ‘Can we pull this off?’ and I’m happy to say that we did. Silence was going to take on this very palpable discomfort in and of itself. The idea of silence can be jarring in many ways, and so off-putting, that it gives the movie a tone that other movies don’t have.
Paramount will cordially invite horror fans to A Quiet Place when John Krasinski’s directorial effort opens on April 6th. Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Emily Blunt complete the tight-knit family unit.
