On April 6th, 2018, John Krasinski’s directorial debut, ‘A Quiet Place,’ was released, and it was unlike any horror film ever made. While in the theater, one could feel the tension as others watching also tried to remain as silent as possible. It had viewers with their hands gripping the armrests, keeping the audience in suspense about the characters’ unforeseen fates.

“During the movie, I was literally afraid to say a word,” said James Dale ’18.

Set in 2020, the United States has been taken over by creatures that are blind but highly sensitive to sound, and the Abbott family live its life in complete silence. The film is centered around the few months in which the mother, Evelyn, played by Emily Blunt, is pregnant with her fourth child.

Besides the scary aspects of the movie, there is a deeper meaning to it. Krasinski’s character, Lee, has a daughter, Reagan, who is deaf. Not only is the character deaf, but the actress cast to play her, Millicent Simmonds, is as well.

According to ‘Rotten Tomatoes,’  ‘A Quiet Place’ earned a 95%, called by critics, “a ruthlessly intelligent creature feature that’s as original as it is scary.” The film covered uncharted territory; as a fan of horror movies myself, I cannot say I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. The movie played on human nature and survival skills, outside of the context of your typical zombie movie. Throughout the film, the audience is shown how the Abbott family has adapted to their life of silence, from learning American Sign Language (ASL) to creating soundproof game pieces, such as pieces of fabric, for the children’s board games.

Besides the scary aspects of the movie, there is a deeper meaning to it. Krasinski’s character, Lee, has a daughter, Reagan, who is deaf. Not only is the character deaf, but the actress cast to play her, Millicent Simmonds, is as well.

“By casting Simmonds, the directors point out that it is important to stay true to your story and that there is a future in integrating those with disabilities into films,” said Max Secular ’18.

Thanks to Reagan, the family already knew ASL when these creatures took over  so they could communicate in silence. For the first time in a long time in the horror film industry, a character with such a disability was the strength in a team, not the weakness.

“We had a deaf ASL advisor on set and an ASL interpreter on set to help with communication… We would come together and then we would explore the signing — what it would look like and what would be a natural way to respond. So I helped out a little bit. It was great,” said Simmonds in an interview with online magazine ‘Hello Giggles.’

Overall, ‘A Quiet Place’ is a triple threat. Not only is it scary, but it is original and it stays true to the strengths and weaknesses of human nature.