Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/969423
maltatoday SUNDAY 15 APRIL 2018 38 This Week HORROR is an enduring genre be- cause it picks up on universal fears and amplifies them in a way which – when it's done right – allows us to confront our inner demons and nagging fears at the cinema. That, or it gives vent to some of our barely- repressed though indelibly dark fantasies and desires. In both cases, the net effect is that a trip to scary town makes for a cathartic time at the movies, and for this reason above all, perhaps, it's a genre that has withstood the test of time, with- out having to ride the waves of fickle cinematic trends. The fact that contriving a horror scenario is a relatively cheap affair compared to other genres –as long as you get your script and staging right, everything else should fall in- to place – is yet another reason why the genre will continue to exist at least on the periphery of the main- stream cinematic experience. Try making a superhero film for under a million, and see where that gets you. However, that doesn't mean that superstars are not known to fiddle around in the muddied and sus- pect waters of horror. And now, ac- tor John Krasinski (The Office, 13 Hours) has even chosen one for his directorial debut. Working off a lean and mean script devised by himself as well as Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, Krasinski also stars as father-figure Lee Abbott in A Quiet Place, which shoves us straight into a near future in which humans are compelled to remain as silent as possible lest they be heard (and subsequently eaten) by horrific alien creatures whose provenance is never really explained – nor does it need to be. All that matters is that now, Lee and his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), while still reeling from a fresh tragedy, await some potentially good tid- ings – the birth of another child to accompany its siblings; the young Marcus (Noah Jupe) and the older and more bitter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), who resents and in- terprets Lee's overprotectiveness – largely stemming from the fact that his daughter is deaf – as a lack of love and trust. The tension between the two only sours further when Lee opts to take Marcus on a kind of 'rite of pas- sage' journey to the woods, where he aims to teach the boy some sur- vival skills as the monsters continue to stalk humanity, pushing them to the fringes of existence and doom- ing them to perpetual, watchful silence. Yearning to be in her broth- er's place, Regan skulks down to the nearby woods by herself. But in her absence, the family's worst fears are realised. Though the concept is solid enough to sell the film, Krasin- ski ensures that the ball is never dropped – and with such tight- winding needed, the possibil- ity of said droppage is very high indeed. What would appear as excessively staged or schematic in lesser hands here gains omi- nous urgency – never will look at a loose nail in the same way again – and the balance between loud/quiet and rush and repose is perfectly calibrated. It also helps that, though they may ad- here to basic archetypal models, the character arcs are defined clearly and brought to a convinc- ing conclusion – and this is par- ticularly true of the relationship between Regan and Lee; where misjudgements and fatal mis- takes click into place to push the story forward. Yes, here is a tale of a tight-knit rural family facing an extraterrestrial threat, but any Spielbergian sentimentality is kept to a bare minimum. Mostly because being forced to keep quiet also translates into a freedom from histrionics and over- complication, pulling us into this tense and grisly horror-thriller and never letting go. IN CINEMAS TODAY Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 A Quiet Place (15) 10:00, 12:05, 14:10, 16:20, 18:30, 20:40 Peter Rabbit (PG) 10:00, 12:10, 14:20, 16:35, 18:50, 21:00 Ready Player One (12A) 17:45, 20:45 Midnight Sun (12A) 10:00, 12:10, 14:20, 16:30, 18:40, 20:50 Paul, Apostle Of Christ (12A) 10:15, 13:40, 16:00, 18:20, 20:50 Tomb Raider (12A) 10:25, 13:40, 16:10, 18:40, 21:10 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 A Fantastic Woman (15) 14:05, 18:30 A Quiet Place (15) 11:35, 14:15, 16:25, 18:35, 20:45, 23:00 A Wrinkle in Time (PG) 20:40, 23:05 Black Panther (12A) 14:30, 18:00, 20:45, 23:30 Blocker (15) 11:45, 14:10, 16:30, 18:45, 21:05, 23:25 Duck Duck Goose (U) 11:55, 14:05, 16:15, 18:30 Game Night (15) 18:25, 20:40, 22:55 Gringo (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:45, 21:10, 23:30, 23:35 Midnight Sun (12A) 11:55, 14:20, 16:30, 18:45, 20:55, 23:05 Monster Family (PG) 11:50, 14:05, 16:15 Paul, Apostle of Christ (12A) 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:05 Peter Rabbit (PG) 11:45, 14:10, 16:20, 18:25 Ready Player One (12A) 14:30, 18:10, 21:10 Red Sparrow (15) 20:35, 23:25 The Divine Order (12) 16:20, 20:50 Tomb Raider (12A) 14:15, 18:00, 20:35, 23:10 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Peter Rabbit (PG) 11:00, 13:45, 16:30, 18:40, 20:50 Gringo (15) 21:00 Duck Duck Goose (U) 10:55, 13:40, 16:30, 18:40 Tomb Raider (12A) 10:45, 13:15, 18:35 Ready Player One (12A) 15:45, 21:10 Blockers (15) 10:50, 13:45, 16:00, 18:25, 20:45 Paul, Apostle of Christ (12A) 10:30, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 20:55 Midnight Sun (12A) 11:10, 14:00, 16:05, 18:35, 21:00 A Quiet Place (15) 11:05, 13:30, 16:10, 18:30, 20:55 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A QUIET PLACE ★ ★ ★ ★ THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES ★ ★ ★ THIS MUST BE THE PLACE ★ ★ A LONELY PLACE ★ GET ME OUT OF HERE FILM By Teodor Reljic Only the silent will survive A QUIET PLACE (15) ★ ★ ★ ★ Children of the corn: Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe attempt to evade the gnashing clutches of sound-sensitive killer aliens in John Krasinski's tense and impressive debut Actor John Krasinski has chosen the perfect project for his directorial debut: a tight, merciless horror-thriller whose simplicity is its secret weapon The verdict Simple but terrifyingly ef- fective, A Quiet Place is a perfect example of the kind of mainstream cinema that we need – no frills, just thrills, and perfectly adapt- ed for the cinema experi- ences (provided your fellow audience members behave themselves). Krasinski is to be commended for picking such a lean and mean pro- ject to test his burgeoning directorial skills, not just because he pulls it all off with panache, but also be- cause it's a clever move in and of itself. Apocalypse parenting: Blunt and Krasinski