Don’t Breathe
In John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, sound is the enemy, one wrong move and that could be it. So, the characters of A Quiet Place make sure they go to extra lengths to make sure they’re not heard. The same concept is used in the 2016 horror film Don’t Breathe, except, instead of some giant, flesh-eating monsters, the villain is a blind man.
Three teenagers (Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto) break into the house of an old man (Stephen Lang) who they believe to be both blind and very rich. While he is both of those things, he’s also an ex-military soldier. Describing it themselves as the perfect job, they break into the house and find that everything is not as expected. As the man attempts to get rid of the intruders, things start to get violent and you eventually realize that he might have ulterior motives for getting them out of his house.
The crux of the film is that if you make a sound the man will be able to come and find you. This means that most of the film is incredibly quiet, with little to no music playing. There are times when the action is so intense that you’ll be trying to not make a sound at the same time as them. It’s a wonderfully dark experience that replicates the incredible level of sound design A Quiet Place has to offer.
This post was originally written by Dawson Roberts.
Signs
Signs is one of M Night Shyamalan’s most divisive films but, at its core, it’s very similar to A Quiet Place. Set on a rural farmhouse, Signs follows the Hess family during a global catastrophe. After a series of crop circles start appearing around the world, questions start to be raised about whether aliens are real and whether they’re about to attack. Instead of focusing on the aliens though, Signs puts its focus on the family in the middle of it. The relationships between the characters are what keep the film interesting, with the secrets they all withhold playing vital parts to story at hand.
Story-wise, it’s similar to A Quiet Place due to its geographical setting and the monsters that plague the world but, for the most part, the similarities lie with the relationships. Signs wouldn’t work without the brilliant chemistry between its cast and the fact you truly believe these people are a family. If you liked the family dynamic that A Quiet Place had to offer, then you’ll find a very similar one in Signs, along with a great sci-fi backdrop.
The Road
The Road is an all-around depressing film. Very few positive things happen in the post-apocalyptic world of The Road and, by the end, it’s likely you won’t feel much happiness at all. The film follows an unnamed father and son (Played by Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they try to survive after a global extinction event. In an attempt to find warmth, the pair follow a long road in order to get to the coast. Along the way, they stumble across cannibals, gangs, and dangerous animals desperate to stop them in their tracks. The film portrays how a disaster can affect people, focusing on the fact that such an event is not only dangerous to our bodies but our state of mind as well.
With stunning performances and an incredibly gritty, realistic approach to the apocalypse, The Road stands out as a fantastic film. Much like Signs, it’s all about the family relationship through the most awful events imaginable. If you’re looking for a jolly film to keep your spirits high, stay far away from this, but if you want another gritty apocalypse drama, then The Road should do the job.
10 Cloverfield Lane
A Quiet Place feels very much like a film that should be taking place in the Cloverfield extended universe. So it may not come as a surprise to you to know that, at one point in time, the studio behind A Quiet Place actually did want it to be a part of that universe. However, the creators thought that it was a film that could stand on its own two feet. They, of course, were right to do so, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that this film still feels very similar to Cloverfield, or more specifically, 10 Cloverfield Lane.
After a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes to find herself trapped in an underground bunker with two men (John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr) who believe life above ground has become unsafe due to a chemical attack. When things start to get dark in the bunker, Michelle tries to escape and find out what really happened above ground, to which comes the revelation that the bunker might be the safest place after all. Like Signs before it, 10 Cloverfield Lane works well because you don’t really know what’s going on in the world. Its element of mystery and uneasy tone compliment each other nicely, in a similar way to A Quiet Place, to create a chilling movie.
War Of The Worlds (2005)
War of The Worlds is yet another film in which a family must hide in a farmhouse to escape deadly monsters, however, that isn’t the only reason you should give War of The Worlds (2005) a watch if you liked A Quiet Place. Based on the 1953 film and 1897 book of the same name, Steven Spielberg’s interpretation of the source material took a much darker approach to the alien invasion story. The film follows Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his 2 kids while the world is taken over by aliens hell-bent on destruction. Ray must do his best to protect his family as they move across America to find safety.
War of The Worlds has a great family dynamic, mostly because of the children’s love/hate relationship with Ray. The film focuses not only on Ray trying to rescue his family but his relationship with them as well. If you’re looking for another apocalypse type film, where family relationships are just as important as the monsters at hand, then War of The Worlds is perfect for you.
Hush
Similar to Don’t Breathe, Hush is another film that uses sound as a device for horror. This time though, it’s a complete lack of sound. Madison (Kate Seigel) is a deaf author who lost the ability to hear and speak at the age of 13. While everything in Madison’s life seems pretty stable, one night a masked killer (John Gallagher Jr) comes to attack her woodland property. Using sound to his advantage, the killer taunts Madison and attempts to take her down. As the viewer, we follow things from Madison’s perspective. We see what she sees and hear what she hears, meaning that sound, for the most part, is muffled and almost entirely gone. With very little music, and some excellent sound design, Hush becomes a painstakingly intense experience.
Hush nails exactly what makes home invasion films scary and the complete lack of empathy from its killer makes him an extremely compelling villain. At times, Hush borders on being clichéd, but its minimalistic setting and story work to its advantage, creating an open playing field of possibilities, all of which mix-up the story. If you’re looking for a horror film that uses sound as another character in the film, then Hush does a brilliant job of that.
About the author
