The Silence Review: If This A Retread Of "The Quiet Place" Or Something New?

We've had two recent films that feature survivors not making a sound--or they will die a horrible painful death. First, "The Quiet Place" was released in 2018. And on April 10, 2019, NetFlix released "The Silence". Both movies were in production at the same time. Both deal with families trying to survive an apocalyptic event. Both feature daughters who are deaf. Many are asking "Is 'The Silence' just a retread of 'The Quiet Place'"?

The screenplay for "A Quiet Place" was written by John Krasinski, Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. The movie stars Krasinski and IRL wife Emily Blunt. The film was nominated for a number of awards (including Golden Globes and Oscars). Emily Blunt won a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Support Actress. The movie also won a Critic's Choice award.

"The Silence" is based on a book written in by Tim Leddon in 2015 (which is before work began on the other movie). Some think it even inspired "The Quiet Place". "The Silence" stars Stanley Tucci as well as Kiernan Shipka and Miranda Otto (who are both currently on "The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina"). And did you know that Tucci is married to Emily Blunt's sister Felicity? I certainly didnt.

In "The Silence" we meet our main characters just as the apocalypse begins. Some cavers break through a wall and accidentally unleash giant bat like creatures who like to feast on anything within their vicinity. They are blind (after being in a cave all these years) and operate soley on sound. The Andrews family has a deaf daughter (Ally). They have one advantage over other families. They can all communicate via sign language. There has been some criticism of the show due to it's featuring Shipka (a hearing actor) into a deaf role. "The Quiet Place' did not have the same criticism since Millicent Simmonds (who is deaf IRL) plays the daughter.

"The Quiet Place" begins on day 89 after the invasion. They too must do everything in complete silence. Lee and Evelyn's daughter Regan is also deaf. The creatures are from outer space and they dont fly. Thank goodness. Instead they run really fast and have armor platted bodies. Evelyn is also about to give birth any day. How are they going to deal with a crying baby? I wont give the rest away. Suffice to say, it's very tense.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Sure there will always be comparisons between these two movies since they both involve monsters who attack based on sound. They also feature two daughters who are deaf. I enjoyed each on it's own merits though. They are both definitely worth a watch. My only criticism is that I wish they were longer. There's lots more story to tell. A "The Quiet Place" is in the works. It's scheduled for release in 2020. I haven't heard anything about "The Silence".