As I wrote in my initial review of the film, A Quiet Place is first and foremost a family drama, and it's almost solely for that reason that it stands above its genre contemporaries. The horror elements themselves, while occasionally armrest-clenchers, are relatively formulaic, though certainly not "bad." But the film's strength and emotional resonance lie in how the script and the cast handle the Abbott family. You truly feel for them, both when they're hiding from the audiophobic/philic(?) monsters and when they're struggling to communicate with and support each other.
It isn't a revolutionary film, but it certainly sticks out in a genre so full of the same, and Krasinski shows confident control over the camera and the visual language and atmosphere of his film. The warm tones of sunset bathe the movie in a homey, hopeful feeling that is honestly quite absent from other horror and thriller films, which mostly favor greys and drab blues. Likewise, the deeply saturated red/green contrast during several of the night-time sequences give the movie a unique palette to set its action against. I'm excited to see what kinds of projects Krasinski chooses to helm next, because I think he's only going to get better and more versatile. If you can go from being the goofy heartthrob in a sitcom to the action hero of a gritty war film, and finally to a competent actor/director of a dual-purpose horror/drama film, you can do anything. He's captivating both on- and off-screen, as is Blunt, so I only hope for total success for the both of them, together and individually.
The most notably different observation I had this time around was regarding the score. In my original review, I blasted it for being over-the-top, bombastic, and indulgent in moments when I wished it would just be quiet and let the foley art do the work. While I do still find myself frustrated with the film's unwillingness to let the in-world sounds and silence take priority, I have a hard time qualitatively criticizing the score. Composer Marco Beltrami really did a stellar job. At times, it is serene and somber, and others droning and dreadful (in a good way) like Jóhann Jóhannsson's Sicario score. It's both memorable and atmospherically appropriate, even if I do still want it to back off at times; in that sense, it's less a problem I have with the music itself and more so with how and when it is used.
With the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital home video combo pack comes three separate documentary featurettes, which, while well-crafted, don't amount to much. One focuses on creating the world in the film, one focuses on the sound design and effects, and one focuses on the visual creature effects. Each one is made more interesting by Krasinski's apparent passion for this film, but I can't help but want to see so much more behind-the-scenes footage than what the mini-docs give us. In all, if you liked the movie on the level that I did, it's worth owning at some point. At the ridiculous price that most movies go for right out of the gate? Maybe not, but what movie really is?
A Quiet Place is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD today, July 10.