The Silence (II) (2019) User Reviews

It's alright if you don't think.

[penarozamatthew · 5/10 · 10 April 2019]

The 1st half was pretty good, but there are some serious plot holes.

How exactly would carnivorous bats survive underground for millions of years?

The writers also seriously expect us to believe that people would be starting crazy murder cults after just a few days? I cringed when the priest said "she is fertile".

How is the power still on? Aren't power plants loud?

It also seems completely implausible that this would be a completely world ending event. Can't you just blast loud sirens in the cities which would prevent the bats from homing in on small noises? It's also not like the bats can get through concrete.

This story came before A Quiet Place

[jfirebug · 5/10 · 14 April 2019]

A lot of people are saying this is a rip off of A Quiet Place... that is totally incorrect actually. If anything A Quiet Place and Birdbox ripped off the premise from the 2015 book The Silence by Tim Lebbon. Do some research people, there have been numerous articles that state as much.

As far as the movie... a middle of the road decent time killer, it held my interest. It could have been much more in the right hands. I thought the acting was on par with the material the actors had to work with. CGI was lax and the situations the family found themselves in could have been orchestrated to be much more complex and dramatized. This is why A Quiet Place excelled.

People try entirely too hard to figure out what's wrong with a movie rather than just enjoy it. Don't go into every movie expecting it to be the best movie ever and perhaps you won't be so disappointed. Few movies deserve a 1 or 2 rating, just as few as deserve a 9 or 10.

There are many, many things wrong with this movie. Where to start?

[thniels · 4/10 · 11 April 2019]

1) The vespas are simply not very frightening. Yes, they look like a scary monster from a children's book, but surely most people get scared by things that pose a real threat, not just bad looks. 2) The characters make one poor and uneducated judgement after another. 3) What idea is it that 'dad' supposedly has, when he opts to leave the car? Surely not just throwing a wrench about to prove a point that has been made several times already? 4) Why does 'daughter' have the sound on when chatting with Rob, her being deaf? 5) Checkov's Gun. Anyone? The movie is riddled with objects that are hinted at but never used. Even guns. 6) Why is there a drain pipe where there is no dike and why is it barred? 7) Why is the farm house fenced like a fortress? 8) If the country is collapsing, who runs telecom infrastructure? They seem to have internet absolutely everywhere. 9) Apart from them knowing sign language, what exactly is it that is supposed to make a deaf girl better at being silent? 10) Considering the vespas supposedly navigate by ear, their hearing is remarkably poor. They are able to locate power lines to perch on, but not detect screaming food. 11) For a city slicker, 'dad' is remarkably quick at starting the wood chipper. And why does he not let it keep running? As someone else noted; he could have saved the planet long before it ran out of power. 12) What's with the 'the girl is fertile' thing? Humanity hasn't grown barren. It has become food. 13) Who in their right mind would allow their deaf daughter to walk the dog, alone, in the midst of an apocalypse?

This list can be expanded to much higher digits than this, however, there are many movies that suffer from these traits and still work. Why? Because they have redeeming features. What does this one have against it, then?

1) Poor or even close to no acting. 'Dad' seems to say 'okay' *a lot*. 'They crusified a man in Mississippi' -'okay'. 2) Amateurish CGI (admittedly the slow motion scene in the rain, is very cool, though). Especially the Range Rover rolling down the slope is tear wrenchingly horrible, closely followed by the explosion shortly after. 3) Scene transitions seem purposeless. Nothing carries a momentum. Things appear to happen out of the blue. 4) The score is... well I don't even remember if there even was one. More like a series of sounds attempting to present some level of eerieness.

So, what did it show in terms of redemption? A new take on the suicide belt cliché. A cool slow-mo CGI scene.

What the....

[cavecornershop · 2/10 · 13 April 2019]

What was the great Tucci doing in this film???

Just had to get off my chest - why would a house which is protected like Fort knox military compound have an obvious open tube / tunnel leading into it? Why would the owner of said house, who is obviously alert to her surroundings come out screaming with a gun so she is instantly attacked by the swarms of killer vespas who react to the slightest sound? Why if thousands of vespas swarm willingly into a wood chipper just because it's noisy - are these creatures not actually quite easy to kill? Use multiple massive mass vespa killing wood chipper type scenario? while shooting them and attacking with flamethrowers? God help us if completely blind stupid birds is what sends us back to the dark ages... Why does the deaf girl keep the sound on while face timing her boyfriend? Why that cheesy end like the girl and just morphed into Katniss and Gale???

This is the tip of the iceberg.

Utterly Woeful.

A mediocre movie that could have been so much more.

[lord-blade · 6/10 · 10 April 2019]

Overall this is a decent enough time killer. It's got a good cast, and some wonderful music and scenes. The problem is the story as a whole.

The "monsters" made little sense in terms of the threat the movie wanted to make them portray. Not much thought was put into them other than "we need a monster". While they might be decent as a "Pitch Black" style swarm monster on a small scale, they do not work for what the movie intended. There's just so many things wrong with them.

Add to that the incredibly bad ending, that was clearly a rush job and honestly added nothing to the movie. It was clearly a case of the writers trying to sound wise and simply failing horribly.

This is a movie you can waste a bored afternoon watching, but there's far better ones out there.

Netflix Series Crossover

[jesscalleen · 3/10 · 12 April 2019]

After a spell goes awry, Aunt Zelda & Sabrina are forced to reenact A Quiet Place with an 80s B movie creature feature budget, comparatively speaking.

Interesting idea, but poorly thought out plot

[steffenscheibler · 18 December 2019]

In general, the movie is 'OK', although I'd recommend drinking while you do, so that you are less sober toward the end of the movie.

The acting doesn't spoil the movie. Quite the opposite, it's good. What makes the movie troublesome is how shallow and poorly thought through the storyline is. So 'Vesps' are blind and orient only by sound. The hard reality is that they would die outside in the wild. Animals would make sounds and all be wiped out. Sounds are everywhere; the wind blows = sound. Water flowing = sound.

Also they are found in a cave and then in short order (weeks) the USA is decimated... it is not possible for a species that size to reproduce so rapidly as to cause that. Biology is still subject to the laws of physics and you just cannot give birth to that many creatures in that short a time period. The material that makes them has to come from somewhere... and that just takes time.

And then the seeming inability of anyone in government to coordinate any resistance when quite ordinary people figure out the weakness instantly? I know movies are about the suspension of disbelief, but some plots really push this a little too far...Just put up sirens, nets etc.

But that is actually nothing compared to the last third of the movie when the 'nut jobs' enter the scene (the reverend of the cult).... what the actual f..k? Up to that point the movie was 'so-so', but that just pushed the movie from 6-7/10 stars to 4/10. From Dusk till Dawn handled the plot-break rather well. But this movie didn't.

Fairly effective horror film

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 7/10 · 18 April 2019]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Some deadly bats, with the ability to overpower and kill humans, have escaped from their enclave, and have their sights set on taking over the world. Hugh Andrews (Stanley Tucci) must protect his family, including his daughter Ally (Kiernan Shipka) who suffers from acute deafness, and needs to communicate in sign language, which comes in handy since the terrifying flying beasts react most forcefully to sound.

Horror has become a genre as largely manufactured as pop music these days, an original idea an occasional bonus, secondary to cheap CGI and jump scares. And so, the recent theatrically released A Quiet Place, divided opinion, a creative premise at least, in spite of its outlandishness. Its certainly that film that first springs to mind when presented with The Silence, despite also being a hodgepodge of other such films in the cultural consciousness, including The Mist and Cloverfield.

Despite arriving in its shadow, I'd still consider The Silence the better film between it and AQP. It at least establishes something in the way of human connection with the main characters, and takes the time to develop them in an effective way, meaning we care about them more. Its also easier to digest some flying, killer bats than it is giant, spider like things. Performances wise, Tucci is sturdy and reliable in the lead, strongly supported by Shipka in the crucial role as his deaf daughter.

It's impressive and effective, for a film that manages to cram it all into ninety minutes. While not a perfect film, its certainly a huge step up from a guy whose directorial debut was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation! ***

NOPE

[sgcroes · 2/10 · 10 April 2019]

There is no logic reasoning in the storyline. I can't see anyone choosing to leave under those circumstances by car and on top of it leaving without a plan! Maybe staying home where there is water and food and where you can choose to not make noise would make more sense. If they would have left to get supplies for boarding the house or stock up on food, okay I get it. But nooooo let's get in the car and drive somewhere without a plan ughhh...

Quiet Place(s)

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 12 April 2022]

If you feel this is familiar to A Quiet Place ... well there is nothing wrong with that. Now if you think that there is something wrong with that as in this movie is copying the other movie(s), then let me tell you: you are wrong! Because this is based on a book and while it was released after the first A Quiet Place, it was shot way before it (came out).

Now that all being said, I see that still most people will see as the inferior production. And that is all fair and ok. Just know what you are getting yourself into. This has some very fine actors in it. The monsters are nice and while the story is predictable, it also has certain things in it, that make a lot of sense ... get rid of things that make noise ... no prisoners taken and all that.

Predator-prey ratio

[lucketttm · 2/10 · 24 April 2019]

Basic biology would have it that in their natural environment deep underground, these voracious carnivores must have been feeding on a population of herbivores with at least ten times their biomass. I'm not sure what the underground herbivores feed on, but presumably there's a whole underground flora that gets by without photosynthesis. These herbivores must be pretty ferocious themselves, since they have forced the egg-laying bats to evolve such deadly teeth and talons. Though slower than the bat-things, eventually they too will figure out how to crawl through the same hole to the surface.

So I'm thinking sequel: "The Bleat," in which a race of killer sheep invade the eastern U.S., and every action scene begins with a terrifying "Baaaaa!" At first the desperate humans just try to kill them, for instance by tying cowbells around their necks to attract the killer bats, but eventually our heroes learn to shear them and use the wool to make bat-resistant winter garments.

Enjoyed this flick but the real reason for the review

[ccollins941 · 8/10 · 10 April 2019]

I enjoyed the movie and I knew it wouldn't be ground breaking, but for those out there like that mook Chris-pacca calling it a rip off of a quiet place, this was based off a novel published in 2015. A Quiet Place screenplay was after that, so if anything John Krasinski borrowed from this movies work.

Everything was good until the crazy cult

[autumn09007 · 7/10 · 20 April 2019]

The out of nowhere cult was NOT needed in the movie nor the book. I guess they had so much time left that it was included for pure nonsense to waste time and make the movie last longer. The acting was good. I like Stanley Tucci, Miranda Otto and John Corbett. And even though I don't own any pets nor want to own one in the future, I did tear up when the dad had to get rid of the dog. Sniff. The movie was not bad except that unnecessary cult popping up.

Deaf people are NOISY!!!!

[plasticmask · 1/10 · 6 August 2021]

Writing as a deaf man, I'm here to tell you: We'd be the FIRST TO GO. We can NOT HEAR, right? So we slam doors, toilet seats, clatter dishes, step on branches in the forest, all of that. Why? BECAUSE WE CAN'T BLOODY HEAR IT SO WE DON'T CARE.

The SECOND that the little deaf girl Signed something about "living in silence" like that's going to be a survival trait... I laughed and turned the movie off.

Like I already said: We'd be the FIRST to go. We'd slam a door or something, sneeze, burp, sniff, SOMETHING, and then instantly: crunch-crunch we'd be LUNCH.

STUPID PLOT, STUPID MOVIE.

Don't waste your time.

The Silence Review

[jeanmarcvdlinden · 1/10 · 10 April 2019]

You only need a blender to kill these creatures, yet they take over the world?

Stupid movie, there's no reason to fear those creatures as they are easy to trap and destroy!

Come on guys, this is ridiculous! Those critters are blind and hunt on sound only, a simple thing like a noisy blender would attract them and kill them easily and in great numbers, just as shown in one scene where they massively fly into a wood chipper machine and are chopped to pieces by the hundreds. Hey, a meat grinder or even a document shredder would do the job! Yet everybody has to move north to colder zones in order to survive because those little monsters can't stand the cold!

Also noise can easily be used to manipulate them, whether to attract them or to lure them away, also shown in another scene, so there are so many easy ways to get rid of them that the whole movie makes no sense at all!

These creatures come in great numbers, but depend on their ears to locate their prey and on their teeth to attack them. This is such a great weakness that they pose only a threat for really stupid and careless people. The army? The police? Just ran away? Got killed perhaps?

The movie could have been more fun with some more realism or at least more logic, showing some creative methods to fend of a light threat resulting in a happy ending. For example a barking dog wearing a spiky armor, complete with helmet, it would attract vesps and have them killed by empaling themselves on the spikes of the armor. Also chainmail is effective against bites, especially from smaller creatures, so come on, where's the one eyed guy that is supposed to be king in the world of the blind?

This movie could have been a very good one, but as usual original ideas tend to turn into completely worthless movies. This is one of them.

The Tremors franchise is a lot better, at least they don't take themselves too seriously and there's less inconsistencies.

The Silence is an absolute failure. Not worth your time.

Decent situation caper.

[Nemesis42 · 7/10 · 10 April 2019]

The characters behaved logically which is a welcome quality. Main issue with me was the ending was a bit rushed in. And it would be good to know how the scenario turned out on the wider scale. Enjoyed this tense film. Good VFX, and not too much violence relatively speaking. Well produced and a fine scifi story.

WHY DIDNT HE LEAVE THE MACHINE ON!!!!!

[aliaznchs · 1/10 · 2 May 2019]

WHY!!!! THE WERE GOING IN, IN A DAY OR TWO THEY WOULD BE EXTINCT..... WHY GOD!!!!! WHY

A Decent film that doesn't deserve the hate it's receiving......

[bhaskarulichi · 6/10 · 19 May 2020]

If you are a fan of Survival films and if you find the storyline interesting, then this film is worth watching. Why I say so is that the only thing that prevents you from ever watching this film is....negative reviews. Those who rated this <6 stars may have focused on the flawed premise Or simply they might have watched a ton of similar films. But I personally feel that there is absolutely no reason that you could hate this film.

Many people may feel that the creatures are not as haunting as they are supposed to be. However, I personally feel that it's quite okay as we are shown from a perspective of a normal family. For a cinematic experience, we need a huge monster to feel the horror, but in reality, we can't even face a stray dog. So, it's convincing enough that a normal person can't protect himself when a couple of flesh eating bat like creatures prey on him. Not everytime the scenario need to be like " The end of the world". Here, it's more like protecting the family until the situation comes under control. So, this is more like a survival film rather than a post apocalyptic film. The premise is similar to "A Quite Place" which I had rated 1/10. So what makes this different from A Quite Place? The difference is that, from the beginning of the film, you seem to care more about the characters. Not much time was taken to develop the characters but you would fall in love with them, especially the deaf daughter & the Grandma. What makes this film a decent one was that the characters behave rationally unlike in quiet place. This makes you ignore all the plot holes and anomalies in the premise. Instead we tend to care more for the characters. The only problem with the film is the unnecessary introduction of a mysterious cult which was okay but doesn't add much to the film. Could've worked if it's a TV Series spanning multiple seasons. Instead the makers should've shown more about the family's journey to their ultimate survival.

In Quiet Place, the characters behave so ludicrously that they infact become a threat to their own family. It was quite evident when their little son dies in the opening sequence. I blame it on all other family members. Father...for keeping the batteries within the reach of the kid, Sister...for giving the toy, both the parents... for leaving behind the youngest member of the family ( a 3 year old, I guess) in such a life threatening scenario. In addition to this, choosing to have a baby again and leaving a nail on the staircase etc..makes it absolutely disgusting to watch. Whereas, in The Silence, each character cares for one another.. Stanley Tucci, the father...Does everything he could to save his family. Even killing the dog which is actually a threat to the family. Uncle Glenn... Tries his best to lead his best friend's family (Tucci's)) to safety and threatens Tucci to leave him and take care of his family after meeting with a tragic accident. Daughter... I'm totally in love with her for no reason at all. Though she's deaf, she exhibits an incredible presence of mind throughout the film. Infact, she's the one who finds out the ultimate path to survival. Son... Doesn't have much to do but still adorable. Grandma: the most lovable character in the film. When she comes to know that she's a threat to her daughter's family, she wants to sacrifice herself. She cares for her daughter so much that one would see their own mom in her. Ultimately, she sacrifices herself for her grand daughter when the cult wants to abduct her. Mom....her relation with the Grandma is beautiful. So that's what makes this film worth watching for...A family who cares for each other.

The only reason why I write this review is that I personally feel so bad for the makers when critics and audiences hail a ridiculous film like "A Quiet Place" made with a huge budget and pan a decent film like this.

Stanley Tucci versus dwarf pterodactyls

[petra_ste · 5/10 · 23 May 2019]

The cinematic equivalent of tofu, this movie is bearable but bland; a bargain bin version of A Quiet Place with another family hunted by noise-sensitive monsters and a deaf daughter whose knowledge of sign language proves useful.

I really liked A Quiet Place, plot holes and all. The first half was a masterclass in building up suspense and dread, with phenomenal tension and great use of sound. The Silence, while not amateurish, falls really short by comparison; it's a lot more "Oh no here come the beasties! Phew phew! Run!".

This is a pet peeve of mine but I'm really tired of post-apocalyptic/disaster/zombie stories with a group of evil survivors replacing the monsters as the antagonists (see The Walking Dead). I understand actors are cheaper than CGI but still, I think I've had enough of "Bwah-ha-ha!" evil cults/gangs for a lifetime.

Thankfully, the evil survivors in The Silence do *not* actually go "Bwah-ha-ha!", mostly because they have cut off their own tongues. There is a truly hilarious moment where their leader sneers at the protagonists after they have refused to join his cult (a scene Tucci plays as if he is hurrying away from a smelly hobo asking for money). Tucci and his daughter leave the bad guy standing alone in the middle of the road and he opens his mouth with a disgusted grimace, like a cat who has smelled something bad. It's meant to show us he is nuts and has removed his own tongue, but I was howling with laughter.

Another funny bit comes in the middle of an otherwise decent set-piece, as Tucci's family is crawling through a tunnel and the creatures have found them. Tucci turns on a woodchipper and all the beasts just dive into it, mangled into sprays of blood within a few seconds. And these things brought mankind to the verge of extinction? Seriously?

Overall, not terrible but mediocre. If you missed A Quiet Place, watch that one instead.

5,5/10

not bad

[sadgirl398-167-719874 · 7/10 · 10 April 2019]

I thought it was a pretty good movie, at least they showed you the creatures, I was sad about the scene with the baby and dog, and poor glen!

Don't waste your time

[Aging_salt · 1/10 · 19 April 2019]

Poor acting, bad script writing, numerous plot holes.

1. Why does the main character, who's severely hearing impaired, talk for 90% of the show? Why does she video call her love interest when clearly video calling makes more sound than simply messaging?

2. Hearing impaired character uses less sign language than the rest of the cast, and seems to hold conversations very well purely using vocal communication.

3. Whole family decides to move out of their home with no food, medication, or water? No preparation whatsoever. I guess they were lucky they found a house stalked with food and medicine.

4. Why didn't they just eradicate the species instead of finding refuge up north?

5. IPad had a lifespan of a Nokia phone

6. They never explained what was wrong with the grandma, what was wrong with the relationship between the parents, what happened in the uncle's van that caused the little boy to go back to his parents, what happened the Rob's parents, etc etc etc

7. Lots of unnecessary scenes and unnecessary dialogue.

8. What was the plot??

9. How north was "The North"? How long did it take the family to get there?

I won't even mention the random cult that formed and their need to find fertile young women. Don't waste your time.

Not a rip off

[patrice-21727 · 8/10 · 15 January 2022]

This movie is not a rip off of a quiet place. Some may argue that A Quiet Place is a rip off the book on which this movie is based upon. Check the dates on when they were released. A Quiet Place is hands down one of my favorite movies but The Silence is just as good... Maybe better. A family is trying to find a place to stay in order to escape weird super hearing bat thingys. They're not just in one setting, that's what I liked about it. I wouldn't recommend watching this to compare notes. I'd say just watch it with the expectation of being entertained and remember that IT'S JUST A MOVIE, a fictional movie and it's really good.

I guess I'm in the minority

[touchthetalent · 7/10 · 10 April 2019]

I really enjoyed this. Unlike A Quiet Place, there are other people besides the main family we follow throughout. We knew there were other people alive in QUIET but, besides the old man in the woods, we only know that they existed by the fires ontop of the silos. The only thing that bothered me was what happened to the dog.

Unrealistic creatures, poor acting, slow plot

[imlindaheart · 4/10 · 10 April 2019]

I did not enjoy this movie much, as it simply didn't make much sense. A bunch of superbats are found in a closed up cave (not sure how they survived, what they ate, etc) These are creatures that can hear, but not see and obviously not smell either. Even their hearing isn't really good since they can't hear people walking or speaking in a low voice. The only thing they are good at is reproduction, in just a few days, a cave full of rabid bats managed to take over the entire east cost and more. Also, in just a few days, a crazy cult is formed that cuts their tongues and kidnaps fertile young girls. After most of the people have been eaten or used as nests for creature eggs, somehow the internet still works and so do phones. And a very common ending to a similar apocalyptic story, some faraway refugee camp where our "heroes" can start rebuilding the human race.

Add poor acting, characters that are left underdeveloped and the overall slow pace and lack of surprises or anything original, you get a disappointing movie for sure.

Typical Modern Underachiever

[Tweetienator · 5/10 · 11 April 2019]

The machine must be fed - The Silence is an okay movie made for a mass audience, and as all those pay-channels and whatever channels need "stuff" to air, the need for an endless stream of new shows and movies is great. This simply results to that immense output of mediocre to underachieving movies/shows: quantity rules our days and not quality.

Anyway, with the same cast and the same production but a better and more careful composed script and directing, this movie could have been a really good one.

The Silence: only recommendable for the aficionado of the genre (post-apocalypse with alien/monsters), and only if you really got nothing else on the plate.