6.5 / 10. Enjoyable horror thriller with a satisfying ending, but it could have delved more into some interesting plot elements

Netflix’s The Silence is an enjoyable horror film directed by John R. Leonetti, with a screenplay by Carey and Shane Van Dyke adapted from the novel of the same name by Tim Lebbon.

With Earth under attack by strange prehistoric type creatures, referred to as "vesps", it becomes instantly clear the creatures hunt their prey, human and animal, via only sound. A family including a teenager, Ally, who lost her hearing at 13, attempt to flee the infestation and seek a quiet refuge.

The Silence has a promising start with a cave research team unwittingly unleashing something sinister deep in the caves under the Appalachian Mountains, USA. The ‘monsters’ were a little over CGI’d but a good design, like a Pokémon / xenomorph hybrid.

I would have like to have seen more detail about the monsters’ origins; how have they survived for so long in those caves? What actually are they? Are they prehistoric?

The proceedings do get a bit silly, but the film has some interesting plot elements. The Reverend and the Hushed cult were an eerie addition, but, as with the creatures, the plot would have benefitted from a bit more of an explanation of their origins and backstory. The Reverend was well played in silent creepiness by Billy MacLellan.

The Silence has similarities to A Quiet Place but that’s not a bad thing, after all how many zombie films and TV shows are there, all offering fun entertainment in slightly different takes on the genre. The Silence is a book adaptation which was published in 2015, so it has not copied the plot of A Quiet Place.

Stanley Tucci and Miranda Otto were good value as usual. Kiernan Shipka was good in the role of Ally, young but not naive, and different from her starring role as Netflix’s new Sabrina.

It’s an enjoyable film with a satisfying ending, but one thing especially bothered me - in a world where you can’t speak and only had a notebook and pen to communicate, why would you waste a full page for one message?