Aaron Simmons

simmonsaa@mnstate.edu

I don’t like scary movies, and I don’t like thrillers.

I can admit that with a clear conscience. A few months ago, I went to “Insidious: The Last Key.” During the more horrific parts of the film, a blanket covered my face to the point where I could only see the left third of the screen. I have absolutely no shame about it either.

Still, I was mortified.

My biggest fear when I attend scary movies is that I won’t be able to sleep. I consider myself as a creative thinker, but that puts me at a great disadvantage when I get home from the movie and my imagination runs wild. I sometimes think there’s a demon in my closet or a clown under my bed. Just the commercials are enough to cause mini-nightmares.

Naturally, I was not overly excited when my girlfriend wanted to go see the critically acclaimed new movie, “A Quiet Place.”

As someone who has won a trivia game with questions about “The Office,” I was initially drawn to the trailer because it was directed by and starred John Krasinski (Jim Halpert). Additionally, his real-life wife played the lead role. It was a family affair.

After watching the trailer, I still wasn’t convinced I would like the feature-length film.

Still, because the term “happy wife, happy life” also applies to girlfriends, I found myself in the Marcus West Acres Cinema in Fargo on Tuesday night.

During the ensuing 90 minutes of “A Quiet Place,” I was filled with a wealth of emotions. However, regret and agony were not among them.

I simply had one word to describe what I witnessed: wow.

This was not a scary movie. It was a story about the lengths parents will go to when protecting their children. In this case, it was from the blind monsters that attacked whatever or whoever made the loudest sound.

In the same way that “The Walking Dead” is about relationships and gaining power while living among zombies, this film was about a family’s survival while experiencing terrible heartbreak in a post-apocalyptic world. It was incredible.

What drove this film was the acting, and Emily Blunt was incredible. I had actually never seen her on-screen before Tuesday. I can see now why Krasinski constantly boasts about how talented his wife is. Not only did she passionately deliver in the highest moments of intensity, but she was also immensely charming in the lighter-hearted moments with her character’s children. I couldn’t look away.

I will admit, there were a few moments when I covered my eyes with my jacket (the theater was chilly and we forgot a blanket) so as not to witness the sudden attack that was impending, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The performances from the children were marvelous, and the extensive use of sign language was extremely progressive.

The actress that played the family’s lone daughter is deaf. A majority of the crew learned ASL to communicate with her. That act of respect and inclusion resonates with me.

My girlfriend, a speech language hearing science major, might have to take a break from signing though, as I think I broke her left hand from squeezing it too hard.

Oh, well.

Bones heal.