A Quiet Place – Mondo X Steelbook (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

I have been living in Austin, TX now for over seven years and I have yet to attend the infamous SXSW film/music festival.  Is that wrong of me?  I just don’t want to contend with all the mad traffic that event brings to the area, which in my opinion can’t appropriately accommodate an event of this size anyway.  However, I mention this event only because that’s where A Quiet Place first premiered two years ago.  A month later it opened theatrically wide to rave reviews from critics, moviegoers and even Hollywood actors themselves praising the film for its smart moves and breathtaking scares.  I remember one famous actor even said he saw it three times and was on the radio encouraging all moviegoers to go see it.  Needless to say I was pumped to see this one theatrically.  I mean how could all these people be wrong about it, right?  So without further ado let’s talk some A Quiet Place down below.  What say you?  It’s getting a Mondo X Steelbook release on the 4K UltraHD Blu-ray format on March 10th and surprise…surprise…a sequel on the 19th!

Film 

There’s no doubt about it A Quiet Place was a HUGE hit for Paramount this year.  It’s grossed over 325 million against an initial 17 million budget.  It’s also the major studio directorial debut for the very talented John Krasinski formerly made famous by his role of Jim Halpert on TV’s The Office (the US version).  Scott Beck and Bryan Woods initially penned the spec script, which believe it or not almost became a Cloverfield sequel.  It tells the story of a family that must live in silence in order to hide from the creatures that hunt/kill by sound.  After watching it twice now I could easily see it as part of the Cloverfield universe.  However, once Paramount bought the screenplay they hired Krasinski who wrote a new draft of it.  Both he and his real-life wife, Emily Blunt, ended up with the two starring roles in this one plus Noah Jupe.  If you want to learn more about all that, make sure to check out the informative extras on the Blu-ray Disc.  Moving on…

Even though I probably said it best in one sentence up above I guess the story of A Quiet Place can be summarized appropriately in two.  In the post-apocalyptic world we’re thrown into here (we begin in 2020 from what.I can tell), a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.  More appropriately, if they hear you, they hunt you down and kill ya.  It really doesn’t get anymore simple or deconstructed than that.  There’s absolutely no backstory provided at all, extra layers of complexity or even extraneous characters beyond the tension/suspension that develops throughout, the heightened sense of awareness of your surroundings and crafting around the flaws of the characters to three-dimensionalize them.  And come on.  Who thinks it’s a good idea to bring a child into this world under these circumstances?  Ha ha.  Someone must have stolen all the condoms and birth control from this post apocalyptic world.

While I like and admire everything A Quiet Place sets out to do it’s not the groundbreaking genre breaker to me that everyone raved about initially, but it’s quite outstanding.  It’s accomplished and has some very genuinely scary moments.  It’s crystal clear and apparent that Krasinski knows his genre and has a deep appreciation for making sure it’s done right onscreen.  Because of that you can’t help to get pulled in, but unlike the gasping Don’t Breathe for example it didn’t seem to have an ultimate endgame.  It kinda felt like the post apocalyptic exercise I am Legend is to me, but much better.  The monsters looked and sounded great.  The actors were all convincing and completely raw in their performances.  It just is what it is and that’s pretty solid.  Possibly an R-rating would have went a bit further into bringing brutally into the mix, but it’s pretty apparent Krasinski signed up to terrify you with tension and suspension rather than put it all on the line like Rob Zombie would.

The most important aspect of A Quiet Place to me is how deep can you go and still make the movie interesting as possible with little to no dialogue.  The answer to that is pretty flipping deep thanks to the raw performances of the actors involved, the lack of a backstory ensuring we are learning as they are and most importantly the fact that the lack of sound makes this one really intimate.  It keeps you in the game and really makes you pay attention to the character’s surroundings and interact with them as they do onscreen.  It’s actually quite brilliant.  Another aspect of this one too is yes there are creatures, but they are really never in your face unless they need to be.  Think old school John Carpenter’s Halloween and the use of suspense over showing too much.  This heightened suspense of what do they look like, what makes them tick, etc. keeps you on the edge of your seat until you’re ready to fight the monsters just like the onscreen characters are and/or run from them too.  Ha ha!

Video 

The below video score and related critique of things here are based solely upon my viewing of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Paramount’s A Quiet Place.  It’s the exact same presentation of my 2018 review HERE.

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: Yes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Clarity/Detail: I read a review of this 4K title before sitting down with this movie yesterday.  I won’t mention what site it was on, but it almost set me up for failure.  They were being so critical of this movie on 4K UHD that I was expecting the worst.  Wow!  Was I ever surprised.  I flipping find this presentation to be gorgeous from head to toe.  However, I digress.  Let’s talk clarity!  Okay so this isn’t the real deal 4K, but it is a 2K DI finished from a 35 mm print.  So expect many gorgeous cinema like moments throughout.  Sure there’s inherent source noise from the film, but the detail in the print cuts right through.  Closeups reveal stubbles and fine hairs, but it’s the textures here that blow me away most notably in the clothing.  Wool and denim looks so real that I expect to feel them should I reach out my skinny, boney arm.  The vegetation, leaves and trees also look impeccable as we spend the majority of this film within the woods and farmland.  The intricacy in the sets though is second to none with placement of objects being key, but also the minute details in them too.
• Depth: There is an abundance of depth of field to take in throughout here such as interiors like the opening scene in the store to the bridge where things go awry, the many forest scenes and of course that vast plot of land our protagonist’s farm house sits upon.
• Black Levels: Oh my God the black levels!  They are gorgeously deep and inky throughout the entire runtime and moments at nighttime look like a million bucks.  Absolutely nothing gets lost in the shadows here.
• Color Reproduction: This is where this 4K presentation really surprised me.  The colors throughout were all bold, bright and vivacious throughout.  This is how a movie should look!  Absolutely stunning!
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones were all natural looking and authentic.  There are no qualms here!
• Noise/Artifacts: There was zero to scrutinize over here in regards to nasty artifacts littering the presentation.  Overall it has a nice organic, cinematic look to it all with light source noise throughout due to it being captured on film.

Audio 

Like I mentioned up above in the video section, the below audio score and critical comments of such are based solely upon my viewing of Paramount’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of A Quiet Place.  I do want you to know that both the 4K UHD Disc and the 1080p one comes armed with a Dolby Atmos surround track, which is the same one that can be found in my original 2018 review HERE.

• Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD compatible), French 5.1 Dolby Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Audio, English Audio Description
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Dynamics: Just like the video presentation up above the audio is D-Y-N-A-M-I-T-E!  Fidelity is what this one is all about and it’s spread around like butter on tasty toast.  It’s a very lively, aggressive and engaging surround track when it needs to be, but make no mistake it can be quiet and tender at a moment’s notice.  The dynamics of this audio surround track grips you from the opening silence and never really lets you go throughout the feature’s entire runtime of shrills and thrills.  I absolutely heart that about this surround track.  It’s unapologetic just like it’s subject matter, but the dynamics of silence take precedence here.  The tiniest of noises like the lightest footsteps are completely audible and unmistakable.  This track forces you to really take notice of your surroundings.  However, probably the most clever thing about this track is how it makes you hear what a deaf girl hears.  I know that doesn’t make sense, but after one watch you’ll get it.  I also loved it when Emily puts a headphone into John’s ears and the musical track just takes over your speakers.  It’s quite unbelievable!
• Height: The Atmos channel here is insanely good.  This has to be one of my most favorite Atmos tracks yet (I have still yet to take in Saving Private Ryan in 4K so that one may still be victorious).  Examples of how awesome it was can be found in the following moments but not limited to: birds circling up above, wind rustling, raccoons on the roof, creatures walking on the floors above, waterfall, fireworks, a door falling down inside the corn mill and more.
• Low Frequency Extension: The LFE channel is aggressive, prominent and active throughout in the pulsating score (can’t say enough good things about this menacing/sinister score), the many monster action moments, thuds, fireworks and so much more.  Because of the quietness throughout the littlest of moments can make the biggest of thuds if you know what I mean.  A perfect example of this is when the kids are playing Monopoly and they accidentally knock over a glass lamp and fire ensues.  Holy hell does that make you take notice of just how important silence is here.  It’s deafening!  Get it?  Ha ha!
• Surround Sound Presentation: What goes bump in the night anytime a noise is heard?  The creatures in this movie, duh!  The sinister score infects the rear channels here in addition to heartbeats, creatures tearing it up through the woods and probably my most favorite example, which I’ll explain in further detail.  When headphones are put on you can hear the radio noise behind you.  It just makes you feel like you’re part of this movie.
• Dialogue Reproduction: As minimal as it is the dialogue throughout is always audible, intelligible and clear.

Extras 

Before we dive into the “real” extras here I bumped my previous 4K review score up a .5 notch for the steelbook presentation itself.  Yes, I’m counting that as an extra.  It’s my review and I can’t justify things how I want.  Ha!  This collectible Steelbook is part of the MondoX line and comes with a transparent plastic slipcover around the actual case.  Inside the steelbook case the digital copy code is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs and two discs, one UHD and the other Blu-ray, are housed on the right side staggered in a typical stacked configuration.  Below is an image of it all.  Please make sure to click on it to enlarge for maximum viewing pleasure.

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack takes viewers deeper into A Quiet Place with behind-the-scenes footage exploring the exceptionally unique sound design, the riveting visual effects, and how the cast and crew created the movie’s distinctive atmosphere both on set and on film.  While all three of the below extras are brief they are quite hefty in regards to wealth of information contained within to further your appreciation of this outstanding horror film.  The below supplemental features are all housed on the 1080p Blu-ray including the HD version of the film.  In addition there’s also a code redeemable for the Digital version of the flick.  Enjoy!

• Creating the Quiet – Behind the Scenes of A QUIET PLACE (HD, 14:45) – Ha!  I love how they explored how to make a successful film with only 3 minutes of dialogue on paper.  We learn how John Krasinski got involved, shape the story and found the perfect location.  The roads surrounding the farmhouse were closed for forty days for filming to take place.  We even learn how his wife, Emily, got involved in this one too.  You got to love the authenticity of this film as the deaf girl is really deaf and the husband and wife are well really husband and wife.  It was quite interesting to see how you direct a deaf actress on the set plus how everyone on set really had to learn sign language for the scenes and any changes on the fly.  John commented on how the kid actors really just knocked it out of the park here and how they could access fear.
• The Sound of Darkness – Editing Sound for A QUIET PLACE (HD, 11:44) – I love how John exclaims there is a real power in this film when you listen to your surroundings to hear what they sound like.  As you can imagine this extra is all about the soundstage in this production and/or the lack of sound.  Ha ha. The crew talks about how difficult it is to do a quiet film.  Of course they also talk about what noise the creature makes here.
• A Reason for Silence – The Visual Effects of A QUIET PLACE (HD, 7:33) – This one is about the design of the creatures.  ILM to the save!  John said they saved him because he never did a horror film like this before.  John actually wanted to show as little as possible of the creatures to build the scare.  Brilliant!  John said he stole the creature design from that of a prehistoric fish.  Little is known about the backstory to the audience because the family is in the dark too.

Summary 

If you don’t possess it already, do I really need to tell you why A Quiet Place is a MUST-BUY and MUST-OWN on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format?  I think I’ll let the above review speak for itself as I honestly can’t recommend this one enough (especially if you don’t previously own it).  FYI though obviously there’s not much changed about this 4K release.  As long as you’re okay with not owning this collectable steelbook edition, then I would say you’re A-OK with the previous 4K release.  It saves you some extra bones too, but you’re choice.

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DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified Ultra HD Premium television set found here and player here.  Make sure to check out all our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived here.

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A Quiet Place

Sounds Pretty Friggin’ Awesome…AGAIN…

on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

March 10th

PRE-ORDER NOW!

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