The Silence

"They're listening."

2019 1h 31m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 1,748

HorrorDramaThrillerFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

With the world under attack by deadly creatures who hunt by sound, a teen and her family seek refuge outside the city and encounter a mysterious cult.

“They're listening.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Stanley Tucci
Hugh Andrews
Kiernan Shipka
Ally Andrews
Miranda Otto
Kelly Andrews
Kate Trotter
Lynn
John Corbett
Glenn
Kyle Breitkopf
Jude Andrews
Dempsey Bryk
Rob
Billy MacLellan
The Reverend

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John R. Leonetti
Writers: Shane van Dyke, Carey van Dyke
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John R. Leonetti, shot by Michael Galbraith. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tom Hajdu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Duff Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka and Miranda Otto carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They're listening.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7315484 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John R. Leonetti directs. Michael Galbraith behind the camera. Tom Hajdu scores. Duff Smith cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2International production across 4 countries: Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by John R. Leonetti, shot by Michael Galbraith. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Tom Hajdu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Duff Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka and Miranda Otto carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "They're listening.".
8IMDB entry: tt7315484 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "based on novel or book", "deaf", "post-apocalyptic future", "survival".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Galbraith
Original score: Tom Hajdu
Editing: Duff Smith
Production design: Bob Ziembicki
Makeup / hair: Paul Jones
VFX supervisor: Matt Glover
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $2,325,977
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Silence (2019)

Also by

John R. Leonetti

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

KhanStan2019-04-23
★ 7/10
Same story as "Sshhh" and "Bird Box", In this movie you can speak (loudly).But you can see, which is different by Netflix.
The Movie Diorama2020-01-16
★ 2/10
The Silence mutes any and all brain activity, sending viewers into a quiet sleep. “Shhhh! Be vewy vewy quiet! I’m hunting carnivewous ancient bats!”. For even the most minuscule of noises will send a swarm of ‘Pitch Black’ ‘Doctor Who’-esque bat demons that will scratch, bite and gnaw at your flesh. Based on a novel apparently, however any and all originality was tossed out of the family car window when both the superior ‘A Quiet Place’ and hugely popular ‘Bird Box’ were capitalising on the whole “sense prevention” horror schtick. Basically, it’s both those films put together. Ancient bat creatures are released from an uncharted cave system and are terrorising the continent of North America, where we follow a family trying to survive and reach a refuge. Problem is, this family is so chilled and relaxed during this heightened state of emergency, that any and all threat is relinquished from the nonchalant acting and careless attitudes. Urgh, honestly! Leonetti is doing his absolute best in unimaginatively mimicking other similar films, where veteran and all-round talent Tucci is waltzing around the countryside showing a face of “I can’t be bothered, release me from this torturous nightmare”. Plagued by infuriatingly stupid plot conveniences and character choices, the severe lack of tension halts the momentum entirely. Heck, it’s not even in neutral anymore. It’s reversing! Examples include (brace yourself...): handing a handgun to the uncle who is then left to die, ginger son conveniently switching cars before one of them veers over a verge, iPhones instantly muting themselves when submerged in water for a total of three seconds and bringing an obviously loud dog with you. That last example, accompanied with an unnecessary scene involving members of the public banishing a mother and her baby due to generating far too much noise, are simply utilised to showcase the destructive nature of humanity. Yup. Humans suck, and this film wants you to know that. You shan’t be scared by the horrifically visualised bat demons that look smoother than Tucci’s bald head. It’s the characters that’ll get under your skin and infuriate you. Need more proof? The entire third act. Father and daughter wander off to the nearest pharmacy, surprisingly making zero noise whatsoever on the way there, and encounter a mentally unstable reverend who yearns to fertilise young girls to maintain the population and chop their tongues off (after the foreplay, obviously...). What. The. Hell? That was so left field that even the flying angels didn’t see that coming. The narrative focus shifts constantly, making an already boring premise even more tediously mundane. Aside from one sacrifice towards the conclusion that had some emotional gravitas, The Silence offers nothing more than another forced extraction of this now dull horror concept. Actors weren’t trying, direction was unstable and the insufficient amount of scares were, well, insufficient. Oh wait, I forgot! It literally ends on the daughter becoming survivalist-styled Lara Croft and hunting these winged menaces down. Oh no no! I’m done! Just watch ‘A Quiet Place’ instead...
Sierbahnn2026-05-22
★ 6/10
Sort of like Birdbox or A Quiet Place The movie feels sort of rushed with the initial world building being different from something we would be more familiar with, like zombies for instance. It introduces an entirely new set of monsters with new rules that we have to apply to the narrative. Then it skips most of that world building to get into a weird humans are the real monster sort of plot and you sort of lose interest in it at that point. The monsters are pretty but not very scary and even though the casting of the human characters is great and the direction is solid, this movie does not rise much above mediocrity, unfortunately.