Written by Dan McGrath, we are introduced to the protagonist as he slowly and quietly peels off the lid from a can of food in what looks like a makeshift bunker in a caravan.

A tiny noise arouses his suspicion, and a voiceover describes that being quiet all the time “is a lot like being dead”.

This opening cuts to shots of eerily silent and empty roads and towns presenting a cut off world. We then move to a different man who studies a mobile phone filled with family pictures. The voiceover continues querying an unexplained event that led to this situation. Explaining the lack of batteries left in the world, this precious moment of connection is interrupted by the phone alarm blasting out and as the film cuts quickly away we are left to wonder what became of the man.

John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place (2018) is the obvious, but appropriate, parallel – doubling as it does with a post-extinction world where silence is key to survival. The addition of a backpacking mum and clumsy child is another echo but like Armageddon and Deep Impact, sometimes ideas just coalesce at the same time. 

The film’s sound designer Scott Rockingham should certainly be praised for his clever mix of eerie atmosphere and specific noises to maintain interest and intrigue. From water dripping to the jangling of metal, each tiny sound is amplified by its relation to the silence preceding it. 

The soft cinematography is a highlight too. It illuminates the gentler human emotions against some stark shadows and the unseen dangers lurking in the background. At just 8 minutes the short brilliantly creates a world whose dangers are made clear yet not really clarified. And the ambient nature of the film continues towards its conclusion with memories of a previous life, the healing power of music and the longing for company and shared conversational experiences.

As an official selection of Nottingham’s Mayhem Film Festival and the Sacramento Horror Film Festival, Dead Quiet is already gaining some worthy praise for its impact.

And although the film has been long in production, the delay in its release allowing audiences to forget its similarity to A Quiet Place is helpful. But it could also be that its metaphorical themes of isolation and loss of company is far more relevant in a post-Covid world than when it was first created.

How survivors cope with and without the aid of modern medicine and technology, the film could be seen as a social commentary on the pandemic. And so, with these heady themes balanced well with the film’s technical aspects, Dead Quiet’s excellent engaging aesthetic and satisfyingly melancholic atmosphere should resonate loudly with audiences.