Action thrillers about humans hunting other humans have arguably become a genre unto themselves, but whereas many go the route of horror, The Silencing veers more toward drama than schlock. That line can be tough to walk in a film with this premise, but a solidly compelling performance from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) as a grieving father helps to ground The Silencing in realism, even when its story - and some of the dialogue - could skew more toward a campy horror movie. The film is directed by Robin Pront (The Ardennes) from a script by Micah Ranum. The Silencing is a decently exhilarating thriller movie, even if the twists in the story aren't always well-earned or well thought out.
Five years after the disappearance of his teenage daughter, reclusive Rayburn Swanson (Coster-Waldau) spends his time drinking and maintaining his wildlife sanctuary deep in the Minnesota forest. When the body of a young girl turns up in a local river, with bloody tracks discovered in the area, it becomes clear someone is hunting girls for sport. Sheriff Alice Gustafson (Annabelle Wallis) is new to the job and dealing with not being wholly liked by the community, in addition to wrangling her troubled younger brother Brooks (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). When Rayburn discovers a girl is being hunted by a mysterious man on his sanctuary, he's set on a path to discovering who took his daughter, even as Sheriff Gustafson also searches for the killer.
The basic premise and story of The Silencing is a bit like an overlong episode of Criminal Minds, with a red herring thrown in to delay the inevitable reveal of the killer's identity. The mystery itself is fairly clever, with a few breadcrumbs dropped early on before viewers are distracted by the red herring. The resolution of the mystery is a little contrived, and the motivation of the killer isn't well developed at all, but it's a satisfying enough conclusion to not ruin the enjoyment of the movie. Though The Silencing gets in a few exciting twists and turns, the movie's real strength is in the tension of the hunting scenes, with Coster-Waldau's Rayburn needing to use his own skills to face off with the masked killer. It's in these moments when The Silencing skews more toward horror and it's difficult not to wonder whether the movie would've been better served digging deeper into that aspect than trying to play it as a straight drama with action elements.
Rather, The Silencing seems hellbent on being a character drama, with Coster-Waldau as the grieving drunk father. For his part, the actor gives a compelling turn in the role, but the part as written doesn't offer much beyond what's been seen plenty times before. The trope of a man who's lost a daughter (or another woman close to him) and it becomes his entire motivation for whatever life he leads is so cliche at this point as to be exhausting. Even the added layer of Rayburn being a drunk feels overly familiar and wholly unoriginal. Still, The Silencing is Coster-Waldau's to carry and he does it well. He's further backed up by a fine enough Wallis, though she's given much less to work with - and Fiennes Tiffin even less. It's a solid cast that unfortunately isn't well supported by the film's script.
In the end, The Silencing provides some compelling drama, fun thrills and exciting action, though it doesn't dig deep enough to fully excel in any of those genres. The result is a middling action-thriller that's entertaining enough to provide a 90-minute distraction, but may be easily forgotten by the viewer. As such, The Silencing is perfect for movie fans looking for a new and exciting film while they're still stuck at home. If theaters are open, The Silencing may not be quite worth the price of admission, but perhaps if there's nothing much else to check out. The tension of its action moments would certainly be best served by the theater experience. Ultimately, those looking for an exciting action-thriller to pass the time, whether at home or the theater, won't go wrong with The Silencing.
The Silencing is available in theaters, On Demand and on digital August 14th. It is 93 minutes long and rated R for violence, some disturbing images and language.
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