The Silence: Netflix: Ending Explained + Monsters Analysis

The Silence has just dropped on Netflix and this modern Horror film with a twist has a lot to unpack from it.

Throughout this video, I’ll be breaking down everything that you need to know about the movie, the inspiration behind it and it’s ending. I’m going to try my best to not mention Bird Box or A Quiet Place at all throughout this review and judge it on it’s own merit but man it’s gonna be difficult.

Anyway, this is, of course, going to be filled with full spoilers on the film so if you don’t want to know anything about the movie then I highly suggest that you turn off now.

With that out the way, I hope you enjoy the video, now let’s get into my breakdown of A Quiet Bird Box 2: The Silence….AH CRAP….right that’s the last time I swear.

The Silence Source Material

The Silence is adapted from a book of the same name by Tim Lebbon. This 2015 release, similar to the film, follows Ally who lost her hearing at a young age and has had to adapt to the world around her.

To make matters worse the finding of a cave that is millions of years old is unearthed and from it springs a wealth of monsters that prey on sound. Seeking A QUIET PLACE…..ARRRR FFFFUUU….sorry, seeking a less noisy environment, the family decide to travel to Scotland as they are based in Britain and along the way run into who have devolved into uncivilised heathans that wish to survive in this now lawless society.

This came out way before all the similar films and is technically the original though overall it doesn’t quite capture the same level of intensity that those movies had.

The Silence Movie Plot Synopsis

Anyway, the film follows a similar storyline and we open with the unearthing of an uncharted cave in Pennsylvania. Vicious pterodactyls spring forth from it and completely decimate the scientists that discover the area and spring forth into our world.

Due to the absence of light within the cave, the pterodactyl’s, or Vesps as they come to be known, have evolved to the point that they now hunt using sound and this makes humans an easy target. These pterodactyls are absolutely ferocious and will rip the Bird right out of it’s Bird Box….AH CRAP LOOK I’M SORRY.

Anyway, It’s here that we join Ally, who similar to the source material lost her ability to hear at a young age through a car crash that deafended her and killed her some of her grandparents. Ally’s father has remarked on her ability to adapt to the world around her and the character almost has a sixth sense of awareness through having to rely on the rest of her senses.

I’m hoping that they just keep making horror movies that deprive the senses so eventually we can get The Scent: Whoever Smelt It Dealt It or The Silence 2: Silent But Violent.

The World Falls Apart

Back to the movie though there is a real sense of loss in the family and they are overprotective of Ally who we see the world through the eyes of as it’s slowly torn apart by the attacks of the newly discovered creatures.

Through the use of social media and viral videos, the family quickly discover that silence is the only way to survive and they decide to get as far away from the city as possible as this is obviously where the most noise is. Now, where this differs from most other films with a similar aesthetic is that it shows the attack from the point of view of random civilians. Early on there’s a scene where a mother and her crying baby gets attacked on a subway after they are ousted from a train by fearful members of the public and this sets up the notion that most people are selfish and will do whatever it takes to survive.

This is confirmed on the road when Ally and her family run into a man who tries to take their car at gun point but luckily, Ally’s dad’s best friend, Glenn, who’s such a good guy that everyone calls him ‘Uncle’ shoots the man in the leg and they manage to get away.

However, it’s not the first run in that they have and it becomes apparent that humans are pretty much the polar opposite of the Vesps. Humans are stupid, listen to Boris Johnson and will kick their grandmothers out of the car for an extra like on facebook whereas the Vesps move as one cohesive unit and are therefore far more deadly.

Off Road

When going off road, Glenn crashes his car and becomes wedged in the vehicle. Knowing he’s a gonner and being such a great guy, Glenn says that he’s going to shoot Ally’s dad if he doesn’t leave.

Back at the car the dog starts barking and this draws the attention of the Vesps. Glenn fires his gun to draw their attention and they swarm on him. These little Air Pirhana’s quickly rip him apart and Ally’s father puts the family dog out the car because it won’t stop barking.

Unfortunately, Ally’s grandmother who is smoking asthmatic suddenly gets a cough and one of the Vesps swarms in which forces Ally’s dad to make a distraction. From this he discovers that the creatures are blind as a bat and sets fire to Glenn’s car which draws them in and then explodes, clearing most of the area.

Sanctuary

The group make it to a farm which is when a crazy old lady with a gun comes out shouting for them to get off her land and I guess she must only watch Fox News cos she has no idea what’s going on and quickly gets ripped apart by the Vesps in what’s probably the most unintentionally hilarious moment of the movie.

The group crawl through a tunnel in order to get to her house which forces the Father to turn on a woodchipper and it’s as badass as the old woman’s death was funny. I would literally just turn that on all day and sit back and enjoy that mean old lady’s delicious sandwich.

Anyway as the family bunker down it’s at this point that we start to learn that religious nuts have been sacrificing Atheists to Vesps as they believe that they have come to purge mankind.

Due to the mother of the family being bitten badly by one of the creatures, she gets an infection and Ally and her father have to head out to get Anti-biotics which is when the draw the attention of the religious people. Incase you haven’t worked it out already this film is very anti-right and the religious people can sort of be viewed a metaphor for right wing people attempting to silence free speech through the Vesps and thus, now that they are the main authority in the land, the family becomes their new target.

Vesps Analysis

The movie sort of highlights the danger that comes when one side of the argument manages to gain complete control and the antagonists are representative of an oppressive force that believe they have the right to do it because they have been gifted it by an apparent higher power. Whilst this metaphor works with a lot of beliefs and governments The Silence is a clear shot at the Trump administration and some of it’s policies.

Before I get too bogged down in political subtext, Ally and her father when looking for supplies discover that the Vesps lay their offspring in the bodies of the dead and leave the shop which is when they run into a character known as The Reverand. Ally and her father just wanna be on their way but you know what it’s like when you’re walking down the street and a religious guy stops you to tell you about his flock and they just end up leaving abruptly.

His Flock, known as The Hushed have resorted to cutting their tongues out in order to stay silent and this shows their dedication to their beliefs. Now I know I said I’d stopped mentioning Bird Box but in the book’s ending, the School for the Blind that the characters eventually reach at the end was actually full of people who had self-inflicted blindness upon themselves. It’s nice that in this film we at least get a version of something that was originally deemed too dark for the movies as that was cut from its respective adaptation.

The Reverand follows Ally and her father home and creepily stand outside looking at them and smiling.

He tries to recruit them ones again but Ally’s father politely requests to be left alone, which is when the Reverand says what he’s really come fore which is Ally who is fertile. Needless to say, this isn’t good news and they retreat and bide their time.

The Hushed

What I love about these villains is that they’re just so sinister and calm. A lot of the other films in the genre would probably have some overt anger towards the group but these are almost pacifists and try and avoid fighting as much as possible.

It’s at this point that Ally learns from her boyfriend Rob of a safe zone up North known as The Refuge. In the dead of night, The Hushed attack the farm by sending in a girl strapped with mobile phones that all have alarms on them which causes the Vesps to swarm in. As if the Iphone alarm sound wasn’t annoying enough already it’s now being used to murder people.

Honestly, this is where the film really ramps up and I loved seeing phones being thrown through windows and used as weapons. This gives the Hushed time to sneak in and attempt to grab Ally which causes the Grandmother to rush them and sacrifice herself in order to kill some of the attackers. The group rushes the hushed and manage to kill the majority of them but you really get the feeling that there are no winners here and the shot of the Vesps flying over the carnage solidifies that the overseers still rule the world now.

The Silence Ending Explained

We’re then shown a montage of the family making their way up north as they slowly and Ally is reunited with Rob. From the ending monologue we get the feeling that this is really a race to the top of the food chain, though this can be viewed as a race been progressives and none progressives in society and the ending highlights that though there are no right or wrong rulers of the planet, eventually one will be decided dependant on who adapts the most.

The fact that Ally easily kills a creature that wanders up North highlights that it is the humans that will most likely win, though it becomes clear that the Vesps have adapted to the environment and have even started to lay eggs there.

There is an indicator that this race of the survival of the fittest may go on forever but we close on a hopefully Ally heading to tackle the problem head-on.

Overall it’s an ambiguous ending and whilst the movie is a little underwhelming I did still have a lot of fun with it. I would have loved to see this as a tv series as crammed into just 90 minutes it feels a little underdeveloped. This feels like a first chapter and down the road, there is potential for a lot more.

Still, the movie was fun and whilst it’s getting slated online I still enjoyed it.

Overall The Silence for me gets a…