The brutal and confrontational horror thriller Soft & Quiet is totally unlike Blumhouse's other releases and its ending left a lot of questions.
The shocking 2022 horror thriller Soft & Quiet was not only a challenging film to watch, but its ending left a lot of questions. Debuting at the South by Southwest film festival, the movie centers on a group of female white supremacists whose meeting spirals into a night of violence and hate.
Polarizing critics and audiences alike, Beth de Araújo's directorial debut was intentionally crafted to push buttons and present a story that genuinely shocks. The film was produced by Jason Blum, and its release through the Blumhouse brand makes it one of the most unique additions to that company's catalog of horror films. SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Eschewing the usual aspects of a horror movie, Soft & Quiet instead opts to frighten its audience through its sheer plausibility, and presents a story inspired by real-life headlines that speak to larger issues in society. Aside from its challenging subject matter, Soft & Quiet is also a technical marvel, and it is one of the few horror movies filmed in one continuous shot which gives the viewer nowhere to hide from the creeping terror on screen. Even if it isn't easy to watch, Soft & Quiet is a captivating film that is scarier than any traditional horror could ever dream of being. Soft & Quiet Was Inspired By A True Story Although the film is filled with unspeakable horror, director and writer Beth de Araújo actually developed the idea from a real-life headline. When speaking with Forbes, de Araújo specifically mentioned the infamous Amy Cooper viral video in which a white woman called the cops on a Black birdwatcher just because he asked her to leash her dog. While that real social media incident didn't spiral out of control like the events of the ending of Soft & Quiet did, it was an evocative enough event to fire the imagination of the filmmaker to think of the darker possibilities.What Does The Title Soft & Quiet Mean While Soft & Quiet was anything but that, its title actually carries deeper meaning than its obvious ironic juxtaposition to the events within the story. Hearkening back to the scene in which Emily first meets with the women of the "Daughters for Aryan Unity", the name, Soft & Quiet, calls on the line in which Emily advises the group to spread their message of hate softly, as opposed to brashly as others suggested. It also speaks to the way that Emily specifically views women in society, and references how she holds the anti-feminist belief that women should be soft, quiet, and feminine in order to please men. Why Is Soft & Quite Shot In One Long Take? Besides showing off the technical mastery of cinematographer Greta Zozula, the under-the-radar Netflix horror movie also used its long continuous takes to impart a message to the audience. Since the events of the story essentially happen over the course of an hour and a half, the choice to make the film one long take allows the audience to come along for the ride in real-time. Illustrating just how quickly things escalate from simple hateful talk to deadly violence, the film's use of a single take doesn't give the viewer time to look away, and they are forced to watch the dark journey of the characters unfold without any interruptions.Why Did Emily Want To Write A Children's Book? Mentioned only briefly at the beginning of the film, Soft & Quiet subtly drops a chilling detail that gives insight into the way the hateful message of characters like Emily can be spread. Emily is an elementary school teacher, and though she harbors just as much racist vitriol as the rest of the women, she also has access to many more minds that she can influence. Emily's aspirations to be a children's book author aren't out of her love for literacy, but it is abundantly clear that she wants to use her literary pursuits to infect the minds of the young with her own toxic racial beliefs. Where Did Soft & Quiet Take Place? All the way up to the end of Soft & Quiet, it is never revealed exactly where the film is supposed to take place. Although it is obviously set somewhere in the United States, the vagueness of location is not without its purpose to the themes of the story. The rural, small-town, nature of the location helps the events feel more self-contained, but Soft & Quiet is the kind of horror story that could happen anywhere. By intentionally leaving the location up in the air, de Araújo lets emphasizes that the events of Soft & Quiet aren't location specific, but represent a problem around the world. What Happened With Emily's Brother? Unlike most other Blumhouse horror movie villains, the character of Emily isn't a mask-wearing monster with an unquenchable bloodlust, but a very realistic depiction of those who harbor racist beliefs. The movie very intentionally gives her motivations, such as her desire to have children, and all of her group member friends each have a well-defined reason for their misguided vitriol. Emily's is somewhat vague, but it most likely has to do with her mysterious brother, who is only offhandedly mentioned in the film. Emily's brother has a dark connection to the character of Ann, though it is never fully fleshed out. As established in the film, Emily's brother is incarcerated for sexual assault, and when the group of racist women encounters Ann and Lily at the store, it is revealed that her brother's prison sentence might be because he attacked Ann. This connection is most likely what pushed Emily further down the path of racism, and Soft & Quiet's ending did an excellent job of showing the subtle escalation within Emily, as she transforms from leader to follower when her group's racist furor grows out of control. Did Ann And Lily Survive? Just because they had the unfortunate distinction of crossing paths with the racist women at the convenience store, sisters Ann and Lily became unwitting victims of their onslaught of hate. The ending of Soft & Quiet showed Emily and Leslie dumping the presumably dead bodies of Ann and Lily into a lake, but the final shot of the film showed one of the two bursting from the water in shock and horror. Considering the fact that Lily had a severe allergic reaction due to her being force-fed peanuts, it is highly unlikely that she survived. However, the final shot suggested that Ann lived through the ordeal. The Real Meaning Of Soft & Quiet's Ending It was clear from the outset that the true intention of Soft & Quiet was to be as shockingly real as possible and offer viewers a plausible horror that referenced the state of racism in the United States. However, the actual ending of the film had a somewhat hopeful message despite everything that had come before. Because Ann lived through her encounter with the women, the movie suggests that they were not going to get away with it. Much like the real-life event that inspired the film, the racism of the women had been held up to the light, and perhaps justice could be served after all.
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