To say “The Silence,” directed by John R. Leonetti, is a poor man’s “A Quiet Place” would be an extreme over-exaggeration of the quality.

“The Silence” feels like a cheap grab by Netflix to cash in on this theme of horror where one must learn to live without being able to do something simple like make noise or see.

The overall problem with this film is not the acting because, for the most part, everyone involved does a fine job. However, the writing and plot are egregious to say the least.

The story follows Ally Andrews, played by Kiernan Shipka, and her family as they struggle to find refuge in a world overrun with bat-like creatures called Vesps that attack anything that makes noise.

The main characters constantly switch between using sign language and whispering, which makes absolutely no sense.

Is it too much to ask to just pick one and stick with it? This film has inconsistencies around every corner and refuses to follow the rules it puts in place.

It is guaranteed at one point everyone in the audience will scratch their heads and ask, “Why?”

Why, in any sense of the word “logic,” would they ever do what they just did? The main problem is simply how the story is told.

The Vesps, who act as the film’s main source of conflict, are computer-generated and at times feel completely out of place and look entirely unrealistic. This film is riddled with over-dramatic scenes that miss hitting any sort of emotion.with the audience every single time.

This film also has countless underdeveloped characters throughout the entire film which also miss hitting anything with audiences in terms of character development.

Overall, this film is an example of Netflix sacrificing art by trying to make a quick buck. Netflix has proven that, when time and effort are put into projects, they can be truly amazing. When filmmakers rush to shove a movie out before it’s ready for the sake of capitalizing on a fleeting trend, then films like this are produced.

This film was painfully hard to watch as a drama. A friendly recommendation would be to watch this film as a comedy with friends because, honestly, a lot of what this movie tries to do just comes off as funny.