This Underseen, Slow-Burn Sci-Fi Horror Is More Traumatizing Than ‘A Quiet Place’
A Quiet Place (2018) proved that a movie doesn’t need dialogue to be absolutely terrifying. The sci-fi horror follows the Abbott family as they struggle to survive in a world where extraterrestrial creatures have decimated humanity. In A Quiet Place, the aliens have a unique physiology that renders them blind and reliant on their highly sensitive hearing. To survive, the Abbott family lives in almost complete silence. Aside from sign language and a few whispers, the film is largely devoid of sound. It’s a premise that lends itself well to the slow-burning sci-fi horror that’s so tense and suspenseful you’ll often find yourself holding your breath in anticipation.
While several other horror sci-fi movies have experimented with premises similar to A Quiet Place, the film that’s far more traumatizing is one you probably haven’t heard of before: The Trail (2024). The Austrian horror film generated little fanfare upon its release, though it has steadily been climbing the JustWatch charts in the UK. Use our guide to find out how this underrated sci-fi horror compares to A Quiet Place.
What Is ‘The Trail’ About?
The Trail tells the story of Anna (Sophia Grabner), a young woman rendered mute due to a traumatic incident. After the incident, looking for healing and solace, she sets off on an isolated hiking trail in the Alps.
Along the way, though, she comes across a crashed UFO and becomes aware of a mysterious alien entity stalking her on her journey. As she continues along the trail and comes closer to the threat, she struggles to let go of her fear and trauma.
How It Compares to ‘A Quiet Place’
A Quiet Place and The Trail are quite similar. For one, there’s the notable lack of dialogue. The characters in A Quiet Place must be quiet to survive, while The Trail focuses on a woman who cannot speak. On top of that, both movies feature fairly small casts. A Quiet Place centers on a family of four, whereas The Trail features just Anna as its main protagonist. The result is that both movies feel very intimate, delving deep not into the world’s response to extraterrestrial life, but into the quiet lifestyle a few individuals lead in the face of trauma and the extraordinary.
Although both A Quiet Place and The Trail are small, intimate stories that feature extraterrestrials, they are different in how they execute their horror. A Quiet Place is extremely tense, utilizing jump scares and suspense through its story of a family surrounded by deadly extraterrestrials. The Trail features similar tension, but with fewer jump scares. A Quiet Place delivers more on the suspense because it’s a horror story about a family’s fight for survival. At the same time, The Trail focuses more on an atmosphere of dread through a slow-burning horror story about a woman fighting a more psychological battle.
In a way, The Trail is more traumatizing than A Quiet Place. A Quiet Place’s main villain is an extraterrestrial predator that operates much like a killing machine. However, The Trail takes on a more chilling atmosphere from the outset, in that the perpetrator of the film’s greatest horrors is human. There’s also something comforting about A Quiet Place, featuring a family, meaning the characters don’t have to experience this horror on their own. The Trail hits a little harder, though, because it captures what it means to face a psychological horror on your own.
Other Slow-Burn Sci-Fi Films to Watch Next
If you loved A Quiet Place and The Trail, you’ll also want to check out No One Will Save You (2023). No One Will Save You feels like a hybrid of A Quiet Place and The Trail, following a solitary young woman, Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever), who harbors her own trauma and must fight for survival when aliens invade her home. It’s another sci-fi horror film that uses little to no dialogue, reflecting its protagonist's isolation in a way that parallels The Trail. As in A Quiet Place and The Trail, isolation is part of the horror, which doesn’t need sound to convey it. No One Will Save You is another intimate, quiet sci-fi horror that easily induces paranoia and invites interpretation.
Bird Box (2018) is another strong pick for those looking for slow-burning sci-fi horror. In this film, sight, rather than sound, is the sense that can lead to demise, prompting characters to learn to live blindfolded. It’s another paranoia-inducing movie that makes you piece together what the actual horror is, pairing a suspenseful fight for survival with traumatizing flashbacks.
For another hidden gem sci-fi horror, you can watch Coherence (2014). The eerie low-budget film centers on a group of friends whose dinner party takes a strange turn when a comet passes Earth. Like A Quiet Place and The Trail, it demonstrates that less is sometimes more in horror. It’s especially interesting because it leaves it up to the viewer to determine if it’s a true fight for survival or a psychological one.
How to Watch ‘The Trail’
The Trail is available to stream for free on Tubi. You can also rent it on Amazon Prime Video for $2.99 or watch for free with an IndiePix Unlimited subscription.
