The camerawork is buttressed by Nick Long’s fantastic sound design and Zach Robinson’s lingering musical score. While a little too on-the-nose at times, harkening back to some early William Castle-esque stingers which deprive a couple of moments of their natural unease, the thrumming pulse and echoing synths give Shelter in Place an ever-constant throb of tension. This stylistic cohesion is most evident in the opening credits sequence (which may be one of my favorite openings of any movie this year) and other similar montage segments. The editing by Colin Kelly Hingel and Brian Zwiener makes incredible use of split-screen storytelling. It delivers lean pacing with little-to-no lag between plot points, possessing an inherent sleekness that draws us in without much conscious effort (and it honestly reminds me of the more frenetic work of Stephen Mirrione, which is just awesome).
“…what we’ve gotten is a slow atmospheric burn that shoves our modern insecurities and facades into our faces.”
All of these technical aspects are topped off by the sublime performances of the entire cast. While the narrative does stutter somewhat at the film’s conclusion, which ultimately makes the final act a bit underwhelming considering the substantial buildup, the actors’ dedication to their roles makes those moments considerably less detrimental than they had the potential to become. I cared for people in this film, a rare feat for most horror tales. Even when they started digging into each other unfairly, brought on by the excessive lockdown fatigue, it was easier to put me into their shoes and relate than dismiss them and wait for the cleaver to drop. This impressive resonance speaks to the direction of Beyrooty and Martin, who have managed to craft a stunning debut, making me thoroughly excited for their future feature film career.
If Shelter in Place were managed by less capable hands and a less passionate cast, it would have easily been a hotel full of oft-reused tropes that would have melded into the background of the Covid-19 pandemic with hardly a whisper. But thankfully, what we’ve gotten is a slow atmospheric burn that shoves our modern insecurities and facades into our faces. Shelter in Place gets under your skin, worming around like a parasite that’s eager to burrow into your brain.
"…gets under your skin, worming around like a parasite that’s eager to burrow into your brain."
