'A Quiet Place' Review: Every Parent's Worst Nightmare

It's been great watching the horror genre evolve into a mainstream cinematic juggernaut, with each year bringing a new string of highly successful horror flicks. Last year brought out us a horror film from a famous comedy actor in the form of Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning Get Out. This year, former The Office star John Krasinski and his wife Emily Blunt are making their own foray into horror with the high-concept horror/thriller A Quiet Place. Thankfully, the hype surrounding the film proves to be real, as Blunt and Krasinski deliver one of the most original and tense thrillers we've seen in years -- one that will be particularly unnerving for any parent.

The story takes place in a world that has been ravaged by the appearance of mysterious beasts; nightmarish creatures with long, spidery limbs and scythe-like arms hunt the world using a membrane in their heads that gives them an incredibly acute awareness of sound. In this dystopian setting, we meet Lee and Evelyn Abbott (John Krasinki and Emily Blunt), two survivors who have adopted a strict regiment of soundless living in order to keep themselves and their children alive. The joyless routine of survival proves to only be mildly effective, because as any parent can attest, getting a family of children to remain quite and obey all the rules is a veritable pipe dream. Further complicating matters is the fact that Evelyn is nearing the due date of her pregnancy as keeping a newborn alive in a world where every cry could be fatal presents a whole different set of challenges. As the Abbott parents try to prepare for their new arrival, they must also train their older children to live in a world that is constantly trying to kill them -- and do it all without making a sound. Needless to say, things don't go the easy way when it comes time for baby Abbott's arrival.

Marking the second feature-length film from John Krasinski, A Quiet Place certainly establishes that the actor has potential to be a very smart and effective director. The story of the film (co-written by Krasinski, Scott Beck, and Bryan Woods) works as driving focus of the directorial vision, which is very apparent in the excellent sound design and mixing that is key to making the film's premise work. However, the superb audio composition doesn't distract from the film's visuals, which are equally top-notch. A lot of A Quiet Place functions according to a very Hitchcockian visual style, using carefully selected shots, tracking shots, and framing to set up entire sequences of tension that will later unfold. When not using the visual composition to set up and execute tension, Krasinski constructs wilderness in pastoral shots that exude all kinds of implication and thematic resonance, while also being beautiful and captivating to behold. With so little dialogue, the visuals really do need to carry and convey the majority of the story, and Krasinski rises to the task like a masterful visual composer.

The performances are the other key component, as the actors are put in the position of having to convey a lot of deep, complex, emotion, as well as the obligatory character development and interaction, while hardly speaking a word. It's not a completely successful performance experiment, as we naturally get fewer insights into each of the respective characters; nonetheless, Krasinski and Blunt do a fantastic job of inferring much about their characters' subtext and development through facial expressions, scenes of reflection and emotion, and through some great interactions with one another. Of the pair, Blunt is the stronger performer, with a dramatic yet subtle performance that is immaculately balanced somewhere between hope and despair, vulnerability, and uniquely feminine strength of will. While some people are wary of real-life couples acting together, Krasinski and Blunt manage to forge a very real and poignant onscreen connection that seems effortless. Of the young actors who play the Abbott children, hearing-impaired actress Millicent Simmonds is the clear breakout, playing the strong-willed and hearing-impaired eldest child, Regan.

As for scare factor: A Quite Place's PG-13 rating has been a concern for some fans, but it shouldn't be. The film is a white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat experience, and not because of gruesomeness ways that people die. In fact, this is the rare horror film that is so good at building character and story, that every single potential death feels like it could be a major blow because you care about the characters so much. And, when the deaths do start happening, they are indeed powerful and intense, with nothing left to the frivolity of "gore porn." In fact, the scariest thing of all is when the creatures of the film remain out of sight - just quick blurs of death and destruction that are more terrifying in their "force of nature" mystery then when we actually see them. Not to take away from the film's excellent creature design, which proves to be just as terrifying, up close.

In the end, A Quiet Place lives up to the hype as a "must-see" horror film experience.This is a film where sound itself is a jump scare, so it's definitely recommended you catch this one in a theater with the biggest and best sound system available. You won't regret the investment.

Review Score (out of 5): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Quiet Place is now playing in theaters. It is 1 hour and 30 minutes long, and is rated PG-13 for terror and some bloody images.