John Krasinski Drew Major Inspiration From 'Jaws' For 'A Quiet Place'

Hitting theaters this week is John Krasinski's debut in the world of horror, A Quiet Place, in which he starred, directed, and re-wrote. The film currently has a 99 percent positive rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, a rare feat for any film, especially in the horror realm. According to one of the film's producers, Andrew Form, the director might have a hit thanks to drawing inspiration from one of the greatest horror films of all time, Jaws.

"Creatively, John was always talking about Jaws. From the first conversation we've ever had about the movie, he was referencing that film," Form shared with CinemaBlend. "We've all learned that, [producer] Brad [Fuller] and I have worked on a lot of these genre films, the less you show the scarier. We really talked about when do you show the creature? How much here or there? That scene in the cornfield with Reagan, the daughter, that scene could've been two minutes longer with the two of them. It was really talked about, how much to show."

While Krasinski had the luxury of picking what he did and didn't want to show the audiences, Jaws director Steven Spielberg didn't have that luxury, as a variety of malfunctions on set resulted in little footage being usable in the finished product. Ultimately, it was the fear of the unknown that resonated more deeply with audiences.

A Quiet Place depicts a family attempting to hide from monstrous creatures who lurk the woods near their house who attack any sound they hear. While Krasinski showed restraint with displaying the creatures, he didn't hide them completely, causing a variety of challenges for the design team when it came to offering viewers an all-new creature.

"The design of the creature was definitely the hardest part of it," Form shared. "Luckily, we had ILM on the movie, who to us, are one of the best in the world, and we just kept challenging ourselves, because everyone will always say to you, 'Everything's been done. What's your creature look like?' How do you do anything new anymore, with the amount of movies that have been made? So you have these artists drawing designs and everyone looks at them and they're like 'No, that looks like Alien or that looks like this, that looks like that,' and it's really a challenge to come up with something fresh and new."

The monsters' strengths and abilities ultimately played a major factor in their design.

"We did have the sound element, which was our big deal. The hearing and the ears were the most important part of these creatures," Form pointed out. "Very late in the design process, the design of the creature actually happened and ILM, I'm sure, wishes it was six months earlier but we definitely were struggling with the design and are wildly happy with the way it came out."

Audiences can see A Quiet Place in theaters this Friday.

Are you looking forward to checking out the horror film? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T CinemaBlend]