A great concept

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2020)

This film opens three months after a world changing event; creatures that will attack anything making an even moderate sound have wiped out most of humanity. We aren't told where they came from or how many other survivors there may be as the story is focused on one family. A husband and wife, their two sons and their daughter, who is deaf. There number is reduced by one in an early scene that demonstrates the dangers of the creatures. A year later they are living in an isolated house, the mother is expecting another child. Through the course of the film the family struggle to survive knowing one mistake could doom them all.
I really enjoyed this film; the nature of the threat was original and genuinely scary... one was conscious of every sound one made while watching. I liked the fact that the film didn't explicitly state how the creatures had arrived or what attempts at defeating them had been made... all we need to know is that they are here, they have wiped out civilisation and all services and that this one family is struggling to survive. Like many horror films we don't get a good look at the creatures till quite a way into the film; when we do they are suitably scary. The cast does a fine job; John Krasinski, who also directed as the father; Emily Blunt as the mother; Millicent Simmonds, as the daughter; and Noah Jupe, as the elder son. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to people wanting a good scare and an original story without excess gore or other material that might offend.