Brilliant storytelling and unbearable tension

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2018)

Show, don't tell is thundered into every director as they begin learning their craft. Add a crisp soundscape which informs as much as any visual and you have "A Quiet Place".
This is a small gem of a film which ratchets the tension from the first scene and because it has a short run time of just on 90 minutes never loosens it's grip.
There is no explanation, no ridiculous exposition. The film deposits you in present day US and posits that something horrible has happened - any sound will bring predator like creatures. From that one tenet, the film elegantly and smartly tells its story which can be built almost entirely from the visual (and sound) cues.
That John Krasinski would be one of the screenwriters, lead and director is almost more fantastical. His earlier directorial works were underwhelming (I had not seen either) and to also be the lead is a big gear shift. So stand by to be jaw droppingly surprised as this is majestic storytelling. I mean to the point Screenwriter 101 as to how to evoke mood and tell story on the screen. I was once told write a silent film and if the story works, then add dialogue and this is very close to that experiment. The rest of the cast are extremely good, Millicent Simmonds (who is deaf in real life) as the angsty teen and then the superb Emily Blunt as the mother and wife to real life husband Krasinski.
There is not much to say...anything else would ruin the experience. The sound is incredibly important so go to a dark theatre and envelop yourself. I am not joking - do not take stuff to eat..every sound during this is repulsive.