An endearing horror film

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2019)

While "A Quiet Place" is a horror film, it is not the usual kind. Lead actor/director/screenwriter John Krasinski from "The Office" plays husband to Emily Blunt, who is actually Krasinski's spouse in real life. In the film, the two actors are parents to three children plus a baby on the way. A surprise tragedy in the beginning sets off a father/daughter conflict. The child actor who plays Krasinski's daughter in the film is deaf both in the film and in life. She in particular brings a unique presence to the film as a strong-minded, upset girl. All actors are well-chosen and appear to have a true family bond which is vital to this film, since their story and their safety is the crux of the two hour run time.
I started off with saying "A Quiet Place" is not your usual horror film, not only because of its unique premise (any loud sound attracts predatory alien creatures with super sensitive hearing) but for its focus on the family and their love and affection for each other. "War of the Worlds" starring Tom Cruise doesn't really come close in either the horror or family aspect, but there is a similar relationship dynamic between father and child and the use of strong child actors. The family in "A Quiet Place" is in general more warm with each other with Krasinski's acting playing a large role.
I liked this film as much as I was shuddering in suspense about it, too. In the end it paid larger tribute to courage and self-sacrifice than to selfishness for survival, which is a road horror films often can take. "A Quiet Place" is perhaps horror lite, and I like it that way.
If you're looking for a slightly darker film based on a similar premise (except for the suppression of sight instead of hearing) then look no farther than Netflix film "Bird Box" starring Sandra Bullock. "Bird Box" is darker because it has much more gore ("A Quiet Place" actually cuts away from most of the gory moments) and deals more with survival vs retaining empathy for others in a way that "A Quiet Place" doesn't go near because this film is about the survival of one family vs several.
I'd like to give "A Quiet Place" and 8/10 because it was emotionally affecting for me. I also liked the run time and didn't feel like it went on too long. I thought the premise was original. Like others I was also thinking about how the monsters could've been defeated easily. The premise is by no means bulletproof. At one point it seemed like the monsters appeared too often without motivation and I didn't know why the monsters were acting the noises or how they got there or anything. But I did not miss these bits and pieces too much.