Second Year in a Row in Which a Comedy Actor Makes an Instant Horror Classic?!?!?

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2018)

John Krasinski's directorial debut is an exciting, heartfelt, smart and scary creature feature, full of character-driven moments and child protagonists. I never would've guessed it, but it seems like Jim from "The Office" must have gone to the Spielberg school of master-filmmaking. In his first run behind the camera, he displays a Miyazaki-like control over the tone of A Quiet Place, managing to bring lightness and palpable drama into his tale of fantasy-terror. A (literally) hushed slow-burn of tension and pay-off, it's the greatest "silent" film since Chaplin's Modern Times.
Krasinski and Blunt play parents who must exist in nearly-complete noiselessness, as the world is overrun by aural-sensitive monsters who eat humans. Thematically, it's incredibly dense. The deep fears of inadequacy that parents feel raising children in a dangerous world are explored with directness and brains. However, it also serves as a strong metaphor for how silence only exacerbates the painful effects of trauma, and how the difficulty of confronting truth ultimately leads to recovery. With stunning sound design and great performances, we're given subtle perspective for each character's journey through grief.
On the other hand, this is just a straight-up killer horror-thriller. The monsters are a cool mixture of a Demogorgon and the Cloverfield alien. Individual scenes, including an instant classic involving a bathtub and a perfectly-nailed ending, pop with focused clarity. Krasinski shows a great eye for big beautiful visuals and a painstaking attention to detail, especially in thinking through truly living silently. This seems to point to more than just beginner's luck for an actor-turned-director; Quiet Place is one of the greatest monster movies in decades, and a signpost for a new filmmaking voice.