Uniquely tense, a great thriller

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2018)

Our take: See it in theaters and hope that the rest of the theater can stay quiet.
Post-credit scene: No.

Krasinski shines in his directorial debut, keeping the audience's attention from start to grand finale. The whole film keeps you tense but also allows for moments of laughter and tears. It's shot exceptionally, and there's really nothing to complain about directorially.
It's also not often that a film is so drastically different from everything else in theaters. This one would almost be better seen at home on Netflix where a viewer could control their surroundings. At the same time, the film is exceptional on the big screen if the rest of the audience can cooperate. The film is almost entirely shot without verbalized words, but even without speaking, the characters are able to connect and communicate their devotion to one another through something as simple as eye contact, which is often taken for granted in film. Silence is often unnerving and its use in the horror genre is relatively pervasive, but to take the suspense of silence and extend it to something feature-length. The creativity and the guts to commit to something so risky really paid off.
One of the best aspects of the film is the casting of deaf actress Millicent Simmonds as the deaf daughter, Regan. Not only is the representation important, but the way Krasinski handles the character herself is impeccable. Even in the aspects of sound mixing when the movie is from Regan's point of view is amazing - there's a complete lack of even ambient noise. Following an Oscar year where the Best Picture film was both praised for featuring a character with a disability in the lead and criticized for failing to cast an actress with that disability to play her (the mute Elisa played by Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water) it's good to know that directors and storytellers are taking the steps to ensure that not only are they including representation in film, but they are actually being representative.
Featuring: Some serious lapses in logic, but that doesn't take away from the film. It's a horror movie after all, what would it be without the need for some serious suspension of disbelief.