NOT a "horror" film, but rather a suspense movie

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2018)

There are many things the new film A QUIET PLACE is. What it is NOT is a "horror" film (as it is being promoted). What this film is is tense, suspenseful, well written, acted & directed, and quite good.
Co-written and Directed by John Krasinski (THE OFFICE) and starring Krasinski and his real-life wife, Emily Blunt (LIVE, DIE, REPEAT, the upcoming MARY POPPINS RETURNS), A QUIET PLACE tells the story of an Earth that has been overrun by aliens who hunt humans as food. These creatures are blind and have limited olfactory senses, but what they do have is extremely good hearing, so to stay alive, you must stay quiet.
We are introduced to this world by a family of 5 that have, thus far, survived. It consists of a Mother (Blunt) and Father (Kasinski) and their 3 children, one of whom is deaf. They have learned how to live in this world and we watch them struggle to stay alive - and stay together as a family unit.
This is the Directorial debut of Kasinski and he acquits himself quite well. This film is strongly paced with a sure eye for what this film should look and feel like. His handling of the actors is strong and he is smart enough to realize that this film could wear it's welcome out, so he keeps things short and to the point.
The acting of the children are good and Krasinski is very good in his role, but it is the work of Emily Blunt that really pulls this film along. As the matriarch of the family, you can see the care and concern on her face, her futility in trying to hold things together. Someone get this actress an Oscar already! Maybe not for this film...but...she is an Oscar-caliber actress showing off her abilities.
But...it is the silence that is the differentiating factor of this cinematic experience.
Because of the nature of the premise, this film - by necessity - is (in essence) a silent film. Because of this, an interesting thing happened in the movie theater I was in. At the beginning of the film, I could hear wrappers being handled and popcorn being eaten and drinks being drunk. But...after about 10 minutes, the theater became just as silent as the screen and you were pulled into the silent world of the film.
All in all, a fantastic, unique time at the cinema. As I said, I would not classify this as a "horror" film, but rather a taught, tense, suspense film that had me jumping out of my seat on more than one occasion.
Letter Grade: A-
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)