IF THEY CAN HEAR YOU, THEY CAN HUNT YOU.

The Abbotts are trying to survive in a world that has been overtaken by large, vicious monsters; the only way to escape their notice is to remain absolutely quiet.

Here’s a surprise from John Krasinski as a filmmaker – a full-throated horror-science fiction movie that relies on familiar ideas and trappings but still finds a way to look fresh. Very economically directed, this monster thriller knows what it wants to achieve and makes excellent use of silence without ever losing tension. Just don’t think too hard about its underlying premise.

The monsters are serviceably intimidating; real-life husband and wife Krasinski and Emily Blunt wring a lot of emotion out of their characters.

2018-U.S. 90 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by John Krasinski. Screenplay: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski. Music: Marco Beltrami. Cast: Emily Blunt (Evelyn Abbott), John Krasinski (Lee Abbott), Millicent Simmonds (Regan Abbott), Noah Jupe (Marcus Abbott). 

Trivia: Co-executive produced by Krasinski; co-produced by Michael Bay. One early idea was to make the story part of the Cloverfield franchise. Followed by a sequel, A Quiet Place Part II (2021), and a prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One (2024).  

Last word: “I finished the whole script, and [Blunt and I] flew to L.A. so I could pitch to Paramount – not just on the script, and to hear their notes, but to pitch my vision for directing it. She read it on the plane. She said, ‘As long as you’re going to go pitch it to them, can I read it?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ It was on the plane that she turned to me and she genuinely looked sick. I reached for a barf bag, and as I was reaching for it she said, ‘You can’t let anyone else do this part.'” (Krasinski, Deadline)