A Quiet Place

In space no one can hear you scream.

In the cinema, they can.

In A Quiet Place you don’t want anything to hear you scream.

John Krasinski’s inversion of the horror formula has received a lavishing of hype and it’s entirely justified.

We’re a long way from The Office here in Krasinski’s first directorial piece and he shows patience, care and a precise way with a camera. The year is 2020 and it’s taken a mere matter of months for the world to look post-apocalyptic. The reason? Fanged, Alien-like monsters who prey on humanity. They’re blind but hunt using sound.

The Abbott family live on a homestead, with all the amenities needed to survive. They lay sand to muffle their steps, they soundproof their walls and are easily the world’s quietest Monopoly players.

All of this is not enough to keep the monsters off their backs.

Much has been made of the atypical nature of this film. The lack of noise is almost contrapuntal, the polar opposite of the old fashioned, early stalk-and-slash films. There’s no allegory here, no characters making silly mistakes, no obvious omens of threat just constant surprises.

It builds tension like it’s going out of fashion. You will never be so wary of a single exposed nail. You’ll never jump more at a lamp falling over. You’ll never be as relieved at an egg timer going off or more frightened of a baby crying.

You’ll hold your breath, you’ll perch on the edge of your seat. It’s raw adrenalin, no psychological horror just a rollercoaster of heart pounding set pieces.

It won’t be one to reward repeat viewings because of this but is a wonderful cinematic experience. Go for the novel aspect, stay for the thrills.

4 stars ****