A Quiet Place

 
John Krasinski's mean monster thriller, A Quiet Place, makes clear what's at stake in a truly startling way within the picture's first five minutes and adds layers of complication and dreadful concern through to the last reel. Krasinski directs himself and Emily Blunt as the parents of a small family trying to stay alive after what appears to have been an alien invasion that left humankind scattered, scarce and scared. The beasties are hideous, ravenous and blind; they hunt using sound, which means to avoid attack one must be quiet -- always. Contributing more than a little irony to this entertaining pressure cooker of a movie is the young actress Millicent Simmonds, who plays the couple's oldest child, who uses a hearing aid. Simmonds, who actually is deaf, brings an emotional weight to her role that nearly matches the more senior members of the cast and that's saying a lot considering what Emily Blunt must face down during the course of this terrific picture.