A Quiet Place represents the second feature film directed by John Krasinski. Does this film move Krasinski into the Big Leagues, or does it keep him relegated to the Minors?

Aliens that hunt by sound have invaded Earth and those humans that remain must be as quiet as possible if they hope to survive. A Quiet Place follows one family headed by real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. The film takes place about a year and a half since the Earth was invaded and a year after a personal tragedy for our protagonists. Evelyn (Blunt) is pregnant and she and Lee (Krasinski) have two other children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe). Regan is deaf and Lee is constantly working on different hearing aids to help her hear. He’s also trying to work out how to stop the aliens. What he’s learned is: they’re very fast, expert killers, and armored enough to be bulletproof. The baby is coming soon and we all know how much noise newborns make. Will the family survive?

A Quiet Place definitely has its share of, for lack of a better phrase, plot holes, but for me, they never really took me out of the film or derailed the plot in any way. Krasinski has crafted a concise, taut, nerve-wracking thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. At its heart, the film is about a broken family trying to put itself back together under dire circumstances. The climax is absolutely heartbreaking. Also, if you see it in the theater, please refrain from making a lot of noise with your nachos, popcorn, and such – it spoils the atmosphere.

The whole cast does an excellent job with very little dialogue. Much of the communication is carried out through sign language and the actors do nice work communicating through facial expressions. Krasinski and Blunt have a great rapport on screen, as they should, considering they’re married in real life. Simmonds does a great job here and holds her own with Krasinski and Blunt, while Jupe also does well and has a nice sibling-like chemistry with Simmonds.

Overall, A Quiet Place is a fantastic thriller with a solid, beating heart. It definitely generates some questions of “Why did they do that?” But, those questions aren’t enough to ruin the quality of the film. Definitely see it.