A Quiet Place

While many of the classic horror tropes are invited to the party (and even an homage to “Home Alone” which becomes more and more ingenious as the parallels mull in your brain), John Krasinski makes something wholly original that is equal parts terrifying and heartwarming. Finding its niche in the ever-growing intellectual horror genre that has begun demanding our attention, “A Quiet Place” does not rely on these tropes as crutches, but as complements to a thrilling, well-told story.

As his family adapts to a world devastated by bloodthirsty creatures with hypersensitive hearing, Krasinski’s character becomes a resourceful, yet silent, provider and protector, equipping and fortifying their farm estate into an isolate compound passing for normalcy. All these efforts, though, prove futile, as a pin drop can send the creatures barreling through the front door. We are invited to explore how far we’d go to protect the ones we love, and the consuming regret we inevitably face when we fail in that pursuit.

Masterfully told nearly entirely in whispers and sign language (but screaming with social commentary), the story is surprisingly immersive, but avoids smothering the audience with contrived, overt, and consolatory visual clues. Artfully filmed, enhanced, designed, and scored, “A Quiet Place” humanizes silence as a character that is both valiant hero and destructive villain. So much so, those fearful of the dark take solace in it. Bravo, Jim Halpert.