A Quiet Place is a masterstroke of suspense and thrills

THRILLS and chills abound in this highly accomplished movie that’s worth every nerve-racking beat of anticipation and suspense.

THE best horror films aren’t about the axe-swinging maniac terrorising his family through the warrens of a weird hotel — it’s about the scourge of alcoholism.

Beyond the slashing, decapitations and bloodcurdling screams are the parables about isolation, being ostracised, being replaced or losing control to our subconscious fears. Going back further, even Little Red Riding Hood is a cautionary tale about rape.

With its chilling premise, heart-thumping execution and deeper anxieties about family and parenthood, A Quiet Place is sure to join the pantheon of great horror films, just like Get Out before it.

Directed, co-written and starring John Krasinski (best known as The Office’s Jim Halpert), alongside his real-life wife Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place is the horror-thriller you should rush out to see, even if you’re not fond of jump-scares. It’s a masterstroke of suspense, thrills and storytelling, and it’s all done with almost no dialogue.

A year and some change after an apocalyptic event, the Abbott family — mum Evelyn (Blunt), dad Lee (Krasinski), teen daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and son Marcus (Noah Jupe) — live in a secluded house in the woods. They live their lives with one mission — to make as little noise as possible.

Sneeze or drop a spoon and you risk being torn to shreds by blind supernatural creatures with pitch perfect hearing — it’s not pretty. These creatures with their multi-rowed, razor-sharp teeth have brought on this dystopian nightmare.

Emily Blunt brings her A-game.

Lee is a survivalist doing everything possible to ensure his family’s continued existence, complicated by the fact his daughter Regan is deaf and unable to judge her sonic impact on her surroundings, or hear the creatures coming up behind her.

Every domestic scene — sitting on the ground and silently eating dinner with their hands or playing Monopoly with felt icons — comes with peril, and any family squabbles are literally life-threatening.

As much as these characters are balls of anxiety, so are you, sitting in your cinema seat with your nerves near destruction. But the briskly paced 90-minute movie is worth every ulcer-inducing moment, every beat of anticipation.

Because of its emphasis on noise, or lack of it, the sound design is top-rate. From the leaves rustling in the breeze to the sound of bare feet on sand, everything you hear has a purpose — there’s not a single wasted note. A Quiet Place also balances diegetic noises with Marco Beltrami’s heavy, dread-laden score superbly.

The sparse dialogue (not unlike Buffy episode “Hush”) means there’s nowhere for the actors to hide, with all the focus shifted to their physical performances, often expressed through American Sign Language. Blunt brings her A-game, especially in a particularly high-octane sequence about midway through. Deaf actor Simmonds is wonderful as the daughter, and she carries much of film’s emotional centre.

A Quiet Place: A simple concept executed well.

Many would be surprised to discover that A Quiet Place isn’t Krasinski’s directorial debut — he previously made two little-known films, The Hollars and Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and helmed episodes of The Office — but this film very much feels like his coming-out party.

This has a much more confident voice and identity than his other efforts. You can see the film’s assurance in the prologue, which brutally but effectively sets up the rules of this universe so clearly — it’s a small thing but a lesser film wouldn’t have pulled it off.

A self-confessed horror neophyte, Krasinski’s command of his story and the genre is impressive, setting up one tight sequence after another, while still mixing it up with (metaphorically) quieter moments to establish that all-important family bond in a movie that is ultimately about kinship and the fear that is born from not being able to protect your children from all the threats lurking outside the hearth.

Rating: ★★★★

A Quiet Place is in cinemas from Thursday, April 5.

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