A Quiet Place

An outbreak (or invasion) of blind carnivorous creatures with super-sharp hearing forces the remnants of the human race to live in absolute silence, in isolated pockets with little means of communication. The script by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck and director John Krasinski concentrates on one family: father (Krasinski), mother (Emily Blunt), son (Noah Jupe), and a daughter (Millicent Simmonds) whose deafness, under the circumstances, is even more of a handicap. The creatures are unexplained; when we see them, they’re generically bizarre, but sightings are wisely few. The result is an old-fashioned horror movie, and a nerve-wrackingly effective one. Director Krasinski ratches up the tension and dread almost to the breaking point, knowing just when to let up and when to start tightening the screws again.