A typical horror movie is packed with blood curdling screams and shrieks capable of creating nightmares for weeks. However, “A Quiet Place” exhibits aspects of horror in a strange way. In this film, silence is just as frightening as screams for help.

“A Quiet Place” tells the story of a family living in a post-apocalyptic world, where silent creatures hunt with the help of sound. The family fluctuates from having 5 to 6 members (I’ll leave it at that to refrain from any spoilers). They have adapted to silent life, pouring out sandy trails to walk on and using a system of lights to signal for help.

But things become complicated once the mother (Emily Blunt) endures one of the most unfortunate pregnancies in cinematic history, and the family is forced to adjust their lifestyle to help her give birth without making a sound. To make matters worse, the sole protector of the family, the father (John Krasinski), is out hunting with his son (Noah Jupe), when his wife goes into labor. It becomes a race to the house as the men try to aid the daughter (Millicent Simmonds) and the mother before the monsters get to them and the newborn.

  Director John Krasinski does an exceptional job by slowly revealing important details regarding these mysterious creatures, without ever having characters discuss them directly. In fact, the characters rarely discuss anything with words. Only about two scenes contain any actual dialogue, with scattered screams occurring towards the end of the film.

Although dialogue rarely shows up, the family communicates in a variety of ways, which is a credit to the spectacular acting. Authentic facial expressions accompanied with the use of sign language lets the viewer in on what’s happening without characters actually opening their mouths.

Krasinski fills the movie with tiny sounds unnoticeable in most films: for example, the inaudible words spoken while signing with one another, and the sound of feet shuffling on sand. Noises like these build tension in the movie without characters even speaking. In the case of this movie, the eerie silence puts the viewer on the edge of their seat, waiting for the next sighting of the blind monster.

The silence also engages the audience in a way that louder movies can never execute. A simple moviegoing act like eating popcorn seemed to be echoed throughout the whole theater. It was almost as if the viewers were participating in the movie itself, remaining silent for the whole film in order to keep the monsters from demolishing the family.

Overall, “A Quiet Place” easily exceeds all of the expectations set by critics, considering this was Krasinski’s first film. The unique element of silence is an intricate component of horror often overlooked in most films. However, Krasinski uses the silence perfectly and has created an instant horror classic.