Real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt star in this tense thriller about a family forced to live in silence due to an invasion of alien creatures which hunt by sound.

As well as starring as head of the Abbott family, Krasinski also directs the film and crafts an ultra tense piece of horror cinema.

After reworking a script from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Krasinski cast his wife Emily Blunt as his pregnant on-screen partner Evelyn, and the couple, who have two daughters together, manage to transfer their real-life family dynamic perfectly to the screen.

The Abbott’s children are played by Suburbicon’s Noah Jupe and actress Millicent Simmonds who is absolutely outstanding as the family’s deaf daughter Regan.

The fact that the actress is also deaf in real-life makes her performance even more remarkable. This plays brilliantly into the story as the family, already adept at sign language due to their daughters condition, are better prepared for the difficulties of the situation.

The adult performances are also outstanding, particularly from Emily Blunt who dazzles as the under pressure expectant mother. A particular scene in a bath tub will live long in the memory.

The film’s original concept cleverly plays on every parent’s fear of not being able to protect their children, as the Abbotts try desperately to live in complete silence while bloodthirsty creatures wait to pounce on the slightest sound.

With the exception of a few newspaper headlines, the film avoids laying down any backstory to explain the origin of the alien threat.

Instead the audience is thrown straight into the terror of the situation from the off.

Director Krasinski also doesn’t rely on jump scares, preferring to play on the tension of the sustained threat and the building dread that comes from Evelyn’s pregnancy and the impending birth of a noisy infant.

A Quiet Place is definitely not a film for those of a nervous disposition, but Krasinski expertly blends elements of horror and sci-fi with the tension of a thriller.

This results in a gripping and legitimately scary movie. Highly recommended.