A ‘Quiet’ suffering

Emily Blunt in “A Quiet Place”

There’s welcome mayhem in the gripping science fiction-horror flick “A Quiet Place,” which tells the story of survivors who live in silence, for fear of discovery by violent monsters with hypersensitive hearing.

Directed by John Krasinski, “A Quiet Place” follows a family living in constant terror, carefully evading creatures that can hear voices and other sounds from a long distance.

The group—composed of Lee (Krasinski), Evelyn (Emily Blunt), Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward)—manages to communicate via sign language, searching on foot for shelter and provisions, now that society has crumbled.

There’s a consistency to the tension, as the characters go through their days without talking. But it’s inevitable that someone’s going to falter, somehow.

These survivors are a tight post-apocalyptic unit, but oddly, the spouses conform to traditional “rules” when it comes to gender roles. The dynamic, though, is challenged and somewhat addressed eventually.

As for the creatures themselves, they’re an imposing bunch, mainly when they’re hidden in shadow. When seen up close, they look like hybrids of the critter from “Stranger Things,” the Demogorgon, and the beast from the first “Cloverfield” film—which weakens the fright factor a little.

Still, the scares are meticulously executed, and Blunt especially astounds with her constantly imperiled mother character. The kid actors add a lot to the equation, also complementing Krasinski’s surprising eye for detail and encompassing urgency.—OLIVER PULUMBARIT