A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018)

A Quiet Place is savvy enough to know that exposition is largely no longer demanded or even desired as it plunges straight into a post-apocalyptic survival scenario with a family looting an abandoned supermarket. The premise is also establshed without undue waffle, which is appropriate as it's immediately apparent that waffle is the killer, with the family having to maintain silence at all times lest they be pounced on. Not by the customary zombies, as it turns out, but some kind of extra-terrestrial monsters that instantly zero in on any sound.

Nothing too revelatory so far here, but the ace up the film's sleeve isn't the aliens - of an unlikely origin of which we are asked to ask no questions, and which are wholly generic by visual design - or the set-up as such. No, it's the killer idea that there is and there can be virtually no dialogue, so the cast are forced to use sign language instead, with all the effects that this has on their interaction, and the viewer soon becomes aware of the potential sound made by every single mundane activity, and this idea is pursued with rigour. Noise, rather than the monsters, is itself something to fear and this is a genius conceit. I found myself acutely conscious for minutes after it finished of every sound I made, and any such transformative effect that a film achieves is to be applauded. Naturally enough, a sequel is imminent, albeit unnecessary, since it can't possibly come up with a better premise. 

7/10