‘A Quiet Place’ Review Roundup: John Krasinski’s SXSW Thriller Is Leaving Critics Speechless
“A Quiet Place” made its world premiere at SXSW last night, and critics are — wait for it — speechless. John Krasinski’s horror film starring himself, his wife Emily Blunt, and Millicent Simmonds of “Wonderstruck” is earning raves so far, with IndieWire’s Eric Kohn giving it a B+. “Utilizing the pure physicality of a cast you can count on one hand,” he writes, “the movie maintains a minimalist dread throughout, with every footstep or sudden move carrying the potential for instant death.”
Here’s what other reviewers have to say:
Variety‘s Owen Gleibermann offers praise while admitting that it’s all a bit silly:
“‘A Quiet Place’ is a tautly original genre-bending exercise, technically sleek and accomplished, with some vivid, scary moments, though it’s a little too in love with the stoned logic of its own premise. The film generates a free-floating dread out of the fact that almost every sound a character makes is potentially deadly. The more you look at it, though, the more you see that ‘A Quiet Place’ is at once catchy and contrived, ingenious and arbitrary.”
Alex McLevy, writing for the AV Club, offers the film a B-:
“‘A Quiet Place’ is an entertaining and crowd-pleasing monster movie, one that leaves you wanting more—and once you get over wondering what a subtler and more accomplished director might have done with this material, it’s not hard to let yourself be won over by its charms.”
Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair is a fan:
“Though it’s Krasinski’s third time in the director’s chair, it’s his first home run thanks, in no small part, to the film’s emphasis on family and Krasinski’s choice of leading lady-his wife and mother of his two children, Emily Blunt.”
Ditto Matthew Monagle of Film School Rejects:
“‘A Quiet Place’ is a rare thing: a horror film from a major studio that blends high-concept with jump scares and manages to pull both of them off.”
“A Quiet Place” is currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77 on Metacritic. Paramount Pictures will release it on April 6.
