Set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, A Quiet Place shows a family working together to survive on an Earth that has been completely overrun by blind predators that are attracted by man-made sounds. The film is tense, suspenseful and intriguing, causing the audience to think ahead and predict what could happen as the characters work to survive.

While the concept of a silent film with very little dialogue may come off as odd, and very flawed, the silence is what gives this film the true aspect of a horror thriller. Director and film star John Krasinski doesn’t only put this movie out as a horror, but also shows aspects of parenting and how families rely on each other.

In a dystopian 2020, blind predators that hunt by sound outnumber the number of living families on Earth. One family works together to scavenge for supplies, signing instructions to each other and doing their best to remain as quiet as possible and not draw attention to themselves in fear of being hunted. The youngest son, Beau (Cade Wardwood), draws a rocket on the ground, signing that that’s how they’ll escape to his sister, Regan (Millicent Simmonds). He then continues to walk through the store on his own and finds a toy space shuttle. His father, Lee (John Krasinski), takes the toy away warning him that the noise would attract the creatures.

A year later, the family is working together each with their own set of tasks. Evelyn accidentally alerts the creatures drawing them to the house and warns Lee and Marcus (Noah Jupe) by changing the light color to red. Their children reunite in the field and race to the top of a grain silo to seek refuge away from the creatures. As Lee looks for his kids off live footage of the vicinity, he is also able to track the creatures and knows that his time is limited to protect their children.

While some movies will show an event but not show the consequences of the event and how it impacts the story, A Quiet Place shows almost all the consequences of events that are seen earlier in the film. The domino effect of events plays out perfectly as one thing leads to another, giving the movie a fluidity that causes the audience to realize something so small can create such a lasting impact.

Krasinski insisted the deaf daughter in A Quiet Place be played by a deaf actress, and one actress Krasinski pushed to be cast was Millicent Simmonds. In an interview with Huffington Post, screenwriter Scott Beck said, “We always had a deaf character in the script, but John really pushed for them to hire Millicent. She came to set and taught everyone sign language. It really was amazing and brought an extra depth to the film.”

The actress is deaf in real life and has become a champion for the deaf community as well. “I want to see more deaf people have the opportunity to become actors,” she told People in October. “And I want [hearing people] to know that it’s okay to learn [American Sign Language].”

A Quiet Place is a movie about parenting and how a family works together to take care of each other. Lee and Evelyn both have learned how to survive in this dystopia, and they need to teach their kids how to do the same, but they also need to worry about protecting their kids from these creatures.

The movie is emotional, as the Abbotts are constantly faced with danger, but it also creates a tense and suspenseful environment as the audience waits to see how the situation is dealt with. This film also raises questions to parents in the audience who can sympathize with the struggle Lee and Evelyn are dealing with. It raises questions among the parents, ‘How would I protect my family? What measures would I take to ensure our safety in this world?