Remember in 2011, we all lost our mind over a beautiful silent film called The Artist? Remember how we marvelled at the ingenuity of telling a story without words? This year, actor and director John Krasinski has achieved an arguably more impressive feat; he has created a modern silent film. And so quietly that you may not have noticed.

Krasinski – who co-wrote the screenplay with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck – does a masterful job of generating narrative tension, while also creating fully-rounded characters. Each member of the family is affected by their silent existence differently. Krasinski’s patriarch is determined to save his family, but his obsession also allows him to avoid communicating his feelings about a past tragedy. Emily Blunt’s matriarch is the beating heart of the family, her tenderness and hope pulsing almost imperceptibly. She finds ways to make jokes, still dances to music in her headphones, and can’t help whispering ever so slightly when signing encouragement to her two children.

She’s also pregnant, and thus the gun on this film’s mantle. Who has ever heard of a silent labour?

The careful, strategic navigation of silence and noise isn’t just this family’s greatest asset; it’s the film’s, too. The exploration of the tension and pressure of silence is indescribably clever. Everyday objects such as silos of devouring grain, an errant nail, explosive fireworks and hearing aids all provide sequences that will leave you terrified and breathless.

A Quiet Place is a truly original and unnerving horror. You’ll want to scream – don’t.

Directed by John Krasinski. Starring John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe.

95 mins.