(This piece contains spoilers)
I first went in to see "A Quiet Place" without any prior knowledge as to what it was actually about. To me, the title was the only indication that the theme of the movie would be silence. The tension in the theater before the first character death was noticeable, as many of us had no idea exactly what was about to happen.
It was during one of the earlier scenes, however, after a jump-scare when the girl sitting nearby screamed louder than the characters in the actual movie, that I knew we were in for a wild ride.
The premise of the movie was fairly simple: creatures which hunt only by sound have taken over a part of an area a family lived in, forcing them to communicate only through sign language or visual gestures lest they be attacked and killed. Even seemingly small sounds such as the tap of a monopoly piece of a board apparently attracts the attention of these humanoid beasts.
The origins of these mysterious creatures are never truly explained, although that is not the point of the movie. The true nature of the film delves into the bond between family members and the innate protective instinct parents have for their children. Besides the family members and the creatures that hunt them, no other characters are seen in the movie, though it is implied that the father has tried to make contact with the outside world.
This, in combination with the setting of the movie (a house in the middle of the country with no clear sign of civilization nearby), helps create the isolation factor common in many well-known horrors and thrillers. For instance, The Shining.
As with most movies in general, there are certain cliches and predictable moments which take away from the story. For instance, the archetypal scene where one character sacrifices themselves for the noble cause of saving another, or the overuse of a scene where there is dead silence followed by a startlingly loud jump-scare.
However, what sets it apart from many other horror movies is its unique premise. Despite the fact that there are only two scenes at the most in which the characters are able to speak aloud with one another, each actor does a terrific job of displaying emotion and showing the bond between family members non-verbally.
Overall, "A Quiet Place" is a effective blend of science fiction and drama which effectively utilizes the theme of technology to explore the relationships between its characters.