'A Quiet Place' is a pleasant surprise in so many ways

John Krasinski, finally a movie star, in A Quiet Place

Like a lot of people I did not see A Quiet Place coming. It's very menacing, elegant trailer, which first airing during the Super Bowl had me intrigued, but I must admit that I didn't know John Krasinski had this in him.

I was a huge fan of his work on The Office, and imagined he had potential as a big screen talent, but by most accounts he has stumbled out of the gate, most embarrassingly with a prominent role in Michael Bay's widely reviled and politically problematic re-telling of the infamous Benghazi embassy attack of 2012.

He'd directed two films, neither a breakout success, and I certainly never would have pegged him for being someone who'd have a knack for genre horror, but he's managed to deliver a pretty smart, wildly entertaining and refreshingly original thriller in A Quiet Place.

While I wouldn't call the movie straight horror -- it feels more like a very tense thriller -- he nails the Hitchcokian noose-tightening of the plot, which revolves around a small family being besieged by terrifying beasts that are blind but incredibly sensitive to sound.

What follows is a mostly silent movie, with a very good but unobtrusive score, that is inventive (in terms of how it grapples with its big concept) and emotionally involving (because of impressively emotive performances for its child stars, Krasinski, and an achingly vulnerable Emily Blunt, who is luminous as always here).

Every time I thought this movie might collapse under the weight of what it's trying to pull off I was pleasantly surprised.

It's economical. I can't think of a wasted scene or exchange, and without spoiling anything, I will say that this film sets up its stakes early and doesn't let the audience off the hook until its final frame.

This film is a hit officially, opening to an even better number than Ready Player One which had the Spielberg glow and is a based on a best-seller, and it comes at an exciting time for the horror genre. Get Out, which is also more of a satire than a straight exercise in horror, managed to break into this year's Best Picture race, and while I don't expect this film to reach that level of critical acceptance (it doesn't have the same sociological heft), it's clearly earned a respect that 'scary movies' are rarely afforded.

This is a real statement picture for Krasinski, both as a filmmaker and as an actor. His wife, Blunt, is already a star in her own right, and she helps bring some much needed humor and pathos to this project, but this film suggests that Krasinski is also a major movie talent in his own right (he also co-wrote the screenplay) which is another pleasant surprise for me as fan.

It's the kind of movie M. Night Shyamalan made before he gave in to his worst inclinations and pretensions as a filmmaker. It's devoid of gore -- yes, this is a 'horror' movie you could watch with the whole family, and it largely holds up to scrutiny, which is pretty rare for this kind of movie.

A Quiet Place is, so far, after Black Panther, my favorite film I've seen so far this year. While Ready Player One was a nice diversion, this exercise in filmmaking is more of a feast. It's an idea so basic and obvious I'm stunned no previous genre film attempted to do it. But I'm glad to see that Krasinski is the one to finally pull it off.