John Krasinski cranks the tension in haunting 'A Quiet Place'

“The Quiet Place” - ★ ★ ★ ½

We don't know where the monsters come from.

We don't know why they track and kill anything that makes the slightest noise.

We don't know what happened to our military, or how many of the beasties populate our planet.

We don't know a lot of details in John Krasinski's tension-twisting creature feature “A Quiet Place.”

But we don't need to.

The eloquently simple premise presents Lee and Evelyn Abbott (director/co-writer Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt), parents struggling to raise and protect their three children Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward) from lightning-fast critters resembling a mash-up of the Predator, the Deadly Mantis and the villains from “Attack of the Crab Monsters.”

Forget about the conventional Hollywood action opening to grab us by our ocular lapels. Don't expect easy, boring voice-overs to spoon-fed the exposition.

“A Quiet Place” takes its time setting up these characters and plot, igniting a slow fuse for the explosive shriek fest to follow.

Because the slightest noise can lead to instant, violent death, major parts of “A Quiet Place” play like a silent movie with sign language and facial expressions performing most of the heavy dramatic lifting.

To minimize noise, the Abbott family walks barefoot everywhere, through a deserted nearby village, along sand-packed trails leading to their rural farmhouse home where everything has been meticulously rigged to eliminate aural disturbances. Even the wooden stairs have been marked so everyone knows where the steps don't creak.

Regan's deafness not only provides an intriguing complication, it builds an inspired plank in the plot.

Evelyn's pregnancy supplies an alarming complication of its own: What happens if the baby cries moments after birth?

Krasinski - sharing screenplay credits with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck - piles on diabolical bits of ominous foreshadowing, especially a nail that pops up on the staircase, as Marco Beltrami's sinister score tightens the screws.

The biggest surprise in “A Quiet Place” might be how it acts as a primer for parenthood. Evelyn and Lee serve as ideal models for responsible parenting. They feed and support their children. They educate their kids, not just in academics, but in the skills necessary to survive in the world. And they're willing to sacrifice for their children.

“Here's how parenting works” becomes the theme of this public service reminder disguised as a horror film.

Admittedly, as in many thrillers, internal logic doesn't always hold up. If the creatures must attack the source of every sound they hear (fireworks really drive them nuts, but so do chatty raccoons), why doesn't a thunderous waterfall set them off?

Again, like those aforementioned unknown details, it doesn't matter.

Krasinski's assured and confident direction speedily sweeps us over these minor speed bumps with skin-crawling jump-scares and showcase sequences, especially Marcus' flashlight-illuminated dash through nocturnal cornfields (making corn stalks even scarier than in M. Night Shyalaman's “Signs”) and a chilling fall into a silo loaded with quicksand-like grain.

Not bad for a movie with more people whispering “Shhh!” than at a librarians' convention.

<b>Starring:</b> Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward

<b>Directed by:</b> John Krasinski

<b>Other:</b> A Paramount Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for violence. 90 minutes