GREAT horror films tap into our darkest fears.

The stories bear a resemblance to the real world, they show us what's at stake and then make us imagine what we would do in a hideous situation.

For all parents, not being able to protect your family has to be one of the biggest fears and A Quiet Place uses that as a jumping off point with a unique concept.

The film drops viewers in a post-apocalyptic America where monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing have all but eradicated mankind.

But a brash Hollywood movie this is not. A Quiet Place has the kind of storytelling restraint of a Hitchcock feature. It focuses entirely on a family who have managed to survive and only hints at a backstory through the likes of newspaper clippings and notes in their home.

John Krasinski, who was also in the director's seat, excels as Lee Abbott whose staunch will to protect his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and kids can be read in his eyes in every scene.

The family have learnt how to live and travel in silence using things like sand to soften their steps and sign language to communicate as their daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) is deaf.

They have also soundproofed parts of their house and studied the way the creatures hunt.

This means there is barely any spoken dialogue on screen and this translates into pure tension with the threat of the monsters more powerful than their presence.

At times you have to be suspend your disbelief – despite the ongoing threat to their lives Evelyn is heavily pregnant and that should tell you all you need to know about part of the crescendo of the film which just becomes daft.

But elsewhere A Quiet Place's attention to detail and craft is just incredible and the film never sags throughout its 90-minute run time.

It also represents an exceptional breakthrough for Krasinski as a filmmaker who until now was actually better known as Jim from the American version of The Office.

All eyes – and ears – are on the director to see what he does next.

RATING: 8/10

DAVID MORGAN