In my mind, the only thing more difficult than comedy is horror. If you can make someone laugh, you can likely make them scream.
There have been a few great examples of actors transitioning across this spectrum. Robin Williams was famously a comedian first. But explore his performance in Christopher Nolan's underrated Insomnia, in which he plays the primary suspect in a murder case, and his usually comforting grin turns into a chilling, unnerving mockery of placation. Jim Carrey has shown similar range, from manic impressionist comedy (all his comedies) to somber heartache (Eternal Sunshine) to introspective philosopher (The Great Divide).
Now comes Jim Halp -- I mean, John Krasinski. As the world knows by now, Krasinksi rose to fame playing the prankster and office romantic Jim Halpert on The Office. His comedic appeal didn't really stem from technical precision or grandiose characterizations; his shtick was the subdued everyman who could find humor in the bleakest situations. He was positive; he was likeable.
It's fitting that his first directorial effort would be a horror movie as subdued as his comedic efforts. A Quiet Place hinges on a simple premise - sometime in the future, ferocious monsters destroy anything that makes noise. A small family tries to survive in this new near-silent world.
As with comedies, horror is a meritocratic genre. It either works or it doesn't; you're scared or you're not. The simpler the premise, the quicker the audience understands the stakes. A Quiet Place opens with the family's youngest child finding a toy rocket ship. Wanting to play with it, he accidentally sets off its electronic rocket sounds. A fleeting beast comes rampaging towards the noise as Jim runs to save his son (I'm sorry, I know the character's name isn't Jim Halpert in this movie but he will likely always and forever be referred to as Jim). Jim fails. The boy is killed.
It's a breathtakingly courageous opening set piece to the movie and the consequences are set immediately. Like comedies, horror movies are judged and remembered mostly by their set pieces. Scares are earned like jokes are earned: there's a premise, a buildup, and a punchline. Later on in the movie, Jim's pregnant wife is about to give birth. A monster has found her and hunts her in their house. She crawls and hides and chokes in her screams. It's a fantastic premise and one of the genuine delights of the movie.
Are there faults to this movie? Of course. It's shallow in its development -- a laughingly obvious summary of the monsters is written on a white board -- and its familial drama falls rather flat. But Krasinski clearly knows how to build and sustain tension. And it has one great thing going for it. Clocking in at a lean 90 minutes, A Quiet Place never overstays its welcome. Any more time devoted to world-building or monster-explaining or family-bonding would significantly slow down the story. Jim and wife act well; and the child actors hold their own. There are a couple good scares. What more could you ask for?
