A case of admirable directorial dedication to time-proven suspense techniques. But this thing amounts to less than than the sum of its parts.

I rarely see one particular trick — in this case, increasing the audience's breathless anticipation of LOUD BURSTS OF NOISE through long stretches of a slightly agitated hush — sustained so effectively for so long.

But "so long" still isn't long enough. The effect here worked for me only until the much-hyped going-into-labor scene — the focus of the trailer — and then my fragile suspension of disbelief crumbled. Disappointments went on increasing the more unimaginative and wearily familiar the monsters turned out to be.

The "solution" — it bugs me that there is something so mundane as a Shyamalan-esque "solution" here — is so simultaneously predictable and unsatisfying that I found myself up and out of the theater within about a half-second of the final shot, frustrated that they made me care about the characters so much in a scenario that amounted to so little. I stay for the credits when the movie has given me reason to sit and think, and this, alas, did not.

The most buzzed-about aspect of this film — seeing Blunt and Krasinski as a couple onscreen — was also underwhelming. They rarely enjoyed anything like a "scene" together, and I never sensed any onscreen chemistry. This was the biggest surprise and the biggest disappointment. I suspect it's because Krasinski's script is too preoccupied with setting him up as the Heroic Defender rather than Half of an Intimate Partnership.

I would, however, love to see a Quiet Place/Stranger Things mash-up, since these monsters clearly come from the Upside Down.

Even more appealing — how about a version in which the "solution" turns out to be Pharrell's "Happy"?

Artistry: 3.4
My enthusiasm: 2.8