A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE REVIEW
“An extremely satisfying extension of the ideas introduced in Krasinski’s movies.”
If you’ve seen John Krasinski’s two A Quiet Place movies, then you don’t have to be told what an effective thriller he created (from an original screenplay by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck). Krasinski is less involved with this prequel, basically coming up with the story and producing for Pig filmmaker Michael Sarnoski to write and direct. (Note: I personally don’t feel that there are any spoilers in this review, but Paramount is being so skittish about spoilers for some reason, despite giving away so much in the number of trailers they’ve released so far, so … SPOILER WARNING, I guess? But not really…)
This one features Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther) as Samira, a young woman literally at death’s door, residing in hospice care due to some debilitating illness with her cat Frodo for support. One day, her counselor Reuben (Alex Wolff) takes the whole group into the city for a show, just as those pesky aliens invade earth, attacking anything that makes even the slightest sound. (Spoiler! Samira doesn’t die right away, ‘cause then the movie would only be 15 minutes long.) Instead, she goes off on a journey across the city, eventually joined by Joseph Quinn’s Eric, a British business guy who is just as panicked as others, as the city’s bridges are being destroyed to try to contain the invasion within Manhattan.
Listen, it’s not too difficult to transfer what worked so well in the first two Quiet Place movies into New York City. As stated in the opening title, it is literally the noisiest city on the planet (or at least it seems that way sometimes, living here as long as I have). The thought of aliens landing here and attacking anything that makes sound creates all sorts of great scenarios that Sarnoski ably incorporates into Samira and Eric’s journey, even as some of the sequences post-invasion are shockingly reminiscent of the city in the week after 9/11 and also during the pandemic.
I’m of the mind that genre films should be treated in the same way as any other movie, and for a movie like this to work at all, you really need to have a strong lead and Lupita Nyong’o gives such an incredible performance that I wouldn’t be shocked to see some sort of awards campaign later in the year. Samira’s terminal illness is an incredibly important part of the character and the story, to the point where it gives her more motivation and courage to do things that others might not do in her situation. For instance, some might question her wanting to travel all the way up to Harlem for pizza, seeing it something dangerous and even frivolous (and quite a schlep for that matter). When you realize that she doesn’t expect to live long regardless of those murderous aliens, it makes far more sense. On the other hand, I generally love cats, but even the idea of including one in a situation where cats are just as likely to make natural noises as babies may not make a ton of sense, even as Frodo wins your heart over by not being like that cat in Alien who jumps out to scare everyone. (Don’t worry, there are more than a few actually scares that will make you jump.)
We don’t really learn that much more about the aliens in this one, nor where they come from or why they attack, although we do get to see one of them eat, so we know that they’re not necessarily attacking the sounds they hear for food. These aliens also look quite different, as Sarnoski seemed to have been given some license on how these should appear vs. the ones we’re familiar with from Krasinski’s movies.
I was generally impressed with everything Michael Sarnoski does in directing his first major studio film, as the pacing and tone are perfectly tuned for the utmost in tension and terror. As a long-time New Yorker, I’m always a bit wary of filmmakers not based here making movies set in the city, and though some locations are clearly done on a set – spoiler! That’s not really New York’s Chinatown! I also don’t think the production would have been allowed to destroy any of the important bridges. Kidding aside, Sarnoski does a great job creating various aspects of the city for Samira and Eric’s journey that never took me out of what was happening, as these things often do.
A Quiet Place: Day One is an extremely satisfying extension of the ideas introduced in Krasinski’s movies, driven by a fantastic performance by Nyong’o and excellent direction from Sarnoski. As with the previous A Quiet Place, I could totally watch this multiple times and enjoy it just as much.
Rating: 8/10
A Quiet Place: Day One opens nationwide on Friday, June 28 with previews starting Thursday afternoon.
That's why the movie only follows 2 people. Everyone else is dead... outdoor diners were the first to go.
Technically NYC is the nosiest city in the known Universe. Just sayin.