'A Quiet Place: Day One' Review: Thrills And Chills With Diminishing Returns
The beloved horror franchise has returned to silence audiences once again with a quiet place: day One, a sequel that manages to entertain in good measure, but not expand the lore and mythology stemming from the series’ novel concept.
A Quiet Place: Day One takes the series back to the very first day of the alien invasion, this time taking place in New York City as the merciless creatures crash land and begin to wreak havoc on the big apple and world as a whole. The story follows two survivors, played here by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, who slowly connect with one another as they attempt to survive. Fortunately, this inspired pairing isn’t wasted in the prequel.
Though writer/director John Krasinski helped crack the story for the prequel, behind the camera here is Michael Sarnoski, who previously directed Pig, one of the best films of Nicolas Cage’s career. Fortunately, he doesn’t appear to be out of his depth with this big budget fare, having a confident, assured grasp on the action sequences and set pieces. The scale on display is impressive, effectively showcasing how overwhelming of a force the alien creatures were from the onset, making quick waste of the majority of the city’s inhabitants. Sarnoski is also able to maintain and sustain plenty of suspense and tension throughout, keeping the aliens terrifying and imposing as they hunt throughout the city and the film’s main characters.
While the action sequences and scares are in hefty supply, the true highlight of the prequel is the core relationship that develops between Quinn and Nyong’o’s characters. Both actors give emotionally devastating and charming performances, bringing out the best in one another. The best scenes of the film are simply when the two are communicating, whether it be through facial expressions, body mannerisms, or whispered conversations. These are two protagonists worth rooting for and getting emotionally invested in, the film’s biggest strength. I also think it goes without saying that Frodo the cat is a superstar and nearly steals the film.
The film also does a great job utilizing its unique concept throughout, especially as survivors slowly adapt to how the creatures hunt and operate, every little sound feeling like an audio avalanche that could spell out their doom. Having the story take place on the first day of the invasion and within New York City, one of the loudest places on Earth, was inspired, with audiences able to experience how harrowing and horrifying these aliens are when they’re essentially at an all you can eat buffet. Simply put, the series remains an audio feast, best experienced in a theater with a brawny sound system.
While the film is very entertaining and exciting, it does fall short in some areas unfortunately. A prequel’s job is to enhance and enrich the original story and the lore or mythology within it, but this one fails to do that. Nothing new or substantial is added to the central concept or the alien creatures themselves, which feels like a huge missed opportunity for the franchise to expand this universe and become even more fascinating. It simply feels like more of what fans of the franchise have come to know and expect with little to no surprises in store for them.
A Quiet Place: Day One is a strong, albeit flawed entry in the beloved franchise, delivering the chills and thrills fans have come to know and love, but fails to make this universe feel any bigger or more compelling than it already was. Series devotees will find plenty to love here, but while this franchise clearly has plenty of gas left in the tank, it needs to broaden its horizons in order to grow and evolve for future installments, something that no one should stay quiet about.