One of the hardest things you can do when making a prequel film is give it stakes. As an audience, we know many of these characters in A Quiet Place: Day One will not make it, so how do you make us care? Well, give us an emotionally stunning Lupita Nyong'o performance paired with an adorable cat and creature thrills, and you have yourself a certified hit, my friends. A Quiet Place: Day One is one of those movies where you leave the theater going, "That had no business being that good." I mean that with complete sincerity as someone with zero expectations for this film. My cynical ass thought it was going to be another studio money grab that was trying to milk some IP. I was indeed mistaken, and we should all be inspired that they let director Michael Sarnoski cook here. The excellent silent set pieces that eventually crescendo into insane chases or destruction will have your heart racing, but the sheer amount of raw humanity placed at the center of this story is what will stick with you after the credits roll. A Quiet Place: Day One is what summer blockbusters are all about.
The film follows Sam (Lupita Nyong'o), a cancer patient who has given up on the world. She feels so removed from life and just wants a slice of pizza. The film shows her overcoming a brutal alien invasion and remembering what living is all about. The arc she goes on is touching, and I swelled up a few times in the theater. It's helped that she's paired not just with her lovable support cat, Frodo, but by Eric, a survivor of the invasion she joins up with, played by Joseph Quinn. I knew the film was special early on when everything has gone to complete shit, and the two let out these harrowing cathartic yells during a thunderstorm, and it's just a punch to the gut. You feel their bond grow over the film, and the film's plot, being they are trying to get Sam a slice of pizza before they die, doesn't seem so silly. It's not about the pizza. It's about learning to live again and remembering who you are.
The silent set pieces are compelling this time, and I think there were a few excellent innovative takes on the creature, which is blind but has super hearing that didn't feel like retreaded material from the previous two films. It's helpful that it's set in NYC, so you have the full scope of the city and population to use for a creature feature, which is nice. The direction here is fantastic because the focus of the scenes and where the camera leads you drives the film's chaos so well. The sound design and score are crucial for a movie, and they are dependent on so much silence that you hang onto every little movement, making it wonderfully done.
You will get your thrills and kills, but I never really loved the design of the Quiet Place creatures. They seemed so basic and unimaginative, like the Stranger Things Demogorgon. What is memorable is Frodo, the cat who is the film's second lead. It's the best film cat since Jonesy in Alien, no doubt. They steal so much of the limelight and cause massive headaches and tension for our leads, but we can't help but still love them! I swear I am unbiased, even with my two perfect cats here at home trying to jump on my laptop while I type this.
I am impressed by what Michael Sarnoski has put together here—an excellent apocalypse film and an even better human story. Lupita Nyong'o gives another memorable horror performance while digging deep to remind us what it means to live a life even when all is lost. It's a worthy prequel and another wonderful summer surprise. I'd say the best in the Quiet Place series.
Final Score: 8/10
Written by: Kevin J. Pettit