‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ Review – Beautifully Human and Exceptionally Thrilling

Synopsis: Experience the day the world went quiet.

Life can be snatched from you when you least expect it in an unpredictable, unforgiving, and chaotic world. Therefore, you must embrace and appreciate each day as much as possible. Recent years have shown us just how quickly it can all disappear. From airborne diseases and genocide to reckless drivers and bug bites, you never know what will permanently alter your life and those around you. At some point, hopefully, sooner than later, we have to remember that life is a team sport. No matter what facet, we need each other to grow and thrive as a species. I hope it doesn’t take an invasion of carnage-driven extraterrestrials for us to appreciate our differences, love ourselves, and unify but that’s how it looks and feels way too often. It’s extremely unfortunate, life is already too short. We should enjoy it.

“We’re all going to die!”

You may want to rethink that big city move. The energy and lively environment are incredible until your life depends on silence. Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, A Quiet Place: Day One is beautifully human and exceptionally thrilling. Moreover, it’s also as beautiful as it is thrilling. In a world-crumbling situation such as the one that this franchise has created, words associated with positivity are rarely used. Niceties and pleasantries seem less important, small talk is nonexistent, and whatever meaningless problems floated around in your subconscious instantly vanish. What remains and makes its way to the forefront is our need for each other. Our innate want for community and the unconscious urge to survive drives us to seek help from others. Color, creed, and background don’t matter when enormous monsters with a kill first and ask questions never attitude threaten to annihilate any and everything that emits sound. Therein lies the beauty. Nothing matters but the moments you are still alive. Knowing that a book falling to the floor could mean certain death will make you appreciate the simplest things.

Taking place in the middle of America’s noisiest city, New York City, we travel back to 2021 to the day the Death Angels crash land on Earth. We hitch a ride on the perspective of a cancer-ridden Samira who is completely over her time at the hospice center and is slowly dying. Tagging along with her is her cat, Frodo whose name is incredibly fitting as the journey they are about to take is a difficult and death-defying one. Once the city is hit, smoke, dust, and rubble fill the air resembling videos taken during the fall of the Twin Towers and chaos immediately ensues and that’s when they meet Eric. The heart-pounding prequel delivers on multiple levels. This thrill ride of a third installment feels as if we’ve entered a survival video game. Unlike the first two films, where seemingly the only safe places were inside your own home, there is an actual evacuation plan. If you remember, it’s the same plan Henri (Djimon Hounsou) mentioned in the sequel. It is really the only tie-in to the other films besides the obvious. With a set evacuation point, this leads to multiple locations and each has its own set of deadly issues. Everything that made The Walking Dead special, this franchise has in abundance.

“Please, can I come and get pizza with you.”

A Quiet Place: Day One is bigger than its predecessors in every way possible. The set pieces are huge, the visuals are intense, the aliens are more aggressive, in abundance, and bigger in some cases, and its setting makes the stakes higher. There are explosions, bodies ripped to shreds, chases, and plenty of harrowing moments that will make you clench. Propping up parenthood in the first two films, this entry champions community, compassion, and selflessness. It asks, how far would you go to help a stranger? All while reminding us to be kind. However, the biggest question that it makes you ask yourself is whether or not or how long could you survive. And experiencing this film in IMAX where the sound design is performing at peak potential and the giant screen makes the cinematography incredibly immersive, I’m not sure I’d make it long. Those creatures are massive.

Now, the performances are phenomenal and the emotional storyline hits when it needs to, however, it doesn’t hit as hard as following the Abbott family. It’s hard to beat rooting for a family dynamic in a disaster situation. Nevertheless, this film answers those curious questions such as, what if you were alone or on vacation when this event took place? A Quiet Place: Day One is a perfect companion film to those that came before it. It has an abundance of what you’re looking for out of a sci-fi horror. It’s filled with thrills, scares, heart, and even a little humor. And unlike most films, I think it could’ve been a tad bit longer. Fans of the franchise will be delighted. What kind of person will you be when the rules and laws don’t matter? Go find out. Its rewatchability is high. What’s the one thing you’d risk your life for to have one more time? Think about it during the movie.

Pace & Pop

The film’s pacing is equal parts pulse-pounding stimulation and grounded human connection. Throughout the world-crumbling experience as off-world creatures tear through the city at high speeds and obliterate anything that makes a sound, we are often slowed down to remember our humanity and sanity. What popped for me was the film’s ending. This is one of the best and most satisfying endings I’ve seen in years. Not only is it a well-deserved payoff but it’s memorable and poetic.

Characters & Chemistry

Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou

Lupita Nyong’o proves again that she is one of the best. While there is abundantly more dialogue in this film than in the first two combined, the acting done with solely the face and body is incredible. Her performance is moving, inspirational, and cathartic. Joseph Quinn shows off his star power with a grounded and relatable performance. Together the duo showcases the complexities of humanity while also confirming the good in us all.

A Quiet Place: Day One releases in theaters on June 28, 2024. Stay safe and keep quiet.

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 1h 39m Director: Michael Sarnoski Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski Story: John Krasinski and Michael Sarnoski Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, p.g.a., Brad Fuller, John Krasinski Executive Producers: Allyson Seeger, Vicki Dee Rock