From Joe Peltzer

2018’s A Quiet Place, written and directed by John Krasinski, was one of those rare creature features oozing with intelligence and emotional impact, plus characters that to root for, that many similar films strive for, but fail to match. 2020’s follow-up, A Quiet Place Part II, further embodied the successful qualities of its predecessor to deliver another heart-pounding entry. Michael Sarnoski’s A Quiet Place: Day One fails to capture the spirit of the first two entries, instead simply shifting the jump scares to a new city with zero expansion of the series’ lore.

In the film, Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) finds herself in the middle of New York City as alien creatures reign from the sky, forcing the world’s inhabitants into silence. She soon meets Eric (Joseph Quinn) and together they strive to survive, but first: pizza. Sarnoski’s talents are on full display here with the simplicity of his most notable indie hit Pig injected into this chaotic apocalyptic world established by Krasinski. Conceived by Krasinski and written by Sarnoski, Day One remains grounded in the characters at the center of the story while the city around them is ravaged by these alien creatures. The emotional weight of the first two films is noticeably missing, that is until the latter parts of the film where it is ratcheted up to 100 and the waterworks are threatening. For a film relying on the audience’s attention to its characters, the hooks for investment were delivered a bit too late.

It also feels as though aspects of this story have been played out before. Yes, we have seen the way that the tension rises when the characters in these films must remain quiet. The silence that dominates the pictures lends itself to an uneasy viewing, allowing for the filmmakers to have a field day with the scares, but unless you’re telling it in a different way or introducing an expansive lore or twists, what are we doing? But even more than this, the background of Sam’s character being sick is a trope that has been played out in films time and time again, quite frankly to a lazy degree. Oddly enough, one scene in particular reminded me of Greenland when Gerard Butler’s son leaves his inhaler in the car. If I were a studio executive, looking at this story as part of the pitch would have led me to ask “What’s new here? What is the point?” The answer, unfortunately, is nothing.

Nyong’o and Quinn are solid in this outing, both playing well opposite one another and even sharing some comedic moments together. Their simplistic backgrounds aside, both characters find commonality in the other, which leads to an enjoyable chemistry throughout. Nyong’o is particularly strong in the third act as her story comes fully into picture and evokes the natural charm of Quinn. They’re potentially outshined only by their costars, Schnitzel and Nico, who portray the indestructible (and fervently adorable) cat Frodo.Elsewhere, Alex Wolff has a small but effective arc with Nyongo’s character while Djimon Hounsou is largely absent from the film, sans about 4 minutes, clearly present to establish a link to the first two films.

There are many positives, however, that does make this a fun film in the end. Aside from a few early darkly lit scenes, Patrick Scola’s cinematography captures the harrowing events as they play out equally as beautifully as the tender moments. Sarnoski’s direction is tight and effective, only hindered by the irregular pace of the storytelling. Alexis Grapsas’ score is perfectly complimentary every step of the way. And the creatures look terrifyingly menacing, especially the little baby ones that are visible in some scenes and gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Still, A Quiet Place: Day One struggles to find a reason to exist. Without a more dynamic plot and development of the central story of the series, it’s hard not to feel like you’ve seen this all before. Is it effective as a standalone film? Absolutely, but as another piece of the A Quiet Place puzzle, it’s a misprinted duplicate. One thing I can get on board with, though… especially in a theater… is that everyone needs to shut up!

Rating: 3/5

A Quiet Place: Day One hits theaters on Friday.

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