A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE – Review by T.J. Callahan
A Quiet Place: Day One: What would you do for just one more slice of NY pizza?
Even though it’s the third film in the franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One is the prequel to the first two that followed the Abbott family as they tried to stay one step ahead of the invading Death Angels…sightless aliens who hunt by sound and won’t rest until humanity is destroyed.
Day One takes place at the beginning of the invasion when the armor-plated creatures with impeccable hearing first landed on Earth. The story follows Sam, a terminally ill woman living with her cat in a hospice just outside of New York City. She and a group of residents go on a field trip to the city just hours before the alien attack occurs, leaving them fighting for their lives again…in a totally terrifying way.
Lupita Nyong’o is Sam and she is exceptional, bringing so much emotion, and a love for pizza, into a role where there is very little dialogue. She had to learn to convey her thoughts with her eyes and body movements in a way that seemed natural and not over exaggerated. The Oscar nominee elevates Joseph Quinn’s performance as Eric as the last two on the island help each other reach the safety of the sea while realizing what they really want out of life.
John Krasinski still had a hand in writing Part III, but was unavailable to direct and passed the duties on to Michael Sarnoski (Pig). It was a good choice. Sarnoski puts viewers on the streets of a Manhattan under attack painting a menacing picture and fearsome action…although there could have been a little more of that.
Day One is billed as Horror, Sci Fi and Drama with the emphasis on drama. A Quiet Place III is not the movie you think it’s going to be, it’s better. Yeah, we get the monsters and the jump scares and the death and destruction, but we also get a deep look at the inner struggles of two people and how an apocalyptic event made them realize what they need or don’t need. A frightening yet sentimental journey. Plus there’s a cat with 9 lives who almost steals the whole show.
What we still don’t get is a good explanation of who these aliens are and why they are here. You would expect that in a prequel. Maybe that means there will be a prequel to the prequel… A Quiet Place: Before the Shushing? Speaking of being quiet, you could hear a pin drop in the theater during the full house screening I attended. The engaged audience followed directions until the end when they erupted into cheers and applause. That’s a good sign. I give A Quiet Place: Day One a 7.
