“It’s good to be back.”
It’s the little things I supposed. When forced to confront the prospect of your own death, what will you do with the time you have left. Some fight against their own extinction. Some seek help from a higher power. While some cling to the past and seek comfort in their treasured memories. In a Quiet Place: Day One we see a bit of all three. While Day One marks the third installment in the Quiet Place franchise, it serves as the prequel for the series showcasing how the world went silent after sightless aliens with sharp hearing and impenetrable armor plating take over the planet and attack the human population. For me, this is a welcome addition to the franchise because while watching the first two films, one of my recurring thoughts was I would like to see how the world went quiet. Imagine my excitement when I this movie was announced. In my mind, I figured the prequel would continue to follow the Abbott family. However, Day One is comprised of a predominantly new cast, with the exception of Djimon Hounsou, who was introduced in the second film. While I was initially disappointed, I got over it quickly as new blood provides a new opportunity to expand the story rather than restricting yourself. Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff represent our new additions to the franchise, and they don’t disappoint.
We’ve seen the result of the invasion. Now see how it began. The film centers around Nyong’o’s character Sam, as she finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing. As the central character, Nyong’o is our lens into this situation. A loner type with a pessimistic outlook of the world (there is a justifiable reason for outlook that I won’t spoil for you), she elects to go it alone. Obviously, that won’t do. It is in this vein that we are introduced to Quinn’s character, Eric. While their pairing was inevitable and expected, their endgame was not and leads me back to my opening statement. When faced with the prospect of your own death, what will you value the most. While I can’t fault what Sam and Eric valued, it truly embodies that opening sentence.
Like the two films before it, the central theme for the film is right there in its title. I agree with Nyong’o that the reduced verbal communication added to the film’s excitement; because the cast had to find out how to communicate messages without words, as making even the smallest gesture of body language could change the context of the entire scene. For me, it also upped the intensity for certain scenes and broke up periodic jump scares that are synonymous with a film of this type. In my opinion, both Nyong’o and Quinn rose to this occasion. Nyong’o by being the cool head of the pair and Quinn when situation arose that brought him face-to-face with the creatures.
While I appreciate the dynamic between Nyong’o and Quinn, I could help but feel like it undercut the earlier established relationship between Nyong’o and Alex Wolff’s characters. In a sense, it is almost like Quinn replaced Wolff, which made wonder if Wolff’s character was actually necessary or just a plot device. Not discounting what Wolff brought the table, but as the film went on, all the development put into the pair’s relationship earlier felt wasted.
Not everyone gets out alive. That was an outcome that I knew and was prepared for. The death of John Krasinskis’ character makes it clear that no one is safe. Day One continues that trend with one of the main characters similarly accepting their fate. Not exactly the way I would choose to go out, but given the character’s predicament, I suppose for some people it is better to go out on their own terms. By doing so, the film became grounded in raw humanity for me. Not to mention, it pays fairly decent homage to the original film.
Video
A Quiet Place Part II is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The ultra-high-definition 2160p image is arrived at by an HEVC codec with an average bitrate of 65 mbps. The ultra high definition gets most of its bump from textures in the details. This is a very textured world, and the UHD release is far more accurate in those fine details. The world is dirty, dingy and dark and those textures come through quite nicely. Colors are muted for the most part because of the material but there are flashes of nice colors. The greens at the puppet show and the mustard color of Sam’s sweater. The creature f/x blend quite nicely. The contrast allows for some pretty deep black levels.
Audio
The Dolby Atmos audio presentation defaults to 7.1. When the invasion comes we are in a wild and noisy world. Here the subs bring the damage to full throttle and amps the overall destruction. But then the film settles into the franchise’s trademark silent moments. Here the silence is deep and almost overpowering. The audio presentation delivers that environment while background sounds get tossed at us from all directions. Still it’s those quiet moments that have the most impact. Dialog is often in whispers but these whispers are carried nicely throughout the sound field. The sounds of running water create a constant theme in the film. From rain and water fountains to the rush of flooding waters it’s a dominate force to be reckoned with here.
Special Features
The extras are found one on each disc.
Day Zero – Beginnings And Endings: (7:58) This overview spend most of the time on actress Lupita Nyong’o and her preparations for the role. All of these features are a bit aimless and don’t always focus on related things. This one does more than most.
In The City: Chaos In Chinatown: (7:51) Starts with the many ways they faked New York City in London. It also touches on some cast, costumes and production design.
The Exodus – Against The Tide: (6:27) Here we look mostly at action and stunts.
The Long Walk – Monsters In Manhattan: (7:49) We start out with the cats that played Frodo and move to actor Joseph Quinn and ends with some f/x and water action scenes.
Pizza At The End Of The World: (7:17) Once you’ve seen the film you’ll get the feature title and this one does give the controversial ending away.
Deleted And Extended Scenes: (15:06) There are 5 with a play all option.
Final Thoughts:
Comparably, I found A Quiet Place: Day One tense and exhilarating, but not as scary as its predecessors. Even so, it is still a welcome addition to the franchise and a worthwhile experience for any fan of horror or suspense movies. And how could it not be with the original film director maintaining involvement with the franchise by conceiving the story for this prequel. Besides how could you not appreciate an actress so committed to the role that she overcame a fear of cats.
Parts of this review were written by Gino Sassani
