A Quiet Place: Day One
“You Can’t Have A Cat In Here.”
Did not expect one of the biggest stars of the movie to be a cat. Along the line of good acting, I thought two growing actors Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn got to show off some talents. Just like the past movies, there is limited dialog in a movie where if you talk you die. Despite that lack of dialogue, both were able to shine and despite being unlikely friends through the plot, I did buy their growth with a great conclusion. Beyond acting though, I was pretty disappointed in the story. Since the first movie, I think each movie has the story fall off some. I do think the addition of Samira's backstory created interest, but how the movie was marketed, I was hoping to get a little more background on the invasion and got none.
My biggest issue with this though comes from the need for it to be a ‘horror’ film. It wants so badly to be a horror, but I just don’t think it is. Because of this, it has to lean hard into jump scares which I think is beyond annoying. After about the 5th one in the first hour, I was over it. I know a lot of people were surprised at how good it was, but I had some decent expectations and it was very much below them. While A Quiet Place: Day One boasts strong performances and maintains the series' signature silence, its predictable jump scares and lack of substantial world building leave it feeling like a forgettable entry. For those seeking the chills of the original film, this prequel might leave them wanting more.
-J
As a fan of A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II the origin movie was not unwelcome, but after being hammered by the trailer for the better part of a year, we all had a bit of angst towards this film, and with all the plot that was also given away by said trailer, I was more worried than anything about its quality. As low as my expectations were, they were slightly surpassed, as I was fully engaged for the duration of the movie, and John Krasinski successfully delivered another profitable blockbuster horror movie onto his resume. Horror generally has a low bar for what’s considered passable, and this is certainly that, passable, but that’s about it. Other than providing a tiny bit of additional lore for the invading alien organisms, the plot here felt somewhat pointless to the franchise at large and was wholly an underwhelming origin. Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn were both great, though both of their characters felt somewhat random. I am excited for Joseph Quinn to get more roles in the future and already dreading the trailers that are about to be released for the fourth entry into this franchise, A Quiet Place Part III.
-Z
