Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
A Quiet Place: Day One is the third movie made in the franchise, taking place before the events of the 2018 movie A Quiet Place. The film is directed by Michael Sarnoski, who also wrote the story with John Krasinski, and stars Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn in the beginning days of the creatures invading and terrorizing Earth, focusing on New York City. Djimon Hounsou also appears, reprising his role from A Quiet Place: Part II.
A Quiet Place has stood out as a solid post-apocalyptic horror franchise. John Krasinski directed the first two and did a great job. What would this movie be like with a different director and focusing on new characters? A Quiet Place: Day One also takes place in a bigger setting, New York City, whereas the other movies take place in smaller towns and rural areas that are more spread out and less noisy. It’s safe to say A Quiet Place: Day One is a good prequel, but not as good as the other movies.
What I enjoyed the most about A Quiet Place: Day One is that it takes place in a different setting. New York City is bigger and louder, with several big buildings and subway tunnels to offer suspense. There are more people for the creatures to go after. For the most part, they use New York City well in regards to adding more terror. The horror and suspense are once again great. It’s also cool to see what the early reactions to the creatures are, with people learning about their weakness to water and that any sound could trigger them. The military and their early response are shown as well. The camera work is done well most of the time, although it was too shaky in a scene that didn’t even require a shaky cam and it was pretty noticeable.
Lupita Nyong’o is the main star of this movie as a woman named Sam who is dealing with cancer and goes on a trip to the city with her service cat Frodo. I’m not sure if that was done on purpose to reference The Lord of the Rings and the main characters Frodo and Sam, but if so, nice work. She gives a strong performance, coming off a bit cold at first and only going to the city to visit a pizza place that is dear to her while in the city. We learn more about her and why she values the place and other things. She later runs into Joseph Quinn’s character, Eric, who helps her and Frodo out for the rest of the movie. Joseph Quinn gives a good performance, but his introduction felt rushed, with no real build-up. The cat Frodo will win audiences over with how adorable and loyal he is.
While I enjoyed A Quiet Place: Day One, it’s not a perfect movie. While the performances were strong, the characters didn’t stand out like the Abbott family from the main films, particularly Eric. It also felt like there was a missed opportunity with this movie. With a new setting that would benefit the creatures and taking place during the early days of the invasion, there was a chance to introduce something new with the creatures that we didn’t see before and maybe for the characters in this movie to know something about them that the Abbott family didn’t know. Nothing new was added outside of different characters, their situations, and how another area reacted to the invasion. Hopefully, the next movie in the franchise will explore more territory and what the goals of the creatures are, if they have any.
Overall, A Quiet Place: Day One is a solid entry into the franchise. The performance of Lupita Nyong’o carries the movie. The suspense and horror elements worked well. It was interesting to see the creatures in a bigger, louder setting. While good, the movie won’t stand out like the previous movies and doesn’t do anything different and unique. My final grade for A Quiet Place: Day One is a B+. If you enjoyed the other movies, I recommend you check this one out.
What are your thoughts on A Quiet Place: Day One? Let us know in the comments below.
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