It might seem hyperbole to describe A Quiet Place as a franchise as basically being the Batman: Arkham series of the horror movie genre thus far. You have A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place: Part II playing the roles of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, working near perfectly as back-to-back stories that helps evaluate the genre of entertainment it is a part of while staying true to what it does best. And if that pattern continues, we can basically count on A Quiet Place: Part III (scheduled for release next year) as being the Arkham Knight of the series, a technically impressive and well made final (?) entry that bites off more than it can chew and relying on shaking foundations and underwhelming reveals to get itself to the finish line in one piece. Which will likely be followed a near decade later with Death Angels: Kill The Human Race, which involves the monsters wiping out the rest of humanity, including all the characters we’ve followed in the previous films, giving them the most underwhelming send-offs and death scenes imaginable. In the meantime, we now have what can basically be considered the Arkham Origins of A Quiet Place franchise with A Quiet Place: Day One, a prequel that will likely be seen as the black sheep of the series and more of the same but still has an engaging enough narrative that it can stand on it’s own two feet, even if you haven’t gotten into the series thus far.
It still provides the same amount of thrills, scares, and set pieces as the previous two films, it still is treated with the same amount of love and care in terms of pure craftmanship, and Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn are both so engaging on screen that you will actually not find yourself missing Emily Blunt and her children on screen. However, it still can’t escape the whole feeling of “been there, done that” and the central story is something that I don’t believe was needed to fit into the unique, post apocalyptic world that is A Quiet Place. The good old Big Mac still tastes good but you might be craving for something more and healthier, such as a delicious steak from here on out.
Premise: When New York City comes under attack from an alien invasion, a woman (Lupita Nyong’o) and other survivors (Joseph Quinn) try to find a way to safety. They soon learn that they must remain absolutely silent as the mysterious creatures are drawn to the slightest sound.
The one thing that is absolutely clear about A Quiet Place: Day One is that it’s not so much interested in being an origin story that tries to fill in the blanks and answer questions that no one really needed to be answered but tell it’s own tale that just so happens to be set in A Quiet Place universe and just so happens to take place before the events of the first two films outside of the opening prologue to Part Two. Those that are hoping for answers about who the Death Angels are, where they came from, and why is it that sound is their true vision will surely be disappointed. What we have instead is the most human and character driven story told in this world with a young woman named Sam, a terminally ill cancer patient that is finally getting a chance to explore the world for the first time in forever that just so happens to be the day where all hell broke lose and the monsters invaded hurt. And when she gets that freedom to explore the world, she doesn’t care about figuring how what just happened and who these monsters are. All Sam cares about is getting some pizza, and she will act by any means necessary to get it.
On one hand, it does feel refreshing to have a prequel story that isn’t interested in acting as a Wikipedia page summary and wants to just stand on it’s own while providing a different experience from prior entries in it’s franchise. And it also helps prevent them screwing up the lore with the monsters and make the universe feel much more smaller and contrived than before (*cough* Alien: Covenant). However, that does create the big question as to why this prequel even needs to exist or if it adds anything to the series. And unless you count there being two new heads getting focused and a new location in New York City, A Quiet Place: Day One never really answers that question other than to make some extra money.
What makes this all forgiven is that the new characters we follow are just as engaging as the characters we’ve followed in the first two films. Sam, played wonderfully by Lupita Nyong’o, is just a woman that is wanting to enjoy the outside fresh air in any way she can now that she is free, even if that happens to be on the day where monsters take over the world. Eric, also played wonderfully by Joseph Quinn, is someone that just wants to survive but also wants someone to be along side them on the way as he finds a safe place. You have Djimon Hounsou’s Henn, the only returning character from the previous films, that is doing everything in his power to keep the remaining human race alive. Alex Wolf shows up as a fun assistant to Sam for a limited period of screentime. Oh, and you also have an incredibly awesome Cat, who unironically makes the smartest and most logical choices out of any character in the series thus far. Even as someone that’s starting to keep tired of kitty cats showing up in every movie, I certainly liked this one.
The scares and thrills are still impressive here, easily containing the biggest set pieces of the series so far, which is crazy considering this is suppose to be a prequel. Even if setting it in New York City does make it comparable to other typical disaster flicks out there, Day One is still able to make most of these moments, providing unique tension and suspense whenever are characters are just roaming through the streets to get from one location to the next. There’s nothing here that quite tops the stepping on a nail or stepping into a bear trap moment but there’s enough of a body count and gruesome deaths to provide the tension when it needs to.
If it seems like this review is shorter than usual, that’s because there’s not much to say here that can’t already been said about the previous two films. We still have a story at it’s center about the human race trying to survive against deadly monsters that are attracted to sound while trying to live their life to the fullest in the remaining time that they had. It’s just that this time around we are starting to get the sense that this series is beginning to run out of tricks in providing a new and unique experience for A Quiet Place. The majority of what works about the previous films still work here but this feels like the first installment that you have done without the Quiet Place gimmick slapped onto it. Also, as said before, those that are looking for answers about the Death Angels themselves will likely be severely underwhelming as the film has no interest in answering those kind of questions.
Even so, the scares and thrills are still effective and Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn are both super compelling on-screen, with both of their characters undergoing satisfying arcs throughout, that it more than makes up for any potential short comings. If you look at it as it’s own thing, A Quiet Place: Day One is an intense and enjoyable sci-fi horror flick. But looking at it’s at another installment in this franchise, that at this point needs justifiable creative reasons to acknowledge it’s existences, it’s a showcase that this series is beginning to run on fumes and should be given a proper wrap-up soon before it wears out it’s welcome completely.
Bring on A Quiet Place: Part III and even A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, the new video game that just got announced! But, perhaps don’t bring on anything more after that!
Other comments:
- If done right, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead can be the best and most satisfying IP licensed game since Alien: Isolation!
- I also remembered there’s a scene in the film where a character is forced to carry the cat while swimming but the cat doesn’t scratch them or anything. That might be the least sensitive cat I’ve ever seen! I love it!
- Also, NO, I did NOT get the Batman: Arkham comparison from Jeremy Jahns in his review. I already had that in the back of my mind before seeing his review. I promise! It was just bad timing, okay!
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