A Quiet Place: Day One - Review: Sound Off for a Prequel

 

Less than a decade ago, the first “Quiet Place” film leapt into cinemas as a bold and fresh horror/thriller film that worked shockingly well and took the world by storm. Now, we have the series’ third film and first prequel, “A Quiet Place: Day One,” which shifts focus and locations completely to take us back to the day this invasion first began. 

Set in the hustle and bustle of New York City, the film follows Samira, played by Lupita Nyong’o (“Black Panther,” “Us”), a jaded cancer patient who travels into the city one day with her therapy group and group leader Reuben, played by Alex Wolff (“Hereditary,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”), for pizza and a puppet show. That day just so happens to be the day of the alien invasion that kicks off the apocalyptic events that these films follow. Now, Samira finds herself wandering a freshly abandoned New York City in a desperate bid for survival, accompanied by only her cat and apathetic businessman Eric, played by Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things,” “Dickensian”). 

Unsurprising to anyone who’s ever watched a film starring either of the two leads, Nyong’o and Quinn absolutely carry the entire film together. Even as things progress and the action and events get more generic, their central performances elevate the material and do a great deal to keep the viewer locked into this world. Nyong’o in particular continues to showcase her talents and ability to bring a sense of life to any role, regardless of genre. Her eyes in particular remain one of her best assets and are utilized to chilling effect here. Quinn is also excellent, and he rides the very thin line between making Eric hapless and accident prone without turning him into a sad puppy. 

Given the fact that this is the third film within this world, many of the unknown aspects of the horror have gone by the wayside. Whereas in the first film, the creatures were teased and weren’t even fully shown until the very end, this one has them leaping and running across cityscapes with reckless abandon. It’s an interesting choice from writer/director Michael Sarnoski (“Pig (2021)”) and co-writer John Krasinski (“Promised Land,” “IF (2024)”) as it almost completely removes any aspect of horror from the film. There are plenty of effective chase sequences throughout the city, and it's shot with a very detailed eye by cinematographer Pat Scola (“Pig (2021),” “Sing Sing”), but it means the film is more thriller than horror sa a result.  

This creates an issue as these moments, while certainly not boring, feel particularly average compared to the rest of the action/thriller genre. And despite being excessively detailed, the creatures just aren’t particularly scary in that context, coming across more as generic four-legged monstrous things than anything more memorable. Also lacking is the film’s central premise. Despite literally being called “Day One”, not much happens on the first day of the invasion, and the film is hardly concerned with it outside of the first twenty minutes. Yes, it's still the early days of this invasion, but once the film actually gets going, there’s little to distinguish it from the previous two films, which took place years into the conflict. 

Outside of the action-packed sequences, there’s a film about two lost and broken people finding solace in each other and a broken world. It cannot be overstated how fantastic these scenes between Nyong’o and Quinn are, and even if you actively hate the film’s action sequences, they’re worth getting through for these character driven moments. The quality spikes so much as to entirely give the film its reason for existing. A gorgeous musical score from Alexis Grapsas (“Pig 2021),” “Big Shot”) keeps these moments grounded and real, leading to a particularly cathartic last five minutes that make everything prior worth it. 

“A Quiet Place: Day One” is certainly the weakest of the series thus far. There’s a lack of compelling scares and the action sequences can’t really hold a candle to other great examples of the genre. It also fails to compellingly utilize its title concept, but the character work from Nyong’o and Quinn truly transform the work and make the film worth watching. It’s a bumpy road, but one that’s well worth seeing to the end with these two leads. 3.5/5