Released: 28th June 2024 (UK and US)
Length: 99 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou
Back in 2018, A Quiet Place was released to high acclaim; it was a nail-biting thriller that did more with less. Following a 2021 sequel, the series is branching off in different directions with A Quiet Place: Day One. If you can put up with a fairly standard opening act, this third entry will offer the same tension against a standalone story.
Taking us back to the start of the alien invasion, Day One takes place in New York City where an aging Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) and her support cat Frodo are caught up in the chaos after attending a marionette show for the elderly. In the early going, the film plays like a lesser version of its predecessors. It’s very typical for the wider genre with New York also being a popular choice for monster invasion flicks. The connections between the characters feel sub-par and it’s easy to tell who will meet their end. The sense of panic needed more punch to make an impact, but the film pivots away and focuses on a more effective thread. Sam is desperate to reconnect with her family roots in Harlem, to take in an old jazz club with a slice of pizza. To make the trip, she partners up with the young Eric (Joseph Quinn), a law student from England who is heavily shell-shocked by the death and destruction. While narrowly avoiding the creatures, the two develop a tentative connection that blossoms for the rest of the film. It’s interesting how the monster sequences have lost a fair bit of their impact, despite them showing up in much larger numbers. Luckily, Day One is able to pick up the pieces when the initial carnage dies down.
Sam and Eric are quite basic when compared to previous leads and it does take some time for them to meet. Once they do, A Quiet Place: Day One does a good job pulling the audience in. Sam’s perspective is a unique one; she clings on to her memories and feels a sense of responsibility towards Eric. Meanwhile, Eric himself grows to understand Sam while grappling with his own intense fear. Much like other entries in the series, Day One’s best moments come without any dialogue with the highlight being a mimed recreation of a jazz performance towards the end. Most of the other characters go by underused, though we do get a brief return from Djimon Hounsou long before he founded a country settlement in the second film. The miscellaneous roles do work well at establishing the situation, but the film could have gone further in showing how different people react to the deadly attacks.
There is some inconsistency when compared to previous entries; the film’s weakest sequence comes around a third of the way in. A traumatised crowd tries to make their way to the south dock for evacuation and the ensuing bloodbath is quickly obscured by smoke. The noise intensifies as the group grows larger, but it was established in previous films that walking in shoes was an effective death sentence for most. The camera stays focused on Sam throughout the sequence and there is a missed opportunity to show the full devastating power of the creatures. The film opens by stating the Big Apple has the noise equivalent of a constant scream, but the lower budget restrains the production from going all in on the invasion. Still, other elements do work well; the soundtrack and atmosphere are both very effective, especially in the later half. It’s very quiet and understated, placing more emphasis on the two main characters. This also serves up many reprieves from the surrounding desolation, allowing Sam and Eric to take centre stage.
As a prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One doesn’t reach the same heights as its predecessors. But when you take it as a standalone story and discount the weaker first act, you’ll find a surprisingly heartfelt bond between two people who find some respite at the onset of the apocalypse. It’s a compact film that eventually makes the right choice to focus on a smaller-scale narrative.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars (Good)