Movie Review - A Quiet Place: Day One

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Genre: Horror/ Science Fiction/ Drama
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou
 
Description: A young woman name Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) finds herself trapped in new York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing.

Review: Making a prequel to a successful film like “A Quiet Place’ is probably a curse rather than a blessing. The film not being director by John Krasinski (returned as a writer though), like the other two films, is also not working in its favor. But it worked and it pays off. 

The first two films were unique. The people dealing with the invasion had already adapted to the situation. They learned how to live in a world with these creatures in it, knew what attracts them and how to survive. It had a small town, country setting. In “A Quiet Place Part Two” we got a glimpse on that first day, with the characters we then knew, in that same setting. But in “A Quiet Place: Day One” we see how it started, switching the décor for New York, a place that is loud and alive 24/ 7. An interesting take for this universe to further explore it.

We follow Sam, a young woman dealing with a terminal illness. All she has is her cat Frodo. When she is visiting New York City, all hell breaks loose and creatures start attacking people. Quickly finding out that they can’t see and rely on super sensitive hearing, she tries to make her way through the city.

Lupita Nyong’o plays Sam and really carries this film. She is a cynical character, but manages to put down a remarkable engaging main character, for whom she is especially allowed to pull out all the stops non-verbally. She gets great counterplay from Joseph Quinn, who plays the anxious Eric.

“A Quiet Place: Day One” could easily be viewed without having seen the other two movies, but I would recommend to watch the others first. I highly enjoyed it, was spooked, on the edge of my seat. And loved Lupita Nyong’o, who proves again what a great actress she is. And can we also praise cat Schnitzel, who played Frodo. Constantly panicking where he was, when he wasn’t in frame. “A Quiet Place: Day One” is best views in theaters, just like its predecessors.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Reviews - A Quiet Place

Director: John Krasinski
Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward, Leon Russom, Doris McCarthy

Description: A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.

Review: With “A Quiet Place”, director John Krasinski found fear in the everyday.
In “A Quiet Place”, an American family is forced to live in silence, while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. It doesn’t sound like much, it is so much more than your standard horror film.
Director, screenplay writer and leading man John Krasinski is definitely one step ahead in this genre. Nowadays horror films are filled with clichés, loud jump scares, dumb people and gore. Krasinski knows exactly what really scares us: silence. And it’s what you don’t see and know that is scariest. He shows us how people can feel, knowing they can’t make a sound, and that making one can kill you. And how we depend on something as simple as sound. “A Quiet Place” makes clear how loud mankind actually is.
Krasinski pictures a post-apocalyptic world: a fallen down traffic light, an abandoned supermarket, weed in the streets. It’s day 89 since the monsters have first appeared. A family who walks barefoot, getting what they need from the supermarket. The mother seeks through medicine bottles. We know, if one bottle falls over, things will go wrong.
Post-apocalyptic films mostly start with the first day, finding out what happened and trying to adapt to the situation. Here, we go further into that situation and that is our starting point. We learn that the family already learned to adapt to the new situation, which is a fresh take on the genre.
The film is filled with intense, scary moments. Moments where you hold your breath and are so intense your knuckles turn white. And the opening scene alone goes against all the rules of the horror genre.
John Kraskinski doesn’t only direct, he also stars in his own film. And he does it very well. As for Emily Blunt, who is Krasinki’s wife in real life. Both are perfect for the role and perform solidly. And Millicent Simmonds, who plays the couple’s deaf daughter, is an excellent discovery.
“A Quiet Place” is a rare find, a breath of fresh air in the horror genre.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Movies to Look Forward to - April 2018

What does April have in store for us? Let's see what we can look forward to this month.

April 12th – A Quiet Place
Director: John Krasinski
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt
Description: A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.

April 14th – Breathe
Director: Andy Serkis
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Tom Hollander
Description: The inspiring true love story of Robin and Diana Cavendish, an adventurous couple who refuse to give up in the face of a devastating disease. Their heartwarming celebration of human possibility marks the directorial debut of Andy Serkis.

April 24th – Avengers: Infinity War
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Samuel L. Jackson, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Paul Bettany, Gwyneth Paltrow, Idris Elba, Benicio del Toro, Jon Favrau, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle
Description: The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.