A Quiet Place: Day One

Aside from the fact that this trailer has entered "annoying" territory - being placed in front of seemingly every single movie from the last few months - I've been excited to see more of the Quiet Place world and going back to Day One felt like a good Cloverfield-style opportunity. 

The past films in this franchise, Part I and Part II, are fantastic pieces of popcorn horror entertainment. They're riveting, incredibly intense, and feature impressive performances (e.g .Emily Blunt in Part II).

For this prequel that is set during the day of the monster alien invasion, I wasn't ever too worried about its quality. There's a consistency with this franchise and the premise still remains expandable given the entire focus on sound and making as little of it as possible. Day One is an impressive prequel that makes its own impact and justification for existing. Perhaps most surprising about this prequel is that the thrills weren't there for me this time around. I believe Krasinski in the director chair was able to capture tension and hold-your-breath moments far better. In the core films, there's also a better focus and manipulation of sound than you'll find here. Partly, I attribute that to Day One's incessant trailers. They include many of the more intense moments as selling points and while I wasn't bored by any means, there was nothing that had me on the edge of my seat, nor were there intense moments I'd be talking about a year from now. 

However, Day One has a bit of an ace up its sleeve with some touching, thoughtful character work. We start with Lupita Nyong'o's Samira. She's a cancer patient given months to live...and those months have already run out. I never gleaned this element from the trailers, but it's right where the movie starts so I don't consider it a spoiler. She's a grumpy person who has to be dragged on an excursion into the city with her fellow nursing home residents on the promise of getting some NYC pizza. Obviously, we know that mayhem erupts, but the story's...ahem...quieter moments are some of its best, particularly once Joseph Quinn's Eric gets thrown into the mix. He and Samira form a close friendship quickly and their journey, once thought to be trivial and potentially stupid, becomes captivating. And while I may not remember too many action scenes from Day One, I will remember the "Magic Trick" scene where there's nary a monster in sight. 

This is a true Rapid Review as life and this weekend are busy so I'll reiterate that Day One is a worthwhile sequel. Perhaps not so from a thrills and excitement perspective; there's nothing new enough there to be better than "good". But if you're willing to go for the characters (and the cat!), you will find a supremely satisfying slice of storytelling here. 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 8/10