A Quiet Place: Day One Review: This Horror Film is a Masterclass in Terror

Plot: A prequel to A Quiet Place (2018) and the third movie in the franchise, it details how the world descended into chaos from the perspective of a cancer patient Sam (Nyong’o) and an English law student Eric (Quinn). The two bond as the world deteriorates around them.

Prestige rating for A Quiet Place: Day One: 5/5
Genre: Horror, apocalyptic, thriller
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Run-time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Release date: 28 June 2024

What we liked: Direction, script, performances

What we didn’t like: Joseph Quinn’s character, Eric, felt slightly shortchanged

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) review: As a rule, I dislike the very idea of prequels as more often than not, their existences hinge on the assumption that audiences are insatiably curious about every minute detail of a character’s backstory or the origins of the world inside the movie (or a show). And indeed, most of them turn out to be contrived and redundant. But then, movies like George Miller’s astonishingly good Anya Taylor Joy-starrer movie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, somewhat restore your faith in the concept. It is for that reason I went into Michael Sarnoski’s A Quiet Place: Day One with cautious optimism. Does the film deliver? Here’s A Quiet Place: Day One review by Lifestyle Asia.

All about A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

As its title suggests, A Quiet Place: Day One goes back to the mayhem of the first day of the invasion. Notably, we were witness to the said first day in the extended prologue of A Quiet Place Part II (2020) as well. The first few minutes of Day One consequently feel like déjà vu. Terrified people run around here and there, sirens blare and the once-ordinary world is thrust into utter pandemonium. It is all thanks to the arrival of extraterrestrial creatures that are blind but are clad in seemingly impenetrable armour and possess highly advanced hearing that allows them to get their food (which would be humans and other Animals) through sound. This is why the survivors learned to keep quiet. Thus, the franchise is titled, A Quiet Place.

Déjà vu or not, it is a blistering, heart-in-your-mouth opening sequence that is extremely well-staged and executed. It also belies the fact that the movie, in general, is not really about the monsters. So while horror fans will get all their scares and thrills, Day One is really about the human cost of such unforeseen catastrophes.

We primarily follow Samira or Sam (played by Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o), a cancer patient who is counting her last days in a hospice near New York City when the space monsters land on Earth. Aliens just love the Big Apple, don’t they? The New York City never sleeps, except when aliens invade.

Anyway, Sam is quite unnerved and repulsed by the death surrounding her, which is also not surprising for a terminally ill patient who is tired of waiting to die. She is also sick of her nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff), a kindly nurse who does his best to lift her and other patients’ moods, which occasionally involves taking them on leisure trips. On one such trip to a pupPet show, Sam only agrees to come if she gets a slice of pizza. With her is Frodo, her service cat (and a genuine star).

Then, chaos ensues as the creatures attack, and Sam is knocked unconscious. When she wakes up, she is surrounded by other survivors, including her feline companion. Sam eventually decides to take her destiny into her own hands and hunt down that elusive slice of pizza. Initially, of course, it feels bizarre that instead of holing up somewhere safe. It is only later we learn that why it has a deep meaning for her.

Along her way, she meets a British law student Eric (played by breakout Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn), who appears to be in shock. They join forces for the time being. After all, in a world ravaged by unkillable monsters, human connections are vital for survival. Sam ends up realising that she has a will to live, after all.

Is A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) worth watching?

It is an extremely good time at the movies. First, let’s talk about Nyong’o. She brings quite an extraordinary depth to Sam, infusing her with vulnerability and strength. She feels like a living and breathing person and not just a character on the screen. Her portrayal of Sam, ably supported by Sarnoski’s strong script, is both inspiring and heart-wrenching in equal measure. It is because of her story and journey that the movie, despite its Science-fictional and fantastical elements, feels incredibly personal and real. After all, has anyone else in the History of cinema made a search for pizza look like an emotional odyssey?

I was also impressed by Quinn (again!). Just a student caught in the wrong place at the very worst possible time, he injects Eric with a palpable sense of resilience despite the shell-shocked state we initially find him in. It is a full-bodied performance that I would have liked to see more of (he has, quite understandably, limited screen time compared to Nyong’o). The dynamic between Eric and Sam is both believable and touching.

But the real star (sorry, Frodo) of the movie is Sarnoski’s direction. I had seen his marvellous indie movie Pig (2021), starring Nicolas Cage. And while Day One is a different beast altogether, it has some of the same qualities. This movie eschews the typical bombastic prequel formula for something far more introspective and character-driven. Despite all the death and destruction, the focus remains on the characters. The alien invaders, while suitably menacing, are almost secondary to the film’s exploration of human resilience in the face of inevitable doom. The film is at its best in the quieter moments, be it the eerie silence of a deserted New York or the fleeting interactions with other survivors — these are the movie’s heartbeat, permeating all the horror with a poignance sense of loss and hope.

That is not to say the movie is devoid of any scares or thrills. It’s far from it. In fact, several tense and suspenseful scenes are all very well-executed. One of the film’s standout sequences was the evacuation scene. Survivors are attempting to flee Manhattan by boat. As the crowd gathers, there is the inevitable accompanying cacophony that attracts the aliens, who proceed to massacre nearly everyone. The sequence is masterfully done and the tension is almost unbearable when each footstep, each accidental noise is a potential death knell.

The movie is also visually stunning, with images of desolate cityscapes, rendered almost unrecognisable, evoking a haunting, mournful beauty. Sanoski turns New York itself into a character — once vibrant but now a labyrinth where only silence and shadows dwell. It is almost an intimate apocalypse. The sound design, no doubt crucial to the film’s premise, is meticulous. Every creak, every rustle and every whispered word is magnified. It goes a long way in adding that extra immersion to the story and will keep you on edge.

So that’s that. A Quiet Place: Day One is a masterclass in horror filmmaking. It easily avoids the typical pitfalls of prequels, delivering a story that stands on its own; it is tightly written and directed, features excellent performances and has a well-defined emotional core. The movie is a haunting reminder of our fragility and above all a beautifully crafted piece of cinema. If this is the standard for future instalments, then consider me fully on board.

Movies like A Quiet Place: Day One

If you liked Day One, watch the two earlier movies in the franchise (if you have not already). In terms of similar movies, there is Bird Box (2018), starring Sandra Bullock. It is set in a world where there are entities that cause you to kill yourself if you so much as glance at them. No One Will Save You (2020), starring Kaitlyn Dever, is also quite similar. Set during an alien invasion, it is about a young woman who is shunned by the locals. It has almost no dialogue and is similarly terrifying.

(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy of IMDb)

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Bangkok