New York City is under siege by a deadly, unknown enemy that hunts by sound and kills ruthlessly in A Quiet Place: Day One. The third chapter and prequel to the wildly popular franchise leaves the rural home of the Abbott family to tell the story of the day meteorites fell from the sky and humans were snatched away by vicious creatures, never to be seen again.

When Samira (Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o) returns to the city of her birth, all she wants is a slice from her favorite pizzeria. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a brutal waking nightmare that could be her last day on Earth. Accompanied by a virtual stranger named Eric (Joseph Quinn) and her cat Frodo, she embarks on a perilous journey past burning buildings, flooded subways, and smashed cars in a newly silent world where danger lurks everywhere.

Review

Josh (Guest) – A Quiet Place: Day One is another tense addition to the franchise that is focused on the start of the extraterrestrial invasion. It helps that the horror element of the film is so dependent on sound, as it inevitably keeps you engrossed and holding your breath in spite of the predictability of the jump-scares and that nothing new is added to the narrative framework of the previous two films. 

The story follows chronically ill Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) and her invincible cat on a nostalgic pursuit for pizza and past normalcy in New York City as it is bombarded by the clicking creatures. Sam’s character offers promising emotional nuance to the film as someone who is already processing her impending death while in a hospice with elderly inmates, and so the arrival of the sound-sensitive aliens serves only to make a bad situation worse.

Or, depending on your perspective, more exciting than wasting away in bed. This adds an interesting dynamic to the classic alien invasion plot, but it at times felt overly sentimental and generally amiss considering the unfolding events. Nyong’o’s performance is great and the emotional horror is fully within her capabilities, but I couldn’t connect with her senseless plight and its unsatisfying resolution. Of course, the primary characters (cat included) implausibly survive way too many close encounters considering the sheeple being massacred on all sides, but it’s entertaining to watch.

Altogether the film was well-made, the audio and visual effects impactful, but it ultimately felt too formulaic given the previous two films. 6.5/10

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