A Quiet Place: Day One, 2024.
Written and Directed by Michael Sarnoski.
Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, Cain Aiden, Jennifer Woodward, and Elijah Ungvary.
SYNOPSIS:
A woman named Sam finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultrasonic hearing.
Early on in A Quiet Place: Day One, one of the many panicking New Yorkers under attack from the echolocating creatures (if you’re familiar with the franchise, you know the drill) freaks out and exclaims, ” We’re all going to die!” It’s fairly common to hear someone say that in a horror movie, especially as we speculate who will live and die. However, here, there is a protagonist who is going to die due to cancer.
In placing Lupita Nyong’o’s Samira front and center, writer/director Michael Sarnoski (known for the gently moving Pig, which starred Nicolas Cage and is a film that actually has more in common regarding tone with this than one might presume coming in) is essentially allowed to invert the motives for such a survival creature feature. As we know, the monsters can’t swim (we also get to see what happens to one up close underwater), meaning that the general populace is making a mad dash for the boats, with the military bombing as many bridges connected to the island as possible.
Samira is not headed in that direction, though. First, she is headed home (with her adorable cat) to take some meds for the pain flare-up. However, her primary destination in this mysterious and chaotic apocalyptic nightmare scenario is to get a slice of pizza from a specific establishment in the city. This means she is essentially headed in the opposite direction of everyone else, toward the destruction and death. No matter what happens, Samira is going to die. She may as well die fulfilling one last want, something that also comes with immense sentimental value related to her now-deceased father.
Make no mistake, A Quiet Place: Day One is a tense experience that moves from survival-based set pieces with the grace of a well-paced video game as much as a film, meaning that it knows how long to spend in each location (or stage/chapter running with the gaming analogy) before moving on. Michael Sarnoski is not only knowledgeable about the rules within this universe but highly creative in the ways noise can be used as an advantage (kicking down a door during a thunderstorm crack) or a detriment (a metallic object falling over when pushing open a different door) for its characters.
However, this is also an emotionally taxing journey that doesn’t allow a single second of silence or moment for communication to be wasted. Befriending a frightened man named Eric (Joseph Quinn), who has no family to turn to, Samira lets him tag along even if they will eventually have to split up. The performances, especially from Lupita Nyong’o, are highly expressive through hand-gesturing as they are during brief bits of dialogue. A connection between them believably develops as Eric understands why enjoying one slice of pizza while the world goes to hell is so important to Samira. He also has moments of bravery, whether it be from assisting Samira when their situation takes a bad turn or rescuing her cat.
One somewhat feels bad for John Krasinski, as not only was his attempt at a children’s fantasy drama earlier in the year a disappointment, but as soon as he left his creation, another filmmaker (one working within the studio system for the first time) basically took what works, got rid of what doesn’t, and assembled everything into a suspenseful spectacle with a beautiful amount of care and depth given to new characters. The final shot is a perfect image of bittersweet terror and beauty, with Samira at peace and comfortably making a certain choice.
Sure, there are parts where the film leans a bit too far into action-horror and the usual Hollywood obsession with CGI destruction, even if the booming sound design is a consistent and welcome shock to the senses, and there is probably something more meaningful that could have been done with the juxtaposition of those fearing death trying to survive alongside someone who has already embraced it from a different cause. However, above all else, A Quiet Place: Day One understands that humanity and raw, genuine emotion must be displayed as much as the monsters.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
