A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) Review

I am not usually a huge fan of Horror films, but an exception are the two A Quiet Place films and now we have the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One, I managed to see it today and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees two people attempt to survive an alien invasion where they must be quiet in order to live. 

Main Character

Lupita Nyong'o plays Sam and I thought she was fantastic in this film. She absolutely nails this performance and is a fantastic protagonist that you want to support. Obviously, there isn't much dialogue here so she has to act through her body language and emotion and she totally nails it and hits the heights that Emily Blunt did in the other films. 

Supporting Characters

Joseph Quinn plays Eric and I really liked him in this film. He is a charming kind of nerdy character but he did a great job with it. The chemistry between him and Lupita was great here and I really liked how their characters progressed in this film and dealt with this situation that they are in, 

Alex Wolff plays Reuben and even though it is a smaller role he did a great job, the dialogue and witty banter between him and Lupita made it a great start to the film and did a really good job of establishing her character. 

Djimon Hounsou reprises his role from A Quiet Place Part 2 and he is really good when he is on screen. He doesn't do that much but I have to be honest I had forgotten he was even in a previous film in the franchise, once I remembered that his role actually works in this film. 

Before moving on though a big star of this film is the cat called Frodo. This cat is pretty adorable and a loyal companion to our protagonist, seeing the cat in danger made me really care about the film. 

Story

The story is decent, there is no doubt that the film really nails it with the dynamic between Sam & Eric and made you care about these people and hoping that they can escape this crazy situation. Also the ending of the film is handled really well and I am glad that they went the route that they did. Unfortunately, the film doesn't offer much new. With it being a prequel, I was hoping to learn more about these Aliens and there motivations or backstory but we get none of that and we just see these people try and escape, which we have already seen in previous films. 

Script

With the other A Quiet Place films, dialogue isn't very important but as this film takes place at the beginning of the invasion there is slightly more dialogue and it is really good. There is some on point humour which is then matched by some real emotion that made me care about the characters. 

Style

The film looks great and is shot fantastically. The tension is massive and I was at the edge of my seat for the majority of the film, waiting for someone to make a noise and draw the aliens in. The issue is with the pacing, the first act just didn't do that much for me and I think it overshows the Aliens and makes them feel less special. The 2nd and 3rd act are great, it is just the first act is a bit repetitive in its storytelling. 

Overall

Overall, A Quiet Place: Day One is a Great film that is worthy of being a part of this franchise. It doesn't revolutionise anything but it is a great watch and I think it is a film that everybody will like including people who aren't huge horror fans. 

Rating - 8/10

A Quiet Place Part 2 (2021) Review

After a long wait the sequel to the great film A Quiet Place has made its way to the cinema here in the UK and I watched it last night and here is my review for it. The premise of the film picks up straight from the end of the last film and sees the Abbot family attempt to survive in this world. 

Main Character 

Emily Blunt is back in the lead role and she is really good here. She has to be an even stronger character in this scene as for obvious reasons her husband played by John Krasinski is missing from this film. She plays a strong character and the film does a good of continuing the journey that she was on following the first film and it is really cool seeing her get her hands dirtier in this film. She is joined in the lead role by Cillian Murphy this time and he is also really good, he just adds some star power to this whole thing and he is doing good work as this survivor that encounters the family. You see how this meeting really changes his mindset as a character and leads his character down a more positive road. 

Supporting Characters

Millicent Simmonds & Noah Jupe are given way more to do in this film and they are both really good, Simmonds in particular is phenomenal. Her character really steps up in this film and I really like how the fact she is a deaf actress allows the chance to convey emotion in different ways and make us really care about her and the narrative that she goes on in this film. Jupe also does a good job, despite the fact that he is more of an idiot in this film, his character is just not written as well as Simmonds but he just about does enough and the ending for his character does make it worthwhile. Djimon Hounsou has a small role in the film and he is fine, reports are that he joined the cast really late in the day and it does show a little bit but he works for the role that he is in. 

Story 

The story is good, I really like the world that has been built here and how there is still a real lack of knowledge about elements like the monster. The film tells you the bare minimum still and lets you focus on the action and suspense instead of some convoluted back story that would maybe cheapen the mythos. The first ten minutes of this film are some of the best and craziest I have seen for a long time and the terror is expertly shown. But I do feel this film is lacking a little bit in terms of the family connection, the story sees the character split up which makes it feel a little disconnected from each other and means we spend less time with some characters which is a shame. Plus despite the ending being satisfying, there was an element that I feel like they weren't sure how exactly to end it and it was a criticism I had for the first film too. 

Script 

The script is good, despite the premise of the film there is more dialogue in this film then there was in the first film but it isn't forced and feels very natural. It is a serious film which allows for a little bit of humour but that feels appropriate and the drama does work and makes you care about these people and their hunt for survival. 

Style 

The film looks great, this film is a larger scale for sure and it works. The design of the monsters is on greater display here and for those gaming fans just imagine the clickers from The Last of Us and you have there design and it is really cool. I also saw this film in the cinema and the silence is super chilling and really sucks you into the atmosphere of the film and the terror that one slight bit of sound could be the end of the characters. But this film does have a little bit of a jump scare issue, the first film was clever and mature with its scares and this film is too but I just felt there were a few too many cheap jump scares for my liking. Also the film barely hits 90 mins and I could have done with like an extra 10 mins as it does feel a little rushed at the end. 

Overall

Overall, A Quiet Place 2 is a great film that needs to be seen on the big screen to be appreciated fully. I really like the two films in this universe and hopefully they keep this franchise going as I think there is so much more that can be done with it. 

Rating - 8/10 

A Quiet Place (2018) Review

I plan on finally getting to see A Quiet Place 2 tomorrow evening, so in prep I had to watch the first film and I did that today and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a family trying to survive where they must live in silence to avoid monsters that are out to kill them. 

Main Character

Real Life Married Couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski play the two lead characters here and they are both really good here. Obviously, they can't really talk together so they have to rely on natural chemistry that they obviously have and it is very effective in the film. These are two characters you actually care about in a horror film and I can't tell you how much better it makes the overall experience. 

Supporting Characters

This film has one of the smallest casts imaginable and really the only ones to mention are the two children played by Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. They are both very good, especially for inexperienced performers and all of the cast do really good jobs and feel like a true family trying to survive an apocalypse. 

Story 

The story is fascinating because of how little detail there is. This film refreshingly doesn't overcomplicate things or explain too much about this world like there is no indication where the monsters actually came from. The film is simple as we watch these four people attempt to survive and stay quiet, their characters are what drives the film and the incredibly tense situations that they are put into. But there is no doubt, that some of the plot elements aren't really explained enough and with the premise there are times where the plot doesn't exactly make sense. Plus this films very ending infuriated me a bit and felt a little cheap after the film that I watched. 

Script

Now this is the hardest part of the film to examine as there is very little dialogue to work with. What is here is good and the dialogue displayed through sign language does a good job in developing the characters. But there were some elements of the plot that weren't written as well as I would have liked and it did hold the film back a little bit for me. 

Style 

The films style is really good, the use or lack of sound is really effective and keeps you on your toes for the duration of the film without the cheap jump scares that most horror films employ. The film is only 90 mins long which was the right decision for sure and it manages to turn some mundane activities that they do and turn them into scenes that make you bite your nails in tension. 

Overall 

Overall, A Quiet Place is a great film that does its job as a suspense thriller with elements of horror really well. Its a short film so if you haven't watched it then do it and then go see the sequel in the cinema. 

Rating - 8/10