“A Quiet Place: Day One” hit theaters on June 27 and has already drawn positive reviews. The film expands the “Quiet Place” universe and adds new characters who band together in order to survive the first day of an alien attack.
The antagonists of the film are monsters that — while not officially named — are referred to as “Death Angels,” per Odeon. Hyper-sensitive to sound, the death angels kill anything that makes a noise, leading the humans around them to either stay silent, or die.
What is ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ about?
The movie stars Lupita Nyong’o as Sam, a woman suffering from a terminal illness. Just before the aliens attack, she visits New York City for a day out and a slice of pizza. Accompanying her is her service cat, Frodo.
When monsters invade, she meets a young law student named Eric, played by Joseph Quinn. They band together to navigate Manhattan amidst the death and terror the aliens bring.
Other notable stars in the film include Alex Wolff as Reuben, a care worker, and Djimon Hounsou as Henri, a familiar character who also appeared in “A Quiet Place: Part II.”
Why isn’t John Krasinski directing ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’?
According to The Economic Times, John Krasinski decided to take a break from directing the franchise after the success of the first two films. Michael Sarnoski became the director of the film and has since suggested that a follow-up movie could be made as a “sequel to the prequel.”
While there are relatively few ties between the prequel and the other two movies, “‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ primarily ties into the original series through Djimon Hounsou’s character, who leads the island survivors in Part II. Although his character does not survive the events of A Quiet Place Part II, a film set between Day One and Part II could explore his earlier experiences and leadership.”
How good is ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’?
The scenes gave the audience time to breathe. The occasional jump-scare kept viewers on their toes, but never in a way that detracted from the story. Each segment of the movie was permitted to play out, take shape and resolve itself without making the mistake that too many other drama and thriller movies fall prey too — sacrificing plot for shock value.
Nyong’o and Quinn provide emotionally breathtaking performances, and their portrayal of grief, anxiety, terror and perseverance is extraordinary. “A Quiet Place: Day One” is not a story about violent monsters and silent screams, it’s about how people choose to live — not just survive — when the world ends.
I didn’t pick up on any particularly stereotypically rugged or tough characters, which earned the film extra brownie points in my book. Everyone was emotionally affected in some way by the events in the story — from a blood-covered woman quietly mourning to a screaming man reeling from trauma. No one seemed magically exempt from the need to cope — both physically and emotionally — with the aftershock of an invaded world.
If any character could be referred to as “tough,” it would likely be Nyong’o’s Sam, though I prefer the term resilient. Sam’s history of illness and grief worked uniquely in her favor when navigating a broken, bloodstained New York City. Sam had already experienced brokenness in her own life, which evidently allowed her to keep calm and control her emotions in otherwise paralyzing circumstances.
Sam and Frodo often provided an anchor to Eric, who — as a young law student from England — found comfort and security in his companionship with them.
What do other critics think?
Other critic and audience reviews vary. The film scored an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 74% audience score. One critic said the movie was “a phenomenal film that subverts expectations in rich and affecting ways. ... a personal, poignant adventure about cherishing what matters most.”
Another critic said that “Day One builds with purpose and fervor, but ultimately drifts into the predictable.”
The film received a 6.8 rating out of ten on IMDb, with one user commenting: “Coming into A Quiet Place: Day One, you would assume that it would revolve around the history of how ‘this thing’ occurs and how it relate to the present day. Apparently not. This film pretty much an unnecessary spin-off of the first film.”
Admittedly, the film fails to provide context for the franchise, such as why the alien monsters came to earth and what might have happened on a worldwide scale to prevent the creatures from spreading. We see a few of those efforts, such as ferries coming to New York City to transport survivors to safety, but the title “Day One” seemed to give many viewers hope that the film would explain more.
Fans seemed to feel skeptical about Frodo the cat, who remained perfectly silent throughout the entire movie. One Reddit user said, “have you ever heard a cat eat? They’re not making it when the aliens come.”
Overall, Frodo might have been the most well-loved character in the movie.
According to Variety, two cats were used on set to play the part of Frodo. Director Michael Sarnoski told Variety that as he did some research, he found that meowing is natural cat behavior, however “a lot of it is put on as a way of communicating with humans. So, I thought it’d be interesting in the apocalypse, that if there weren’t really people around, there’s not as much of a need for a cat to meow.”
Additionally, Frodo is Sam’s service animal. Sarnoski explained: “I figured he was very obedient. If Sam said, ‘Be quiet,’ he would. … Cats can be extremely quiet. They’re predators, they can stop and move very silently, and I figured, game recognizes game. So when a cat saw these creatures operating, they’re like, ‘I get you, I’m going to just kind of keep it down.’”
The film came to theaters on June 27 and had an impressive box office weekend, per Variety.