Those into the older silent Horror films, such as the 1922 classic Nosferatu, have been lucky enough to see some modern adaptations of this style emerging in the last few years. A great example would be 2018’s A Quiet Place; the first of three in a film series which brings back the artistry of acting with primarily facial expressions. Although dominated by fear in this instance, you could argue the type of acting seen in predominantly silent Quiet Place features share similarity to the way Charlie Chaplin captured his audiences all those years ago. Looking at this modern Horror trilogy closer, first there was A Quiet Place striking curiosity and earning wide commercial success. This worked great in setting up the anticipation for 2020 A Quiet Place II which also did quite well. Now, premiering on June 28th 2024, the spin-off, A Quiet Place: Day One emerges in theaters through Paramount Pictures.
For those unaware, A Quiet Place: Day One is the prequel to the first two films, and ironically, has the most action with the monsters. In the previous two, there is much more silence throughout, but in this prequel you get to experience the various creative ways that more dialog is interjected in. The premise of course is that the Quiet Place alien monster creatures cannot see, but can hear extremely well. Once the main characters of the story catch wind of this, they do everything they can to not make a sound for fear of death.
This premise in mind, what really stands out in A Quiet Place: Day One – besides the charismatic acting from the two main characters Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther 2018, Us 2019) as Sam and Joseph Quinn (Les Misérables 2018, Stranger Things series) as Eric – is the deep layers that get peeled back throughout the film that portray what really matters in life. In enough words, it is more than a film of horror plaguing life. It is about a wide range of emotions which connect on a human and animal level. Without revealing too much, there is also an emotional support cat within the fabric of the plot that may just win best acting credit as well. That in mind, if you are a cat owner, A Quiet Place: Day One breeds its success on the suspension of disbelief principles. Not to fear though, because the incredible dynamics between the main cast and the cat has such a refreshing take.
Blessed with a large budget and all the latest technologies, which sometimes can be a detriment, Director Michael Sarnoski still manages to accomplish an impressively captivating film on many levels with A Quiet Place: Day One. In fact, it gets a round of applause all around for the overall team effort involved in making it come to life; from the filming and acting, to the creature design and the effects. Leading us to the story itself, which seems like such a simple concept, yet it is so brilliantly executed. Looking deeper inside, It is the idea that survival is a much smaller part of the large picture of life. In enough words, you walk away from A Quiet Place: Day One realizing, even more than ever, that living is a gift.
A prequel that you can enjoy without seeing the prior chapters, it might be useful to check them out anyway, but that will not affect the journey of A Quiet Place: Day One in the least. While the first two films do a great job of portraying silent fear, A Quiet Place: Day One digs down into the heart of the issues we all face today in one way or another. Highly recommended to check out in IMAX while still available if you can, Cryptic Rock gives A Quiet Place: Day One 5 out of 5 stars.
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