• Release year: 2024
• Director: Michael Sarnoski.
• Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller and John Krasinski.
• Screenplay by: Michael Sarnoski.
• Cinematography by: Pat Scola.
• Music by: Alexis Grapsas.

Shotgun Commentary: if you liked the first two instalments, you will like this one. It’s the same, but also new enough to be interesting.

Review

A Quiet Place: Day One is the tale of another group of survivors in the Quiet Place universe. Instead of a family, this instalment features a woman, a cat, and a random, slightly creepy British man that just happened to be in New York when the aliens landed.

While the basics of the story are exactly the same, the change of characters is incredibly refreshing. A lady with a cat defying the odds just to get a slice of pizza seems ridiculous. Then again, so does a man destroying a mob to avenge his dog, and John Wick is a great saga, so let’s hold off on the judgement.

Still got it

Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) is a terminally ill woman who is tricked into going to New York for a short trip. This small period of time coincides with the landing of the super-hearing aliens on Earth. As with any third instalment, most of the audience already knows what to expect from this fictional universe. However, just because it is expected doesn’t mean it can’t be impressive, and it is.

Up until now, we had only had the point of view of a small city and the countryside. These locations heighten the daily sounds us humans do in our daily lives. Emphasizing most of the noises that go unheard out of habit and repetition.

By bringing New York into the mix, especially to talk about the first day of the invasion, we are revealed a whole other facet of humanity’s noise pollution, the one we make as a collective. From a saga as US-centred as this one, New York was the obvious choice. After all, no self-respecting alien invasion can be called so if it doesn’t go for New York first.

Mass-ive danger

This change also means that what was hinted in the previous films comes from and centre on this one: the worst of humanity. The “worst” not so much in terms of morality, but in terms of intelligence and its obliteration in stressful situations.

Mass hysteria is the first thing that comes to mind whenever tragedy strikes. This often causes more deaths and injures than the catastrophe itself. A Quiet Place: Day One is another example of this, exposing how one little mistake can end thousands of lives, more due to a chain reaction of stupidity and hysteria rather than actual danger. All of these actions answer to a very broken instinct of survival that puts ourselves before the community, a natural behaviour that has always had horrible consequences for humanity.

Good company

Metaphysical rantings aside, both Samira and Eric (Joseph Quinn) are interesting characters worth following. On the one hand, Sam’s honestly and zero patience for nonsense, as well as her undying love for her cat Frodo (Schnitzel), make her incredibly easy to like and empathise with. Sometimes a girl just wants some pizza and to take care of her pet, you know?

On the other hand, Eric has a bit of a rough start. Despite the obvious no-talking rule, the way he just sort of follows Sam without any introduction or previous interaction is A-level creep behaviour. Sure, his stalking is not ill-intentioned, and it’s not like he can just tell her his life story, but the way he acts at first is just so…off. If it weren’t for the promo of the film, one would get major weasel vibes from him. Soon enough, he shows his kind and clever nature, and everything is good with the world again, but it is a strange journey for sure.

All in all, A Quiet Place: Day One is a great reminder of how much of a death trap we are to ourselves in an emergency, as well as how valid getting a little treat can be, even in the roughest of situations. Keeping a cool head is hard, and your humanity even harder, but a pet and good company might just make everything worth it.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Go for that little treat, you deserve it.
• Cities are the worst place to be during an alien invasion. Extra points if it’s New York.
• Never underestimate the power of a cosy jumper.

What’s your take? Have you watched A Quiet Place: Day One? What is your favourite Quiet Place film? What food would you go for before it disappears forever?

Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀