'A Quiet Place: Day One,' Just Okay

Good but not as great as the others

I’ve been someone fascinated by the A Quiet Place franchise because it focuses more on the horror of sounds and there is deaf representation. It was important to me as a deaf person especially since it was horrifying to see this world be used where I can’t hear sounds or how loud it is. So this film franchise is unique being a horror movie with sounds being the downfall for people and aliens are instantly attracted to sounds. It’s too freaky like every second you walk or do anything you could die because of how loud the sounds are.

This film was held strong by Nupita Nyong'o’s and Joseph Quinn’s chemistry with each other, world-building in a different place, and using the themes of focusing on the beauty of what has been before officially accepting the end. But this isn’t as strong as the other two films and is not as scary. It has two parts that were super intense and then didn’t have consequences it except for one part in the film. It is a fun good film that wasn’t as extraordinary as the other two films where it was okay and good to have fun with in theaters.

This movie isn’t a sequel or a prequel it’s just its own thing like a spin-off with new characters and actors and director for this film. This doesn’t have Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, or John Krasinski acting in this film even without Krasinski directing it. The director is Michael Sarnoski who directed the movie Pig, and his writing is for more character stories looking for meaning and internal struggles. The film A Quiet Place: Day One, takes place in New York at the beginning of the alien invasion with a young woman named Sam played by Nupita Nyong'o who has terminal cancer with a cat named Frodo and does whatever it takes to get a slice of pizza from her childhood. On the way there she meets up with traumatized Eric played by Joseph Quinn who goes along on her adventure to help her get pizza. They would end up bouncing off each other through strengths and weaknesses by pushing each other through each challenge as they evade the aliens. At one point in the movie, I had spent 20 minutes trying to figure out whether Djimon Hounsou was in A Quiet Place Part 2 and realized he was. This genuinely works to connect the movies through him and the ending of this film connects to his character in A Quiet Place Part 2. As they are going through New York to find her pizza place, the ferries are open to the people to leave the city.

The film does a good job with the two characters, yes the downside is that the main character that Nyong'o plays is the stereotype of a sick angry person but it gets very tiresome for the first 15 minutes. The audiences come to realize that she just wants to see her childhood pizza place feel contempt for where she is now to be at peace. There’s Eric who was a student at a university who was going to be an accountant traumatized by the aliens after coming out of the waters in the train station and meeting up with Sam and Frodo the cat. They both would work together through their strengths and weaknesses, Eric being traumatized in the waters, and Sam needing medical supplies. It is like they are each other strengths to prevail against the aliens in New York. The first thing that came to mind was platonic besties doing whatever it takes to survive in the alien apocalypse and I love that. The three best parts of this film that stand out, the first one was the magic trick in the bar since it was beautiful and humanistic. There was the chase scene in the subway underwater and it was intense. For me, it is freaky to be in that situation due to me not being able to swim as great and it was a good choice for Eric to have a panic attack in the underwater subway to feel relatable and humanistic about him with his weakness. To show Nyong’o’s character Sam to encourage, and reassure him that everything is okay is such a platonic bestie goal right there. They are each other’s strengths to prevail. I love their chemistry together enough that it holds the movie together to be honest. I mean there’s not enough horror in this film, or be that it makes you on top of your toes on what is happening. It’s just meh and not as exciting or had that specialness that the franchise had. It feels like a movie for connection and being at peace with where they are now by embracing the past one last time before being at peace. That bar scene will forever stick with me because of how beautiful it is. But this film just doesn’t feel as exciting or new as the last couple of movies were. The only thing new that happened was seeing the nest for the aliens in New York and that tie-in with one character that Djimon Hounsou plays is what is new to the world of A Quiet Place. This film is good just a fun time but nothing new or extraordinary. I wish there were more to this film but I still had a good time. I guess what I am trying to say is that it may not have lived up to the expectations of horror or the intensity like the other movies did but the two cast members’ performances are what I adore about this movie. If you wanna survive in the alien apocalypse bring your platonic bestie along to uplift each other’s strengths and weaknesses to survive. Check it out, it’s still in theaters!