A Quiet Place: Day One is a horror sci-fi film directed by Michael Sarnoski and is the prequel spin-off for A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II. The film follows Sam and Eric as they try to survive the first day of the sound-sensitive creatures invading New York City. 

New York, New York

A Quiet Place: Day One takes place on the first day the mysterious sound-sensitive creatures landed on Earth. Unlike the previous films that followed the Abbott family, this film follows a new set of characters: Sam, Eric, and Frodo. Sam, played by Lupita Nyong’o, is a terminally ill cancer patient, and Eric, played by Joseph Quinn, is a young law student. These two characters try to survive the invasion in New York City along with their cat, Frodo. 

Here Kitty Kitty

Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn were the main aspects that carried this film. They both provided great performances, and they had good chemistry. Their characters were also written well, giving us characters that were relatable and easy to root for. Their motivations were clear, which made the characters fit perfectly together. This film also tackles what it means to live by using characters with different motivations. With Sam, a character who does not have much to live, and Eric, a character with a future ahead of him, the film shows the different types of mindsets that can be present during an apocalypse. At its core, the movie is a well-written story about two characters with very different mindsets trying to live with whatever time they have left. 

Another aspect that elevated this movie was that it fixed many of the mistakes that A Quiet Place Part II made. The main characters in this film actually made reasonable decisions, and the dialogue was limited. When the main characters communicated with each other, it was through writing stuff down, or it was in a place where they could talk without the monsters being able to hear them. The lack of noise in this film brought back that quiet atmosphere from 2018’s A Quiet Place, making the theater experience very unique. The only loud audio that was present in this film was when the creatures showed up, which made people associate the noise with monsters. This movie also had hoards of creatures compared to the previous films, where there were only two to three on screen at a time. 

A Quiet City

Although A Quiet Place: Day One fixed many of the problems that A Quiet Place Part II had, it still brought about issues that held this film back. The movie was marketed as a horror film that took place during the first day of the alien invasion, but there were not many scares, and it skimmed over many of the day one scenarios. The film had a couple of good jump scares, but the movie was not scary or intense apart from providing a quiet atmosphere. When it came to the day one sequences, it skipped over most of the immediate attack because the movie was spread over a couple of days. Because of this, the film felt more like a drama than a traditional horror flick that it was marketed as. 

The main issue that A Quiet Place: Part II had was that the main characters made mistakes that most people wouldn’t make. A Quiet Place: Day One fixes this issue, but the main characters seem almost too smart. They knew that the creatures were sound-sensitive early into the invasion, which took away the slow build-up of people discovering how the creatures act. Because of their intelligence, it felt like there weren’t any moments where these characters were in any harm. Throughout the film, Sam and Eric have solutions that only people who know everything about the monsters can think of. Their cat, Frodo, also handled most of the situations with ease. Even though Frodo was a scene-stealing aspect of the movie, it is hard to believe a cat can stay perfectly quiet during an apocalypse. Although stupidity is often a common criticism, when it comes to horror movies, having plot armor-type characters can take the sense of immersion and realism away from audiences. 

Verdict

A Quiet Place: Day One was not the film I expected it to be. I went into the movie thinking it was going to be an intense fast-paced thriller, but instead, the film provided a slow-burn story about two well-written characters and their approach to life. Day One also tackles what a person is willing to do to survive and protect their loved ones during the start of a post-apocalyptic world. The main issue that held this movie back from being on par with 2018’s A Quiet Place was the lack of intense moments and fearful emotions. This film would be rated much higher if it wasn’t marketed as a sci-fi thriller prequel to a franchise with suspenseful and intense entries. 

A Quiet Place: Day One works well as a drama, providing a compelling story and great performances from Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn. But as a horror movie, it lacks the fear and intensity that held this film back from being a successful entry to the franchise. 

Rating: 8/10