Rent A Quiet Place: Day One on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Michael Sarnoski (screenplay), John Krasinski and Michael Sarnoski (story), Bryan Woods & Scott Beck (characters created by)
Directed by: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Sam finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing.
Verdict
This takes the premise and runs with it, moving from a single house to an entire city. In so many horror movies, the goal is to escape with an intense run to freedom. In this the goal is to remain silent and still. That really drives the tension. We're holding our breaths trying to be quiet with the characters. This is extremely effective, and even with the lack of dialog it manages to create grand moments of stress and solidarity. It's less a horror movie and more a near silent drama that features creatures.
Watch It.
Review
A prequel to the Quiet Place movies, I love the premise of putting this in New York, one of the loudest cities.
Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) faces an atypical set of constraints for a protagonist. She's a terminally ill cancer patient. With fellow patients she ventures into New York to see a marionette show. She's down on the show, and so was I until I saw it. What little we see, I'd gladly watch more. It's a nice introduction and a feel good moment that will contrast what happens next. This is the start of the alien invasion.
What makes this franchise so effective is that characters can't talk. It forces exposition onto the actors through expression and the story through action. The government are out there in helicopters on loud speakers telling people to move to the evacuation point. When everyone comes out of hiding, the streets are full and you know it's going to be a disaster. The rustling of so many people walking has never seemed so loud. The lack of dialog and the fear of making a sound creates such a mood. Everyone is terrified and it seems hopeless. What can you do when these monsters are such efficient trackers and kill any sound? Being silent draws you in. Few movies are so visceral.
This is a world that is ripe for spin offs. Making this about sound is so effective and increases the nervousness. So many movies are about running away, but changing the focus to being silent changes everything. While I was skeptical of a sequel, moving this to a city was perfect.
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| Joseph Quinn, Lupita Nyong'o play Eric, Sam |
There's a scene in a subway tunnel that's filling with water as Sam and Eric (Joseph Quinn) try to escape a creature. What they don't know is that the creatures can't swim. Adding stress is that Sam also has her cat. It would be a great addition if the creatures hate cats, and they could be used as protection. Maybe in another movie.
Desperation proves to be a great motivator, forcing Sam and Eric to band together for survival. We get these nice moments between them, just two strangers trying to survive. Towards the end, Eric silently puts on a show, trying to give Sam one more moment of joy when they both know the end is near. What else can you do? You can wallow in sadness or try to do something good. It's a solid ending, and with this concept you could do additional movies in different places. This movie proves that.
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