Funereal Plots

Horror Cinema reviews
Matthew M. Bartlett

A Quiet Place Day 1

Writer/Director: Michael Sarnoski

The premise here, introduced in the 2018 John Krasinski film A Quiet Place and expanded upon in a 2020 sequel that I only just found out existed, is that aliens have landed on the earth, and when humans make sounds, or cause sounds to be made, they kill humans. The first movie and this one (and presumably the second) play a little fast and loose with these rules, but the results are entertaining at least, if somewhat predictable.

This prequel/spinoff opens at a hospice where Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a cancer patient with a support cat named Frodo (Schnitzel and Nico, alternating acting duties) who reluctantly goes on a field trip with a nurse and some other patients into New York City to see a marionette show. After the show, the aliens soar into the city, killing anything that makes a peep (except each other).

Sam and Frodo (oh boy) are separated when the military swoops in, destroying the bridges that lead into (and out of) the city. We are helpfully informed that the aliens can’t swim, and that the army is planning to try to evacuate people by boat. I thought the aliens could fly, but that might just be because they can jump really far. One problem with movies like this is that one instantly starts to try to determine whether the filmmakers lose track of the rules of their premise.

Meanwhile, Eric, a transplant from England in the U.S. to study law, happens upon Sam’s cat and follows him back. Sam dismisses Eric, but he follows her, and eventually they become a team (note: don’t follow women who don’t want to be followed!) Along with the cat, they must evade the aliens and get to the boat.

A Quiet Place Day 1 shouldn’t be this good. It follows the by-the-numbers screenplay template (make the character want something! She wants to get pizza! Near the end, she’ll get pizza!) and relies too much on CGI, which, despite its many years in use, still manages to mostly look like cartoons superimposed over real goings-on. But it’s saved by a spectacularly immersive and brave performance by Nyong’o, some effectively heart-tugging pathos, and by – spoiler alert – treating a character’s pet not merely as a plot device, not merely as monster-fodder to be killed off and never mentioned again, but by actively involving the animal in the goings-on and not killing it.

This may seem glib on my part, but it’s something moviegoers rarely see in this genre, and it’s worth mentioning. You worry about Sam, but you also worry about that cat.

Nico and Schnitzel are, needless to say, terrific actors.