A Quiet Place: Day One is the origin story of the monsters that took over the world in the Quiet Place franchise. With Lupita Nyong’o and Joe Quinn leading this entry, Day One pivots away from the monsters and focuses more on how we deal with monsters. As a result, I felt that we got more of a heartfelt look into how humans react and connect when the world seems to be ending.
The true highlight of this movie (aside from Frodo the cat) is the relationship between Nyong’o’ Samira and Quinn’s Eric. Samira is terminally ill and has given up any will to leave. Eric is a law student who happens to find her and Frodo at their lowest and save them. Together, they not only survive the monsters but begin to adapt to what their life now looks like. They bond over their trauma, they bond over their circumstances, and they find ways to find peace together. A scene of him getting her a pizza she’s been craving since the start of the movie cements all this for me.
The monsters are not necessarily on the sideline for the movie, but outside of big chase moments, there are a few times they are used to build tension. The carnage they bring is no joke. Outside of the first movie, there have been great scenes of people being slaughtered and the monsters showing their true skills. These movies haven’t shied away from showing the monsters, and I am greatly appreciative of that. Even if their attacks are just lunges that take their victims off-screen, you can feel the fear in everyone’s eyes when someone is attacked in the blink of an eye.
I think from time to time the movie becomes too by the books. The story becomes very straightforward at moments when each development scene is mixed with an attack scene. I truly don’t mind this, as again, the character development was great and I was attached to both Quinn and Nyong’o.Â
I think this is a very good setup for the other movies in the franchise. I wish a bit more time was developed for the people learning about the monsters. We never see anyone discover that they could not swim or see, or only be tracked by sound. Samira’s learning of this is just as sudden as us learning about it. I feel like the world benefits from learning that as the characters do, and not just being told it by helicopters flying around.Â
FINAL THOUGHTS
A Quiet Place: Day One is a very good entry into the franchise. This movie establishes how the monsters landed on Earth and how very early on, people hid and survived. Led by Lupita Nyong’o and Joeseph Quinn, A Quiet Place: Day One knew its job and executed it. Give this a watch if you like the other entries or if you’re looking for a good horror movie for the summer.
