I was curious to see how this prequel story would be told within the A Quiet Place universe, along with new characters and a new setting. This origin story was interesting to the previous films that served as a sequel to this one. Despite not having the Abbot family at the forefront of this movie, Lupita Nyong’o’s Samira (Sam) was a wholesome, relatable character given her grave circumstances.
The plot of A Quiet Place: Day One follows a woman named Samira who is in a hospice center with an unknown condition and a cat companion whom she loves yet verbally bullies at times. One of the last things she wanted to do during her last few days/months/years of life was to get some pizza from one of her childhood favourite spots in Harlem, New York City. Her nurse organized a group trip consisting of Samira and the other hospice residents to a marionette show, followed by a trip to Samira’s pizza joint.
But after the puppet show, the alien invasion (canonically known as the Death Angels) begins before the group can get to the pizzeria. In a chaotic scramble, Samira and her cat survive the first wave of creatures, along with a few other survivors, such as A Quiet Place II‘s Henri (played by Djimon Hounsou). Through the strange fate of Samira’s cat, Eric meets Samira as she embarks on her mission to get some nostalgic pizza. Together, they cross New York City to get a good old slice; time is ticking as Samira’s illness could end her life, or one of the Death Angels could kill her.
“The chemistry between Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn’s Eric in A Quiet Place: Day One could not be taught.”
The chemistry between Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn’s Eric in A Quiet Place: Day One could not be taught. It was a masterclass in natural screen presence between the two actors and their characters. I felt they complemented each other in so many ways. It was shown in a way that they both support each other in moments where one of them has lost their mind, and the other has to find a way to comfort the other person while minimizing the noise level.
In less tense situations, Nyong’o and Quinn presented charismatic portrayals of the characters they needed to be. She played the sick role so accurately for someone who was on death’s door but was still struggling to survive long enough to get that pizza. Also, FYI, the pizza in A Quiet Place: Day One is not a metaphor for anything. Samira genuinely just wanted to taste it one last time before her expiration date. The longing for pizza was a mood, and she was always about getting it through what little caricatures she could make without whispering a sound.
Quinn played the kind, caring Eric, who was from England, studying law abroad in New York City—only to be caught up in this alien attack. I was perplexed by where the story introduced Eric. Without giving away too much, he almost sort of appeared out of nowhere, and I was left wondering how he got to the point where he began his journey in this film’s narrative. Other than that, Quinn gave a superb performance, emoting silently opposite Nyong’o—both of them acted their butts off throughout this film.
A Quiet Place (2018) set a lot of the ground rules, and this iteration played a lot within those rules already established. There is a deep appreciation when characters do not struggle to grasp the parameters of the situation they are in. I liked the nods to the other films that things like how beneficial running water can be used to mask peoples’ voices so they can actually talk to one another. Also, I noticed how they would set off car alarms to draw the Death Angels away from them or at least scramble their echolocation tracking.
These solutions were quickly observed by Samira, and I liked that she was smart enough to pick up on them early on. The VFX/CGI work in A Quiet Place: Day One on the Death Angels could not be better. One of the best camera shots was a similar shot of one of the creature’s faces nearly touching the face of one of the human characters—very reminiscent of the Aliens films.
I would typically critique the music and score of a film, but in this case, I decided to take a closer examination of the sound design in A Quiet Place: Day One—or lack thereof! A special factor for this movie was its ability to build tension and make the screech of the Death Angels super loud whenever they were nearby. My only complaint from the sound mixing was that the noise of the water when Eric and Samira had their first conversation slightly drowned out their voices for me to hear clearly what they were saying.
“A Quiet Place (2018) set a lot of the ground rules, and this iteration played a lot within those rules already established.”
A Quiet Place: Day One had a contained story without wasting any time on nonsensical B-plots. While it had a predictable outcome, the journey was still heartwarming and riveting. Eric and Samira’s relationship by the end of the film almost had me in tears; very much as moving as Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us video game/TV series. I would recommend watching the film closely to support this potential easter egg I thought was not so hidden.
I believe the concept of the cat and how cats are said to have nine lives are used in this film. Samira’s cat appeared in so many moments where either character could have been mauled by a Death Angel but did not. This is something I would re-examine upon another watch.
A Quiet Place: Day One was the longest runtime of all of the former A Quiet Place films, ten minutes longer than the first movie and three minutes longer than Part 2. Regardless, there were enough thrilling scenes to keep me on the edge of my seat. With a solid foundation of rules from previous films, A Quiet Place: Day One was a perfect one-off story that managed to still expand on the canon. Fans of this franchise will have a lot to look forward to watching this prequel-sequel. I am curious if we will get another film back with the Abbotts or if more of these other stories will be told.
