Paramount Pictures
A Quiet Place is a horror film that has such a good idea on paper that easily could have been executed in the wrong way. John Krasinski’s direction and his acting in the first film, alongside his wife Emily Blunt, made that movie a masterpiece and is considered to be one of the best horror movies in recent memory. It was a film that utilized sound and silence in a way to elevate a lot of scenes. Following up with a sequel that continues right after the events of the first film could be a bit of a gamble. Could it once again spark that terror that that first film delivered on? These were all questions I had going into the sequel surrounding the Abbott family as they ventured outside of the sand path to continue the fight against the monsters that hunt by sound.
By continuing to explore these monsters that hunt only by sound and picking up right after the events of the first film, Krasinski can expand the world that he started in the first film. The film opens Day One. We see these monsters come to Earth and how everybody is reacting to them. There’s a lot of hysteria and people don’t know what to do right away. People get the sense to absolutely remain silent. The direction from Krasinski within the first few minutes of the movie shows why he needs to continue directing. There are a lot of shots that linger on the action, and the sense of terror is set up within the first few moments of the movie. Krasinski also appears in the first ten minutes or so and he uses the moments wisely. His initial reaction to the monsters is how he felt throughout the entire run of the first film, which shows the true horror of how the monsters have affected people’s lives.
With limited amount of dialogue, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, and others must communicate with their co-stars via facial expressions and movement. They must convey a certain message regarding fear while trying to make it believable. Everyone in the film, including the daughter and son (Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe), provide the sense of terror that showcases their true acting ability. Simmonds is the true star of the movie. With more of a focus on her the second time around, Krasinski writes her as a strong character who wants to prove herself and protect her family. She ventures out into the unknown with Cillian Murphy, which gives the film a Last of Us vibe, which I was all for. Everyone is haunted by the monsters or have lost someone close to them. The emotional connection to the characters makes their story worth watching and realistic. Murphy’s character has endured a lot prior to the events in the second film. Without explaining everything that his character has gone through, Murphy is able to tell his story through visual cues and emotional facial expressions.
The film remains terrifying throughout. Jump scares serve a purpose and shock the audience to their core. With the mixture of the CGI monsters and PERFECT sound editing, the film’s tension always remains high. Tension may come in the monsters running toward you, or long periods of silence where you know something is about to happen and you are dreading it. The small moments of glass bottles banging against each other might seem completely average to any other film, but with A Quiet Place Part II, they serve a purpose of inducing fear into the audience and characters.
A Quiet Place Part II is one of the rare horror sequels that is equivalent to the first film in its tone and style. Krasinski continued to impress me as a director, and I can’t wait to see what he does next. This was a film where I didn’t want to eat popcorn or even sneeze. I felt like someone told me before I sat down to watch the movie that I had to remain silent or I would be kicked out. With a third film planned but not having Krasinski direct it makes me a bit worried since a lot of what makes the film work is the direction. I still have hopes that it can end the trilogy in a satisfying fashion and remain some of the best horror movies ever.
A Quiet Place Part II has a run time of 1 hour 37 minutes and is rated PG-13 for terror, violence and bloody/disturbing images.
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