Six years since he scared moviegoers into keeping quiet with the original A Quiet Place, John Krasinski steps back from his trademark franchise to let Michael Sarnioski (Pig) take on the reins for a prequel-set look at what made the world go silent.

The horror of silence

In 2018, John Krasinski directed and starred in A Quiet Place. While he’d already made a couple of lowkey dramas at that point, the man best known for playing Jim on The Office and Jack Ryan on, well, Jack Ryan, the dive into horror was as unexpected as it was effective. A Quiet Place and its sequel (which Krasinski also helmed) were hits with critics and audiences, enthralled by the central conceit of alien beasts killing anything that made a sound.

Scared together: A communal experience

Around the world, screenings came to resemble endurance tests, as audiences struggled to stay silent. While Part 2 was released at the height of the global pandemic, it still garnered enough praise and box office to qualify as a success, contributing to Krasinski’s rise as one of Hollywood’s most exciting new directors. With Krasinski hard at work on a second A Quiet Place sequel, director Michael Sarnioski (Pig) takes the helm for Day One, a prequel that runs prior to and adjacent to the events of the previous films.

The story

In Day One, we finally see what happened on the fateful afternoon that murderous, audio-sensitive aliens invaded Earth. Eschewing the original films’ rural setting, Day One takes us to The Big Apple itself, New York City, in all of its bustling glory. After barely escaping the initial assault, terminal cancer patient Sam (Lupita Nyong’o, Black Panther) decides she wants to make her way to Harlem. Because when the apocalypse is nigh, few things are as comforting as a hand-tossed slice from Patsy’s Pizza.

A friend for the end of the world

With her cat Frodo in tow, Sam crosses paths with Eric, played by Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn. A meek law student, Eric is a far cry from the iconic rocker Quinn played on the Netflix mainstay. Awkward in every sense, Eric is nevertheless possessed of a heart of gold, which comes in handy when Sam finally lets him tag along. As the US Army tries to evacuate the city, Sam, Frodo, and Eric will have to rely on each other if they’re to have any hope of surviving a world on the verge of collapse.

The lead

As Sam, Nyong’o commands the screen with a minimum of dialogue, opting for the Tony Leung (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love) route of letting her eyes do the talking. And talk they do – Nyong’o’s award-winning skills are on full display, conveying more in a glance than most could do with a monologue. Sam’s seemingly indomitable will contrasts with Eric’s timid nature, rendering the latter more than a little annoying at times. For the most part, the relationship between Sam and Frodo fuels our emotional investment, because honestly, nobody wants to see a cat get hurt in one of these things.

In any case, beset with pain save for the mercy of Fentanyl, Sam knows what her fate will be. Now, removed from the confines of the hospice where we first meet her –aliens, or no aliens– she’s going to face that future with her head high and a song in her heart.

But first, pizza.

Meeting the monsters

In Day One, we’re given some of our best looks at the creatures that bring about society’s demise, as the creatures feature in more full-body shots than before, in addition to being presented in sharp relief against the steel and glass of downtown Manhattan.

Despite this, care is taken to preserve the suspense and mystery, as in the case of a red SUV that just happened to be white when it left the factory. Creative touches like this, as opposed to just adding more gore, go a long way toward making the carnage memorable.

The everyman

This should go without saying, but it’s almost a Hollywood law that having Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, Shazam, Guardians of the Galaxy) in your film automatically makes it better, and the same holds true here. Hounsou reprises the role of Henri, who didn’t have a name when he was introduced back in A Quiet Place Part II. With Day One being a prequel, we know he’s going to survive this encounter. What we didn’t know is the lengths Henri went to to originally ensure his family’s survival.

When a hysterical survivor loses touch with his senses in the aftermath of the initial attack, Henri must make an impossible choice that his son very nearly witnesses. It’s quick, it’s brutal, and it’s made all the more credible thanks to Hounsou’s performance. The man is nothing less than a treasure, and after over two decades in the biz, he really should be getting some starring roles. Perhaps in the upcoming A Quiet Place Part III?

The bottom line

Nothing will ever top the original A Quiet Place’s fresh take on horror, but Day One makes a good go of it, introducing new character dynamics and a compelling performance from Nyong’o. That having been said, this is a prequel well worth watching in a dark room full of strangers – just don’t forget to breathe.

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