By John Corrado

A Quiet Place: Day One is a very solid prequel to director John Krasinski’s first two thrillers, which were built around the gimmick of people needing to stay silent lest they get eaten by monsters with super-hearing.

This film is written and directed by Michael Sarnoski (taking over from Krasinski, who helped develop the story), and relocates the action to New York City. The story is set when the aliens first land on earth, and delivers the moments of creature carnage that we expect from the franchise.

But the most impressive aspect of Day One is how Sarnoski grounds it in a heartfelt story about grief, balancing monster movie suspense with surprisingly somber character drama. The story centres around Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a young woman with terminal cancer living at a New York hospice.

Sam ventures into the city with her nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff), sneaking along her black-and-white cat Frodo. They are going to see a show, and Sam wants a slice of pizza from a place in Harlem. But things get upended when the aliens attack, the city goes into lockdown, and Sam is put on the run fighting to survive. She encounters Eric (Joseph Quinn), a young law student from England who is on his own trying to navigate the city.

Sarnoski made his feature directorial debut with the Nicolas Cage film Pig in 2021, and as it goes along, it actually starts to make a lot of sense that the guy who made that film also made this. At heart, A Quiet Place: Day One is the story of a woman and her cat trying to get a slice of pizza during the apocalypse, and who better to make it than the guy who turned the story of a chef played by Nicolas Cage getting revenge on the guys who stole his truffle pig into a deeply moving character study.

The emotional layers that Sarnoski adds to A Quiet Place: Day One are what make it stand out, and the most surprising aspect of the film is how somber it feels at times, especially for a summer blockbuster. It’s built around excellent performances from Nyong’o and Quinn, who have strong chemistry together and are able to deliver on both the physical and emotional demands of their roles. Putting an Oscar-winning actress in this, alongside one of our finest rising stars, was an inspired choice.

The strength of their two performances are what help ground this prequel through both the big set-pieces and quieter scenes. Like the first two films, Day One is technically well-made; it features strong creature effects and impeccable uses of sound, including moments of eery silence. The film unfolds at a tight 99 minutes, with an excellent last act that is able to build tension, while also delivering moving character moments (including magical wordless interludes). This is a big summer blockbuster with a genuine emotional payoff, and that should be celebrated.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

Joseph Quinn as “Eric” and Lupita Nyong’o as “Samira” in A Quiet Place: Day One from Paramount Pictures.

A Quiet Place: Day One opens exclusively in theatres on June 28th.