A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) Review – A Poignant And Heartfelt Alien Prequel
A Quiet Place: Day One: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A surprisingly emotional and effective prequel that trades the high-concept family survivalism of the original for a deeply personal character study. A Quiet Place: Day One succeeds by grounding the alien invasion in New York City with a more organic approach to tension and noise. Anchored by a phenomenal, raw performance from Lupita Nyong’o and a touching, odd-couple dynamic with Joseph Quinn, the film is more of a post-apocalyptic drama than a traditional horror. While the feline-focused subplots can feel a bit gimmicky and the lack of world-building lore may disappoint some, it is a beautifully shot and genuinely moving experience. A 3.7-star entry that proves there is still plenty of life, and heart, left in this universe.
Details: Director: Michael Sarnoski | Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou | Runtime: 1h 39m | Release Date: 28 June 2024
Best for: Fans of character-driven survival stories, viewers who appreciate a “human condition” focus over action, and those who enjoyed The Last of Us.
Worth noting: Director Michael Sarnoski previously directed the critically acclaimed Pig, which similarly focused on a quiet, unconventional quest in a harsh world.
Where to Watch: Amazon🛒
Rating: 3.7/5 Stars
(Stellar lead performances, emotional thematic depth, organic tension)
Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of A Quiet Place: Day One from 2024.
Highlights
A big departure from the previous films
The Quiet Place films proved hugely popular and A Quiet Place: Day One offers more of the same only approached from a much more emotional bent. Day One picks up at the very start of the invasion. The aliens have crashed to earth and they are running riot in the city. The story follows terminally ill young woman Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) and her cat Frodo, as they make their way through post-apocalyptic New York to grab a slice of pizza from Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem (yes, seriously, that is the plot).
“Day One doesn’t seem to box itself into a corner nearly as often as the first movie does… It feels cleaner and less ridiculous.”
Full disclosure, I wasn’t an enormous fan of A Quiet Place. I thought the concept was good but the execution was poor. I couldn’t get past the stupidity of the characters. To say that my expectations for A Quiet Place: Day One were low would be an understatement. I went into this movie expecting nothing and came out pleasantly surprised. In fact, I would go as far as to say that A Quiet Place: Day One does a lot of what I was wanting from the first movie. Sure, the principles are the same. It is a few characters sneaking around trying not to make noise. But I feel like the execution here is a lot better.
When characters make noise, it makes sense. When they find ways to communicate, it makes sense. Hell, as stupid as the premise sounds, it makes sense. Day One doesn’t seem to box itself into a corner nearly as often as the first movie does. Mostly thanks to the busier and more built up city environment and the larger cast of survivors.
Whereas the scares in the original movie depended on one character acting dumb, the scares in Day One come far more organically. Through the noise one would expect from a large group of people and the noise that would be difficult to avoid in this situation. It feels cleaner and less ridiculous, allowing the sinister and indiscriminate nature of the aliens to take centre stage. Day One, at least for me, is a far more effective and far more tense movie.
Legitimately touching throughout
People expecting an action-packed alien horror movie here will, likely, be disappointed. Whereas there are plenty of action scenes and a liberal amount of atmospheric tension, Day One is, ultimately, Samira’s story. There is far more of a focus on human survival than there is on action. This is a terminally ill woman finding a way to live despite death staring at her from every corner.
Samira’s story is deeply affecting, despite how ridiculous it may seem. Her terminal illness has her fate already written in stone. She is surviving on instinct and the one thing that gives her purpose is getting that last slice of pizza. There is a deep metaphor here about finding your own purpose in life, even in the face of chaos all around you. And that message is accompanied by moments that are legitimately heartfelt and, honestly, quite powerful. This is exactly what this movie should be. Not an alien movie but a post-apocalyptic drama focusing on the human condition.
“There is a deep metaphor here about finding your own purpose in life, even in the face of chaos all around you.”
A tremendous amount of the praise here has to go to Lupita Nyong’o. Much like she did in Jordan Peele’s Us, she puts on a commanding performance that is both powerful and raw. Joseph Quinn plays an interesting foil to Samira’s resolute acceptance of her fate as young lawyer to be Eric. Eric has a strong desire to live but lacks the mental strength to find a way. The interactions between the pair provide a number of moments of both levity and sadness. Their odd couple relationship is one of the more moving in recent horror history.
A mixed response
Seeing a lot of opinions regarding A Quiet Place: Day One; I feel like some people are missing the point. I see a ton of user reviews point to the lack of alien backstory and military intervention as a negative. A lot of people seem to be viewing Day One as a missed opportunity to tell an action-packed “Us vs. Them” story about battling an alien race.
That’s not what A Quiet Place is about and that is never what it has been about. These are stories of human survival against the odds in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s tough for people to do but if they think about this movie as more of a The Last of Us style tale of human endeavour, rather than an Independence Day style action movie, they may find a bit more enjoyment because A Quiet Place: Day One is a movie with a lot to offer.
A few negatives
People will hate me for saying this but the cat stuff gets annoying pretty fast. Samira’s cat, Frodo, appears throughout the movie and defies all kinds of logic. I can’t imagine a cat on earth that would remain quiet for even a minute, let alone days on end. Director Michael Sarnoski constantly places focus on the cat to the detriment of the story, almost making it feel like we are watching a kid’s film, at times.
“If you are looking for a touching, emotional, horror movie focused on an intimate story… then you should definitely watch A Quiet Place: Day One. Fans of action heavy films may be disappointed.”
Filmmakers have realised how ridiculously dumb and fickle much of the internet is and putting too much focus on a cat is one way to get idiots clapping like seals, all while buying themselves some easy and free publicity on social media. It is beyond annoying, after a while, though the cat’s performance is impressive.
It’s hard not to address the feeling that this is almost like a “Tales from a Quiet Place” side story. Outside of Samira’s own, ongoing, personal journey, there is very little of substance. There are no other stories being told. There isn’t a tremendous amount going on and the aliens are bystanders. This is going to disappoint people.
There are a few nods to the series here and there and a character or two that you may recognise. But much of that is fanservice and little else. It could be argued that A Quiet Place: Day One doesn’t really build on, or add much to, the series as a whole. It’s just another story from the universe and one that is deeply personal rather than impactful to the world the movies exist within.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- Lupita Nyong’o: Delivers a powerhouse performance that is both commanding and deeply vulnerable, grounding the film’s high-stakes premise.
- Organic Scares: The tension feels more believable here than in the previous films, relying on the noise of a large city and mass panic rather than character stupidity.
- Thematic Depth: The film uses its sci-fi framework to explore profound questions about mortality and finding purpose in the face of inevitable death.
The Bad
- The Cat: Frodo the cat frequently defies logic and becomes a distracting focus that occasionally pulls the viewer out of the serious atmosphere.
- Limited Scope: As a side-story, it adds very little to the overall lore of the Quiet Place universe, which may leave completionists wanting more.
- Lack of Backstory: Those hoping for more information on the origins of the aliens will be disappointed, as the creatures remain mere bystanders to the human drama.
The Ugly: The “Silence” of the masses. The film’s most haunting moments come from seeing thousands of New Yorkers attempting to be silent, creating a collective sense of suffocating dread.
Should You Watch A Quiet Place: Day One?
Yes, especially if you enjoy horror with an emotional core. It is a well-acted and tense survival story that feels more grounded than its predecessors. However, if you are looking for an action-heavy alien war movie with lots of lore, you might find this intimate “slice of life” quest to be a little too slight for your tastes.
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