Critics have shared their first reactions to A Quiet Place: Day One. Most are praising the “meditative” prequel.
The reviews are in
Chris Evangelista called the prequel “a reflective, almost meditative drama that occasionally reminds you it’s also a monster movie.” That sounds like it leans more into drama than horror, which is an interesting take for the franchise. “Much, much better than it has any right to be,” Evangelista concluded.
In a follow-up post, Evangelista compared what director Michael Sarnoski is doing with Day One to Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. This is because it is “telling the story of two people bonding as they wander a city.” Though Evangelista concedes that the movie is not as good as the Before movies — it simply caught him off-guard.
Erik Davis said the movie is “about finding a slice of pizza as the world is ending.” Setting the prequel in New York City intensified the tension and the performances from the lead actors made the movie “quite emotional.”
Zach Pope called A Quiet Place: Day One “one part monster movie another part meditative drama about living life.” The best part? “All parts good!” as Pope says.
They specifically praised Lupita Nyong’o as “extraordinary” and “about as perfect as a performance could get.” On the other hand, Joseph Quinn surprised Pope “with his depth.”
Jordan Preston Poole called Day One a “compact, thrilling stand-alone prequel.” The movie is “as bleak as it is life-affirming” and it makes for a good time.
The highest critic reaction to A Quiet Place: Day One comes from Eric Goldman, who called it the “best” movie in a “very good” series. Furthermore, Goldman called it “one of the best movies of the year so far.” They also praised the “amazingly intense sound design” and its emotional beats.
What is A Quiet Place: Day One?
A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel spin-off of the Quiet Place movies. It is the third overall installment in the franchise and takes place in New York City. After an alien invasion, the survivors have to navigate the creatures that are drawn to sound.
Lupita Nyong’o stars in the movie as Sam. Joseph Quinn plays Eric. Alex Wolff and Eliane Umuhire also star in the movie as Reuben and Zena, respectively.
Returning from A Quiet Place: Part II is Djimon Hounsou. He reprises the role of Henri from the sequel movie.
Michael Sarnoski wrote and directed the prequel. He is best known for his feature directorial debut, Pig, starring Nicolas Cage. He developed the story for Day One with John Krasinski.
The movie will have some competition upon its release. A Quiet Place: Day One is going up against Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 during its opening weekend.
The Quiet Place franchise
A Quiet Place kicked off the horror franchise in 2018. John Krasinski, known for playing Jim on The Office, co-wrote and directed the movie. He starred in it with Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods conceived the idea for the movie.
A sequel was released in 2020 and was solely written by Krasinski (who also directed it). He also joined the movie as a producer. Blunt returned alongside Simmonds and Jupe and was joined by Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou.
A Quiet Place: Day One will be released on June 28.
Follow Us
Subscribe
