A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE – The Red Right Hand Movie Reviews [Matthew Stogdon]

Set before the events of A Quiet Place, we’re shown the first day of the invasion of the sound-sensitive alien creatures known as Death Angels. Moreover, we see how a bustling metropolis like New York City handled the alien arrival. As such, we follow terminally ill patient Samira [Nyong’o] on a day out from her hospice care. It isn’t long before the entire city descends into chaos and is ravaged by the fast-moving creatures. Conflicted about what to do and simply trying to stay alive, Samira is reluctantly paired up with a British law student, Eric [Quinn]. And the duo make their way through the city as quietly as they can.

As with the other two instalments, the detail, quality, and attention to sound is front and centre – when to deploy it and when to leave cinemagoers sat in devastating silence. As such, seeing this release in IMAX is a genuine treat and even the opening title cards highlighting that New York operates at a steady 90 decibels (which is the equivalent of a constant scream) is incredibly striking. That said, this film largely doesn’t work. Less so because of its construction and more because of an earned freshness that it fails to bring.

First up, we need to shower praise on both Nyong’o and Quinn. These two are exceptional actors in their own right and pairing both on-screen is a spectacular bit of casting. Expressive, emotive, soulful, and layered, they inject so much life and sincerity into Samira and Eric respectively. And this is most evident in the scenes outside of the action sequences. The personal interactions really play up to Sarnoski’s strengths and give us a glimpse of the similar highlights in A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II. Case in point, during a moment of respite, Quinn performs a card trick in a bar. Yes, it’s an act bordering on recklessness that we should be chastising, but it’s also a moment of levity and humanity that offers the leads something other than an array of running, terrified stares, and countering panic attacks. What’s more, it’s also an interesting choice to frame this story on someone who is dying of a degenerative disease, who is now having to fight to survive in a different way.

But let’s get into the meat of the problem here. In both sequels and prequels you want to see something new from a unique narrative perspective; otherwise you’re cynically regurgitating content solely in the hope of making more money. For a prequel this is harder due to the determined outcome. The trouble here is that this is simply another Quiet Place film. See, within the first half an hour, all the characters we meet are aware of how to act and behave around the Death Angels. So, where’s the learning curve? Where’s the cathartic epiphany of how to get around these creatures? What’s worse is that during the opening of A Quiet Place II, we already had a good insight into what day one looked like, with the added benefit of characters we already knew. Meaning the main difference offered by A Quiet Place: Day On is purely scale. And even that gets messed up. Because whenever the attacks happen they’re almost entirely wreathed in smoke, dust and debris. Now, that’s not to say these sequences aren’t entertaining, because they absolutely are. The action direction, the tense nature of foraging for medical supplies, watching scores of people getting picked off – it all adds to the spectacle. But is it really doing anything new?

Being the third instalment in this franchise means the inconsistencies of how the Death Angels work are even more problematic and magnified. They’re impossibly fast when the script calls for it, yet bumblingly slow for plot armour purposes. And the sounds that do or don’t set them off is wildly contradictory and, at times, infuriating. A book falls over and they come running, yet a character knocks something else over and they get a lucky break. I understand meeting the film at the level of suspense that it’s trying to create, but the degree of contrariety is frankly distracting. For a prime example, at one point the leads take refuge in a church. For anyone who’s ever set foot in a church, they are easily the most echoey place in the world. I get the visual symbolism but it’s one of a series of decisions that causes you to scrunch up your face and shatters disbelief. Which brings me to my next and possibly biggest frustration.

I have yet to mention that Samira has a service cat named Frodo. Frodo the cat is a real divider for me. There will be some in the audience who appreciate the inclusion of an animal, not only for heightened peril but also to expand on how pets would fare in this invasion scenario. I, on the other hand, found Frodo a frankly annoying inclusion that slaughters disbelief. The cat is insanely irritating and only there for jump-scares and forced empathy. This isn’t some anti-cat rant, it’s a spotlight on contrivances and poor writing. Every time we need to force our characters to do something that jeopardises their safety or is in stark contradiction to common sense, it’s usually the cat’s fault. And as the film unfurls, the instances of “how is that cat still alive” become more egregious and really sour the experience.

The biggest surprise for me is how short this movie is. At just over an hour and a half, it’s a surprisingly lithe feature that squanders a little too much of its runtime. In fact, what should feel like an expanded tale – given the giant explosions and handful of crowd scenes – operates at the same scale as the other two features. Empty streets, muted conversations in secluded interior locations, a handful of characters at best. It’s all just a bit overly familiar. Again, well constructed and decently performed but adding almost nothing new to the proceedings, which will leave A Quiet Place: Day One a forgettable and lacklustre experience, despite best efforts.

Release Date:
28 June 2024

The Scene To Look Out For:
**spoilers**
I’m going to talk about the end of the film because it did a War Of The Worlds for me. To explain, Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds is a fantastically crafted film and one which put Tom Cruise’s character in a bind because his son dies and he is simply venturing to a location that is likely a dead-end. However, in the last few minutes, any potential for character growth is obliterated by the fact that not only is his ex-wife alive and able to take the kids off his hands, his son managed to get there unscathed too. It’s a terrible conclusion that just sullies the previous exploits. I’m not saying A Quiet Place: Day One commits the exact same offence, but it does walk the same line. As I said before, setting up the motivations of a character who is essentially dying, is interesting. The problem is, in A Quiet Place, we see John Krasinski’s character sacrifice himself to save his family. Seemingly not knowing what to do with the character of Samira, they give her the same sacrificial conclusion. I get the concept of someone taking control over when and where they die, choosing to do so to aid another. But after everything we’ve been through, it simply comes off as lazy writing. Which is a damned shame.

Notable Characters:
As part of the marketing campaign, we see the ‘return’ of Djimon Hounsou‘s character. For those unaware, he features in A Quiet Place II. As I mentioned before, the problem with prequels is not only that they have a predetermined outcome, but that including familiar faces is a great way to crush the expansion of your world-building. After all, how big can the US be if our two central narrative threads feature this one person? Granted, it’s not impossible and the film handles it well enough but it’s still an unwanted distraction that adds very little to that character’s development.

Highlighted Quote:
“I’d forgotten how the city sings. You can hear it when you’re quiet.”

In A Few Words:
“On the surface this is a solid 3/5 but the mounting frustrations pile up to knock it down to 2/5, as the playground this film was afforded is squandered.”

Total Score: 2/5

Linked Reviews