With A Quiet Place: Day One, writer/director Michael Sarnoski made the best entry in the franchise through emotional storytelling, relentless horror, and stunning performances.
A Quiet Place: Day One synopsis: Set before exactly 400 days before the events in 2018’s A Quiet Place, Samira (Lupita Nyong’o), an ill young woman is in New York City when the first wave of the alien invasion happens. As she struggles to survive along with her cat Frodo, Samira must join forces with other survivors (Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou) as they try and stay quiet from the aliens. All the while, try to survive as New York falls apart around them.
Relentless Carnage in A Quiet Place: Day One
Taking over from John Krasinski, writer/director Michael Sarnoski crafts a relentless ride from start to finish. Sarnoski takes the initial concept “What if aliens that operate through sound invaded Earth?” and runs with it. And while this is a prequel, Sarnoski doesn’t fall into the prequel trap. Instead, what Sarnoski does do, is make an emotionally-compelling tale. Mainly through focusing only limited amount of characters. By doing this, Sarnoski keeps the narrative tight and focused.
Assisting him with this endeavor is director of photographer Pat Saola. For their second collaboration, Saola displays an apocalyptic New York as a dark, grey, and sullen environment. This allows for VFX company Industrial Light & Magic to seamlessly integrate the visual effects. Thus, adding to the dark, grey, and sullen environment. Furthermore, despite the aliens being CGI, the aliens still all felt realistic. A large reason why is due their animal-like features. Which when shown up front, makes them stand out.
This extends into Simon Bowles’ production design. Here, Bowles makes New York into a war zone. Complete with buildings smashed in and downed streetlights. Bowles also shows us NYC before the first wave, where things are loud, bustling, and hustling. Through that, courtesy of costume designer Bex Crofton-Atkins, we see characters’ clothes filled with dust, dirt, and debris. When it comes to editing, editors Andrews Mandelstein and Greg Potlkin tightens the movie down a hour and thirty minutes. Mandelstein and Plotkin also manage to find a balance between showing scares and thrills. As well as focusing on character.
Moreover, Alexis Grapsas’s score matches with the sound design by sound designer Kate Bilinski. Together, they work in tandem with each other. This is through the score bringing out the emotional moments. While the sound is used for all of the thrilling and suspenseful set-pieces. The score also contains a melody. Which works with the setting and the nature of Samira (and by extension – humanity)’s struggle throughout the film.
Performances in A Quiet Place: Day One
As for the cast, Lupita Nyong’o leads the cast as Samira, a young woman with a fatal and terminal illness. Nyong’o delivers an emotional performance as someone’s whose tired and is at wit’s end. The film’s first ten minutes are a prime example of this, as we see Samira recount a poem to an elderly support group. Nyong’o also plays the character as someone that doesn’t want a connection. Which is where Joseph Quinn’s Eric comes in.
Quinn plays Eric as someone that is similar to Nyong’o. But, only in the case where they’re trying to survive. Now, where the chemistry lies in the situation itself and how the two chose to work together. Rounding out the cast is Alex Wolff, who plays the nurse Reuben. Wolff brings out a solid history to Reuben. Additionally, Nyong’o and Wolf have solid chemistry with each other due to the past together. Finally, there’s Djimon Hounsou, who reprises his role as Henri from A Quiet Place: Part II. While Hounsou doesn’t have much screen-time, Hounsou does get to display a range of emotions.
Final Thoughts
With A Quiet Place: Day One, writer/director Michael Sarnoski and company crafted a relentless ride from start to finish. One that doesn’t fall into the prequel trap. But, instead the film thrives. Mainly by using its setting and characters as a template. Adding onto this, is a stunning cast led by Nyong’o. With all of this in play, Day One is easily the best entry in the Quiet Place franchise.
