THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place was such a grounded horror film that no one could get enough of it in mid 2018. Once a sequel dropped in a post-Covid era that was also well received critically, audiences still wanted more that we got a whole other spin in this alien narrative.
THOUGHTS
2024’s Day One takes place in New York and shows an alternative perspective of when the Angels of Death invaded Earth. Instead of the Abbott family, the story follows Sam, a terminally ill woman who lives in a hospice with her service cat Frodo. She reluctantly takes a field trip alongside the nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff) and other patients to a marionette show in Manhattan. She does sit through it, but has a crazing for pizza she wants to have before heading back. That plan is cancelled when the aliens begin their invasion and crash land into the city. The human race get swept one by one as the extraterrestrials are blind and track their prey based on sound alone. When one Death Angel attacks an ambulance, it causes an explosion and Sam nearby gets knocked unconscious. When she wakes up, she returns to the puppet theater and is reminded by fellow survivor Henri, who she met during the show, to remain silent. Those that quietly hide in the theater hear an announcement from military helicopters to remain quiet until they can be rescued. By night, Sam & Henri later see fighter jets destroy the bridges to prevent the remaining creatures to leave the island. When one civilian starts panicking, Henri inadvertently kills him to maintain the silence. Once the power grid gets cut out, a generator for the theater self activates. Reuben is able to shut it off, but still attracted another Angel that kills him for the noise of his shirt ripping. The next morning, another announcement informs the audience to head towards seaport to evacuate due to the discovery that the aliens can’t swim. Sam slowly heads there even though she was intending to go to Harlem, but the volume of the crowd heading towards the boats causes a stampede between humans and Angels. During the commotion, Sam gets separated from Frodo until another man named Eric guides him back to her after escaping a flooded subway station. He tags along in her adventures which leads to heading to her apartment they rest for the night. There, they get to know each other until moving on: Sam confesses to being an acclaimed poet before her diagnosis, whereas Eric shares he was a law student before the apocalypse. Although Sam prefers going to Harlem alone, Eric finds her and continue moving together. However, when accidentally alerting the creatures near a building, both flee into a flooded subway where they head through deep waters and evade a dormant Death Angel due to it drowning as they escape. By the time they reach a church, Eric goes to scavenge pain medications for Sam while also saving Frodo from a construction site surrounding by the aliens growing their own food source. Once her medicine is taken, Sam recollects how she would watch her dad perform at a jazz club in Harlem and have pizza with him after every show. This inspires Eric to take her to the same club and get pizza from a nearby pizzeria, further cheering her up when showing a card trick. Knowing how close they are to they are to the boats, they plan to board one until noticing the Death Angels are congregating along the shore. Sam gives Eric her sweater and Frodo, encouraging him to head for the boats while she distracts the aliens by setting off car alarms, as she smashes car windows. Eric & Frodo make it to a boat and are pulled in by Henri who had boarded with his family. Settled in, Eric finds a note left by Sam where she thanks him for reminding her to live and instructs him to take care of her cat. The film ends with Sam listening to music on her iPod one last time before intentionally letting the music blare and causing one Angel of Death to pursue her.
THOUGHTS
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Michael Sarnoski directing this sci fi horror film due to not seeing his previous work, Pig, in advance. It even felt ambitious to get a prequel done before Krasinski could get the chance in making a Part III for a trilogy should there be one. Nevertheless, I was still impressed on what was done this time around. Sarnoski gives his own pacing of suspense which ensures you’re thrilled throughout. The visual effects done for the Death Angels are still as scary as before especially since we get a horde of them instead of a small group. The way they charge together and climb around buildings are like a nest of spiders hunting for the weakest insect, which is as scary as you’d imagine, just gets to me in more ways than one. It is one thing to point out the construction site to be bone chilling due to how any second can go wrong for the protagonists should any thud can doom them, but I was most frightened during the sewer scene knowing these creatures are willing to die trying attack whatever they identify as a threat. The cinematography by Pat Scola that displays what feels like the entirety of NY is able to show how grand the scale is in this apocalyptic setting which only raises the tension more than before. And like before, the sound is as much of a character like the humans and aliens because any noise can change the trajectory or the story. Having the story follow characters that didn’t have the advantage of ASL proves exactly how people deal with chaotic troubles differently from one another. This movie has its own effect in becoming a mesmerizing tale because it has its own grounded spin on putting one’s will to the test which is shown from the leading duo. Lupita N’yongo has another firm role in the horror genre that has its own impact. Sam is different from what she’s done before because she’s one that lost hope in life due to her condition. She felt that living life the way she got to was pointless to have meaning if she was bound to die like her dad did. She indeed came off bitter in wanting to get pizza in Harlem until you understand it was the one thing that made her happy until adulthood came her way. Knowing she was gonna die soon, she wanted to enjoy her favorite food before her time was up which doesn’t sound selfish deep down because a part of us would want to do the same in her point of view. With the apocalypse happening around her, it gave her unlikely motivation and gained her a friend she wasn’t looking for. Joseph Quinn was spectacular as Eric because he was a guy who wanted to find a meaning in his life past the career he was building for himself. With a deleted scene confirming he was contemplating suicide due to how lonely he felt, as a result of not living up to his own dad’s standards, it was harder for that purpose to come to light until he met Sam. They get on the same page because they’re both trying to figure themselves out and it is together where they get to do so. Eric’s dependency and genuine kindness towards Sam was what made her realize life doesn’t end when things are past your control. And because of her personal goal, he learns he can take control of his life as long as he believes in himself. Knowing how far he went for her was all that was needed for her to help him get to the boats and choose to stay behind. It honestly made all the right sense for her to not join him because she knew she’d be a burden to whichever group Eric would join due to the lack of medicines. It was a mercy kill she put on herself which wasn’t something to satisfy anyone, but something to respect since she acted strong willed as long as she could. So when she let the music blare knowing what would happen, you can say she was content with the end as she knew it which is all she could do at that point. Knowing what she chose to do, I don’t doubt Eric will try to live on and enjoy what’s left of his life to honor her. I was also happy to see Djimon Hounsou return as Henri, who we last saw credited as Man on Island in Part II, due to how they’re wasn’t enough time to connect with him before his death. His arc is short here too since he’s not the main character, but is indeed effective whenever he got the focus. Seeing him go from simple family man to frightened yet determined in his own right of an individual like everyone proves how quick people will go past morality to keep themselves alive. Henri did not want to kill that guy putting them at risk, nor did he want his son to see that, which I feel like could’ve been avoided if he asked someone to watch him, but what mattered then is he proved how far he’d go for himself. Although we know when his time would be up, you still respect him for his efforts in wanting to be his best self, when telling the boat to stop so that Eric can get on, while still trying to protect those he cares for. This movie works very well on its own, but there are still things I scratch my head about when rewatching. Like for example if going to Harlem meant so much to Sam, why doesn’t she ask Reuben sooner on wanting to go or take an uber? I gotta ask because it ain’t like she’d be in trouble for trying. And oddly enough, why doesn’t anyone tell her to turn around before the stampede since she’s the only one going the opposite direction? I know they’re understandably more concerned about themselves, but at least one person could’ve made hand gestures to insist changing course before Eric became vocal. And lastly, how come Sam didn’t keep an eye on Frodo at the church? I know she’s sick, but I feel like losing the cat could’ve been avoided if she got a better hold on him, tell someone before Eric to watch him or had the leash. Also, how come only four people see the bridges get destroyed from the rooftop? Sam watches with Henri & Reuben before the fourth guy gets himself killed, so you’re telling me no one else after Henri’s son was interested in what was the ruckus outside? I can buy it because they’d likely make more noise downstairs than up. I then can’t help asking how the hell did Eric get away from the nest without making a noise? He ended up making minor noises when he rescued Frodo and was lucky the aliens ignored that. If you’re telling me these things ignore minor sounds when they’re hungry, then that’s too hilarious to believe. I didn’t think I’d say this, but there was a big continuity error in terms of Sam’s iPod. She had the thicker version at the hospital and ends up charging a thinner one at the pizzeria. If this is supposed to mean she ended up swapping devices with a dead guy, then that’s a weird way to go about it. Other than that, this movie is still generally impressive. In short, A Quiet Place: Day One is an entertaining prequel spinoff to the horror franchise for giving a good dose of changing the scenery before a possible return to form. If you liked the first two, I promise you’ll enjoy this as well.
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