You have seen monster movies. You have seen horror flicks, and apocalypse films. Heck, you’ve even seen horror-apocalypse monster films. It’s a tried genre, and especially taking into account the primary setting of Midtown Manhattan, it really feels like it has been done to death with the likes of Cloverfield and I am Legend. However, A Quiet Place: Day One manages to not only set itself apart from other films in the genre, but reinvents the universe it is part of as well, introducing a new style of plot, new characters that do not feel rushed or shallow, and a stylistic tonality that feels quite beautiful at times. It’s a film filmed with heart, art, and monsters tearing the goddamn world apart.
When I first heard about the addition of a prequel to the Quiet Place universe, I couldn’t help but let out a groan. How many prequels not only did the existing films justice, but actually meaningfully contributed to the lore without retconning or contriving plot points? I was a big fan of the first two films, and John Krasinksi’s direction of focusing on family instead of the monsters as the driving pulse of the films very much appealed to me.
Tickets
When I heard Day One would not feature him as the director, my expectations were lowered automatically. However, I am pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Director Michael Sarnoski makes sure to revolve the central plot around the characters, and although at the start of the film I believed their motivations to be stupid, and admittedly they did seem pretty stupid on paper, they deepen and evolve to reveal long-remembered memories that outsiders scoff at but the characters themselves cling to with stark desperation. Such is the story of Samira, played wonderfully by Lupita Nyong’o, whose sole drive during the apocalyptic events of the film, amidst the terrifying sound-driven aliens killing her friends, and the fight for survival through office buildings and underground subways, is to eat a slice of pizza. Initially head-scratching, it is soon revealed that she is dying of cancer, and that she wants to spend time in the one location where she can remember her father before his death: in a jazz club, eating Patsy’s pizza. Once this motivation is revealed to her accompanying surviver Eric, it all makes sense, and the film concludes with a beautiful finality that feels deserved and realistic.
I also want to point out the backdrop of Manhattan was simply stunning. I have a special respect for the work that goes into representing a believable city that’s on the verge of crumbling, and I have always marveled at the vistas that are home to pain and suffering, but are oddly calming and pretty in their own way.
Poster at AMC Empire 25
The journey in this film reminds me a lot of 2013’s video game The Last of Us, also in which two characters must accompany each other to reach a destination, but along the way must fight monsters, other humans, and the environment. The pure solace of walking through an empty city, once bustling and crowded, but now reduced to rubble and memories, is perfectly captured in this film. The silent morning fog mixed with smoke, the dark and dank subway, now flooded and abandoned, the sunlight streaming through a hole in the dome of a church, the eerie emptiness of a glass corporate building, and the shadow of a destroyed Brooklyn Bridge. Each are a character in their own right, and each contribute to the film’s atmosphere, sense of dread, and feelings of being an outsider. I believe this was truly one of the best and most important parts of the film.
Let’s not forget the ultimate star of the movie: Samira’s cat Frodo, who serves as both a lighthearted addition to the depressing storyline and a device to move the plot forward. In reality played by two cats, Frodo is the anchor that keeps Samira grounded and happy to be alive. He is constantly ambling around the scenes, being the first to enter and the first to leave any new location, and in my opinion the bets part of the film. I also want to point out that he did not have the “stupid animal syndrome” that many animal characters have in movies such as these, that only exist to be saved and wind up getting a character killed. Instead, Frodo is quiet, functional, and oh so adorable.
I recommend A Quiet Place: Day One to any lover of the monster and world-destruction genre, but also to anyone that enjoys films of endearment, love, trust, and human perseverance. It is without a doubt one of the best films I have watched this year.