A Quiet Place: Day One is a mostly decent monster film, although it pales in comparison to its franchise predecessors.
The film attempts to expand this universe by introducing new characters and a different location, but it lacks a strong enough narrative and emotional anchor – especially now that we’ve stepped away from the Abbott family.
While Samira and Eric are sympathetic characters, their particular journey doesn’t offer enough depth beyond some tense creature sequences. Fortunately, Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn deliver excellent performances, creating heartfelt moments with minimal dialogue.
The alien action is also solid; some heart-pounding sequences and the franchise’s focus on sound design-driven tension. That being said, the film fails to offer much new or necessary to this overall franchise, and adds very little to our understanding of these aliens.
Technically well-crafted and with strong lead performances, A Quiet Place: Day One is an entertaining enough prequel, but falls short of being indispensable.
