A Quiet Place Part II (2021) Paramount/Horror RT: 97 minutes Rated PG-13 (terror, violence, bloody/disturbing images) Director: John Krasinski Screenplay: John Krasinski Music: Marco Beltrami Cinematography: Polly Morgan Release date: May 28, 2021 (US) Cast: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, John Krasinski, Scoot McNairy. Box Office: $160.1M (US)/$297.4M (World)
Rating: ***
One of the many things I admire about the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place is how director John Krasinski deftly takes an ineffectual genre cliché and makes it work. I’m referring to the use of sudden loud noises to elicit scares, a convention that’s become all too commonplace these past 20 (or so) years. By setting his alien apocalypse tale in a world where silence is vital to survival, he makes it so even the slightest of sounds is cause for terror. These invaders have super-sensitive hearing; they hunt by sound. In order to NOT become their next target, the few remaining humans on Earth must live their lives on mute. It’s a tense scenario to say the least.
The problem with most sequels is that they tend to rehash material. If it worked once, it’ll work again and again. That’s the prevailing mentality behind sequels. I was afraid that would be the case with A Quiet Place Part II also. I had to wait more than a year (damn you, COVID!) to find out it’s the exception rather than the norm. It not only continues the story, it expands on it as well. It also allows its characters to grow in ways that are totally believable in the context of the post-apocalyptic world depicted in the film.
Before A Quiet Place Part II picks right up where the original left off, Krasinski takes us all the way back to Day 1 of the alien crisis. It starts out as an ordinary day in a small upstate New York town where the residents are friendly with one another. The streets are deserted because everybody’s at the local baseball field watching their kids play Little League. Suddenly, everybody notices something in the sky. Whatever it is, it’s heading right for them. The folks start heading for home, father Lee (Krasinski) with hearing-impaired daughter Regan (Simmonds) and mother Evelyn (Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow) with sons Marcus (Jupe, Wonder) and Beau (he’s the kid that bought it at the start of the first movie). Chaos ensues once the alien creatures hit town and start attacking. Dad and Regan try to outrun the predators on foot while Mom drives frantically through the bedlam on the streets. At one point, she throws the car into reverse when an out-of-control bus heads straight for her.
The movie cuts to “Day 474” just moments after the death of Lee at the hands of the deadly alien invaders. With their safe haven mostly destroyed, Mom decides it’s time to move on. Carrying her newborn baby in a soundproof carrier, they venture beyond the sand path in search of other survivors. They stumble across former family friend Emmett (Murphy, 28 Days Later) hunkering down in an old factory. He’s alone now, his family killed by the aliens. He’s extremely distrustful and paranoid. He asserts there’s nobody left worth saving in the world. He initially refuses to help Evelyn and her family, but predictably has a change of heart after Regan goes off on her own to track a radio signal.
At this point, A Quiet Place Part II splits into three parts with the each character facing his or her own challenge. Regan and Emmett attempt to locate the source of the radio transmission, Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea” playing on a loop. Evelyn heads to the town pharmacy for supplies leaving Marcus in charge of the baby. The thing about babies is that they make noise. They cry. Hence the reason for the soundproof carrier and tiny oxygen mask. It’s the only way to muffle the noise that would surely attract unwanted attention by the nasty E.T.s.
In my never-humble opinion, A Quiet Place Part II is just as good as the original. Krasinski, working from his own screenplay, creates a scary new world through which the few human survivors must tread carefully and quietly. Its coming out now couldn’t be timelier as people are starting to emerge from the safety of their homes for the first time in more than a year. Like the Abbott clan, we’re facing a world much different from how we left it 443 days ago* (approximately). Theirs, of course, is a more extreme situation, but surely you can see the parallel.
In any event, he doesn’t just expand on the story; he does a thematic shift too. It’s still a metaphor for family life, that hasn’t changed. The first one dealt with a parent’s instinct to protect their children. A Quiet Place Part II deals with children showing the first signs of independence from their parents. Regan and Marcus aren’t little kids anymore. If anything, the world situation has forced them to grow up quickly. Like every parent, Mom isn’t ready to accept her babies are becoming young adults. Given the state of things, she has no choice but to accept and adapt accordingly.
The acting in A Quiet Place Part II is stellar. Blunt (Krasinski’s real-life wife) is amazing as the matriarch who leads her family across a landscape fraught with danger. One of the best shots is of Blunt’s bare foot taking that crucial first step off the path laid out by her late husband. With him gone, it’s up to her to keep the family safe. She has this fierce protective instinct as evidenced by her attempts to silence Marcus’ screams after a painful encounter with a bear trap.
Simmonds totally comes into her own as the tough, resourceful teen daughter who doesn’t allow her deafness to hold her back in taking a more active role in ensuring her family’s survival. Despite her obvious disadvantage, she’s determined to find a safe place away from the monsters. The barefoot teen strikes out on her own, toting Mom’s shotgun and her weaponized cochlear implant. In case you forgot, high-frequency sounds make the aliens vulnerable. Murphy is a great addition to the cast as a survivor with a hidden heart of gold.
A Quiet Place Part II has its fair share of effective “BOO!” scenes and unnerving moments such as when Regan and Emmett come across a group of survivors with bad intentions. There’s nothing more unsettling than a group of ill-intentioned strangers silently staring at you. Sure, a few of the jump-scares are predictable, but it comes with the territory. The effects are pretty good. I also like the score by Marco Beltrami, a deft blend of meditative and slam-bang. The cinematography by Polly Morgan is first-rate. She follows the lead of her predecessor Charlotte Bruus Christensen in using 35mm film. It gives A Quiet Place Part II a nostalgic effect.
While not perfect (e.g. the ending is a bit abrupt), A Quiet Place Part II is damn good filmmaking. Krasinski doesn’t even try and outdo other movies with fancy CGI and big noisy action scenes. Yes, it has both, but it’s not the entire point. He tries and largely succeeds in telling a human story involving well thought-out characters. At the same time, the alien monsters are scary looking. A Quiet Place Part II is both a great monster movie and a good family drama. Not to give anything away, I believe a third movie is a given. There’s more story to tell here.
* = I went into lockdown mode on March 13, 2020.
