I thought A Quiet Place set a new benchmark for the horror genre because of its unique story and genuine sense of thrills. If the first movie laid the groundwork for that new kind of horror, this sequel raises the stakes immensely for both its story and suspense. It’s a sight to behold. Or maybe not if you catch my drift.
Emily Blunt returns as a mother trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world populated by blind alien creatures who have hypersense hearing. Her husband Lee (John Krasinski) died at the end of the first movie after sacrificing himself so his family could be safe. She’s already given birth to her third child since the first movie and now they decide to leave their isolated house after it’s destroyed.
Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe costar as Blunt’s other kids Regan and Marcus who still use ASL to communicate and as they’re all about to become alien bait, they’re rescued by Emmett (Cillian Murphy), an old friend of Lee’s and now a survivalist who takes the family under his wing.
It isn’t long before Regan stumbles upon a radio signal that leads to an island that might serve as a tool to defeat the creatures. Soon Regan journeys out on her own in search of the island.
Even though Krasinski only director and co-writer on this one, we do get a flashback sequence at the beginning showing the alien invasion in a very believable, gripping, and yes, terrifying fashion. This terror is only amplified by the fact that the sound is muted. It’s a remarkably ingenious device.
If the first film was similar to Alien, this sequel is closer to Aliens. Just like the first film, this is a technical and narrative marvel by upping the ante not only in some big moments, but some of the smaller ones once it’s mutated in our minds.
Krasinski is never content with giving us jump scares without a purpose or by making them feel inventive, effective, or at the very least, authentic. Not to mention there’s more character development going on which further enhances both the plot and tension in ways I won’t discuss here.
All I will say is that Krasinski has managed to accomplish something very few sequels manage to do: Leaving us praying for a third one.
Grade: A
(Rated PG-13 for terror, violence, and bloody/disturbing images.)
