Sometimes when you crave a hot slice of pizza, nothing else will, not even a sudden invasion of monstrous extraterrestrial visitors, riding an unholy hail of Earth-bound asteroids wreaking havoc on this world. Good reason.
Such is the case in director Michael Sarnoski’s („Pig”) impressive third entry into the „A Quiet Place” sci-fi horror universe, where we find a medical patient named Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) and his therapy cat, Frodo. A bus ride to Brooklyn as a growing crescendo of sirens, helicopters, airbursts and explosions heralds the arrival of flaming space rocks raining down on Manhattan. Thus begins the silencing of human society on a global scale.
Paramount Pictures’ „A Quiet Place: Day One” could technically be classified as a prequel because it turns back the clock on the franchise’s timeline to reveal how the horror began, but it feels like a tangential self-contained story told with intimacy. , heart and terrifying alien beasts all get a little peek.
It is based on a tight screenplay written by Sarnoski from a story by John Krasinski, who co-wrote, directed and co-starred in the first two films, 2018’s „A Quiet Place” and 2021’s „A Quiet Place: Part II.” This nerve-wracking spinoff returns to the inciting incident briefly shown in the Little League baseball game prologue to „A Quiet Place: Part II,” when absolute chaos erupts after blind killers with armored exoskeletons and ultrasonic hearing invade our planet.
The marauding monsters of this „Death Angels” franchise react to the slightest noise with murderous intent, as seen in the first two installments featuring the Abbott family and their survival plight in upstate New York.
Here on „Day One” we stick with a small handful of characters, including a wonderfully emotional performance by „Stranger Things'” Joseph Quinn as Sam’s tagalong partner Eric, as they move from one town to the next. Patsy’s Pizza in Harlem. Quinn’s character as a British law school student is an expression of subtle craft and deeply drawn emotion.
Frodo, the apparently meow-less cat, makes an intriguing addition to the surviving duo, and the bond they all form as they negotiate the alien invasion makes for a 99-minute swashbuckling drama and memorable, touching moments.
Along the way there are many chilling images: rowdy stampeding „Death Angels”, bloody corpses decomposed in wet burials on abandoned streets, long-limbed aliens perched on skyscrapers, monstrous gargoyles, military jets flying in the sky. A scene-stealing extraterrestrial feast of pod-like mutant „pumpkins” to target Manhattan bridges.
Sarnoski’s „Day One” was a 911 call after the Twin Towers fell and shocked pedestrians staggered in ash- and dust-covered chaos. Its immersive soundscape (very loud in IMAX!) amplifies the handheld camerawork and extreme close-ups favored by filmmakers and evokes a tangible sense of suspense, tension and mounting dread.
Digimon Hounsou makes two solid appearances at the beginning and end of the film, reprising his role as Henry, The Man on the Island in „A Quiet Place: Part II,” which tightens the story a bit by connecting the strings to the larger ones. History but it’s really a showcase of two unique personalities of Nyong’o and Quinn, playing two rare souls who connect in the worst of circumstances to breathe hope and life into each other for the betterment of both.
We learn more about the physiology of galactic invaders courtesy of ILM VFX supervisor Malcolm Humphreys („The Mandalorian,” „The Batman,” „Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) and his team of expert visual wizards. The project has realism, revealing the creatures’ heavy hoofed feet, Demogorgon-style skulls, thick crocodile-like folds of skin, and the deadly grind of sharp rusty teeth.
A special shout-out to composer Alexis Krapsas, who previously worked with Sarnoski on „Big,” for his magnificent, melodic and menacing score for „Day One,” without a doubt one of the best scores heard this year.
Final kudos to ace production designer Simon Bowles and acclaimed cinematographer Pat Scola for bringing this sprawling apocalyptic event to the screen for Sarnoski’s most admirable directorial effort.
„A Quiet Place: Day One” opens wide in theaters on Friday, June 28.
„Totalny pionier w sieci. Specjalista od piwa niezależny. Ewangelista popkultury. Miłośnik muzyki. Nieprzepraszający przedsiębiorca”.