Relentless.
That's probably the best way to describe the exciting new prequel, A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE.
You could also add powerfully acted, thrilling and surprisingly emotional.
Lupita Nyong'o (Us, Black Panther) is reliably great as hospice patient Samira, her hope fading as her battle with cancer slowly crawls through its final stages. Her constant companion Frodo the Cat never leaves her side.
Her lead nurse Reuben (the excellent Alex Wolff from "Hereditary) encourages her to join a trip into NYC to see a show. Sam's undying love of New York Pizza inspires her to join the excursion.
Before you can say "Matinee Showing", all hell breaks loose, with the global alien invasion raining down from the skies all over Manhattan.
I saw the film in IMAX and I'll rain down kudos on the Sound Design team for making this one of the best sounding films of the year. It seems like an oxymoron that a film in which you cant make any noise or an alien creature will kill you, has the best sound design of the year. But it does.
The initial attack conjures memories of 9/11 in Manhattan, with explosions, howling clouds of brown dust and terror around every corner. As viewers, we have learned the rules of these space aliens in the previous two films, setting up real tension as we watch the population learn the hard way not to make a sound or to only speak around the sound of water.
Sam connects with Henri (Djimon Hounsou) and his family just before the chaos begins and shelters in place with him the evening after the attacks. As the military begins trying everything they can against the creatures, army helicopters fly low overhead, driving the creatures mad in a "Dances With Wolves" like buffalo stampede of aliens that rumbles your guts in the theater. Surround sound on steroids drops you right in the middle of the madness again and again. Henri is a familiar character to fans of the Quiet Place series and I enjoyed his introduction here.
Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, Overlord) joins the film halfway through as Eric, an English law student new to America. He and Sam meet in a quiet alleyway and eventually form a bond forged in survival.
Quinn and Nyong'o are masterful at creating characters that feel real and act like we would in this terrifying scenario.
As they navigate office buildings, subway tunnels, massive New York cathedrals and burned out bodegas, we and Eric discover multiple, below-the-surface levels of Sam.
And lets talk about Frodo the Cat. I'm never the viewer that has much patience for characters that run back into their house where Jason or Freddy are wielding a machete, because they forgot Fido's leash. But Frodo.... this cat has style, presence and balls. That damn cat can hang with me in any alien apocalypse.
After it's first solid ten minutes introducing Sam, DAY ONE explodes into action and never lets up.
The special effects are great, the music by Alexis Grapsas is ever present and scares the hell out of you, while soaring nicely in some of the film's surprisingly emotional revelations.
As someone with kids and grand kids, seeing children in danger, hiding alone in the shadows elevates the tension and reality of the scenario.
Creator John Krasinski has stepped backward into just a co-writing chair this time, handing off the reins to Michael Sarnoski in the director's chair. I haven't seen his only other feature film, "Pig" with Nicholas Cage, but after watching what he's done here, I will.
A great prequel, A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE is an entry worth of this excellent series. If I was Krasinski and Paramount, I'd already be working on the next entry in the spirit of the "Prey" spinoffs of "Predator". The next one should be "Day One: Rome" so we can watch another group of strong characters react to the sudden terror from the skies.
If it's as suspenseful and yes, relentless, as this one, I'll be there opening day.
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE gets an A.
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