A Quiet Place: Day One is a visceral gut-punch

A spin-off prequel to John Krasinski’s 2018 breakout hit and following in the footsteps of the rapturously received 2021 follow-up A Quiet Place Part II, this movie had big shoes to fill.

Thankfully, writer and director Michael Sarnoski’s A Quiet Place: Day One is a meaty addition to the franchise, delivering action and anguish in spades.

The sky-high tension and emotional depth of the previous two instalments are matched here as we are dropped into the first day of the alien invasion.

Cancer patient Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff) and residents of their suburban hospice are on a daytrip to New York to catch a show. Sam is determined to grab a slice of pizza before they head back to their care home, but Reuben is putting the brakes on her plan after being urged to get out of the city.

There are hints that something is amiss. Fighter jets whizz by overhead. We see military tanks hurtling down the Manhattan streets. It’s not long before full-blown pandemonium breaks out as the aurally-sensitive aliens tear through the city, destroying everything in their wake.

The utter terror and chaos of the alien invasion are viscerally brought to life here. There is something about the familiarity of the New York City setting that adds another dimension to the horror and apocalyptic doom. But it’s the central performances that steal the show.

You can’t tear your eyes away from Lupita Nyong’o as she effortlessly carries the bulk of the story’s emotional heft and conveys so much with minimal dialogue.

Sam encounters English law student Eric (Joseph Quinn) as she traverses the city and he joins her on her quest to score a slice from her favourite pizza place. There is a whiff of harebrained scheme from this mission, but it somehow works.

Stranger Things star Quinn more than holds his own against Oscar-winner Nyong’o and he emits Eric’s panic in the most relatable of ways.

There’s also a star-making turn from Frodo the cat, who seems to have well exceeded his quota of nine lives.

Epic, intense and heartbreaking, A Quiet Place: Day One is a visceral gut-punch of a movie that is definitely one to see on the big screen.

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