Everything gets louder in the thrilling sequel to the 2018 original
Editor’s note: This review originally published May 28, 2021.
“A Quiet Place” told its terrifying story in whispers shattered by bouts of screaming horror, and it made for a fantastically scary time. Its sequel, “A Quiet Place Part II,” tries a different tactic: more screams, fewer whispers — but it’s still just as scary.
It doesn’t start that way, though. “Part II,” written and directed by John Krasinski (who directed the first movie), opens with the epitome of small-town Americana: Little League Baseball, parents mingling on a sunny day, a trip to the local grocer whose owner you know by name. And then hell rains down from the sky.
It’s a flashback to Day 1, when fire and aliens came to Earth and destroyed just about everything in their wake. “Part II” then transitions to Day 474, as Evelyn (Emily Blunt), daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe), along with an infant, are dealing with the immediate aftermath of “A Quiet Day.”
Whereas the first movie held a tight focus on the family’s struggle to survive against blind-yet-all-hearing murderous aliens, “Part II” is broader in scope, expanding the world and raising the stakes. The initial problem remains the same: how to survive when the smallest sudden sound can result in a violent death. It’s just not the only problem anymore.
And it’s those problems that distinguish the sequel. Silence is still paramount, and “Part II” ingeniously uses sound to amp the tension throughout; the pivot from sound to silence and back again is disorientating, keeping you just as off-balanced as the people fighting for survival. (Who, by the way, are obscenely competent; the ingenuity showcased in these movies borders on unbelievable.)
But the film forgoes some of the oppressive silence of first movie for more action-oriented sequences, and a surprising number of gunshots. It adds a frenetic element to the tightly paced “Part II” that the original didn’t have, especially as the film enters its third act and the camera cleverly shifts between three concurrent situations. The tension never eases because the dynamic focus is always leaving everyone’s fate in doubt. (Cillian Murphy, looking as far removed from his “Peaky Blinders” persona as possible, and Djimon Hounsou play critical roles as the film progresses.)
Alas, with more action comes more face time with the aliens. (Their purpose and kill-first-ask-no-questions-later mentality still make absolutely no sense.) And while their blossoming visage is truly the stuff of nightmares, they do lose a bit of their fear-inducing mystique; monsters are always a little scarier when they hide in the shadows.
But in the harsh light of day, it’s Simmonds who steals the show. Her portrayal of Regan (both the character and actor are deaf, a key plot point in both films) is reminiscent of Ellie from The Last of Us: resourceful, brave, determined and the kind of person worth saving, as someone says of her in “Part II.” A scene in which she believes she’s been betrayed and left helpless is heartbreaking, and she does it all without saying a word.
In the end, “A Quiet Place Part II” is a natural evolution of the first film. It’s much the same in the ways that made the original so gripping while changing up the formula enough to make the sequel worthwhile on its own. In that sense, “Part II” is not unlike “Aliens”: It’s louder and more kinetic than its famed predecessor, evokes a different style of horror — and more than holds its own weight.
Four “I’m not clever enough for that scenario” stars out of five.
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