The long and mild anticipation for A Quiet Place Part 2 started in 2018, when the precursor starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski bagged $341 million with a budget of $20 million. The suspenseful thriller was a triumph for popcorn thrillers with tickets and critical acclaim.
On instinct, it doesn’t seem wise to have a follow up for a film as well-executed as A Quiet Place. Imagine if Jordan Peele announced tomorrow that he was working on Get Out 2. But that’s exactly what Jim Gianopulos the CEO and Chairman of Paramount did. Once Krasinski was slated to write and direct the sequel, previous cast members joined. Additionally, so does Cillian Murphy, Mr Peaky Blinders himself (Is that his name? I’ve never watched it).
How does A Quiet Place Part 2 compare to the first movie? Bloody well. Even better than the first – something you don’t anticipate hearing much. The film is superbly written with a harmonious mix of suspense and character development. Krasinski proves himself to be an adept director and writer. The cast, particularly Blunt and 18 year old Simmonds, show impressive skill. For what is an hour and a half of misery for these characters, there are peaks and valleys of sympathy and fear. There really is no need for that HBO Last Of Us series.
The film starts with when the creatures first arrived as meteors from the sky. As it hits the news, the family (Blunt, Krasinski, Jupe and Simmonds) go to a baseball game. Had this been released or watched at a different time, the heavy subtext might have been missed. This could be a stand-in scenario for any major disaster, but it’s obviously mirroring the beginning of 2020. Those who could afford to were getting on with their lives as COVID-19 hit. For most outside of Wuhan, it was a gradually growing worry which turned into genuine terror all at once.
As of late, there have been many films about giant, destructive creatures that have left a mark in pop culture – Godzilla vs King Kong, the Kaiju from Pacific Rim. Big, thumping monsters, too big to comprehend. We’ve even seen creatures of romance in The Shape Of Water. A Quiet Place portrays their extraterrestrials entirely in the predator vs prey dynamic.
The regular Zombie is out for flesh because it’s a walking metaphor for viruses. Perhaps that’s where the COVID-19 allegory ends. The creatures in A Quiet Place are slaying for the sake of it because they don’t seem to even eat humans. Without a clear explanation of who they are or even what they are, the terror is closer to hunter and outmatched prey. The greatest asset of A Quiet Place Part 2 is that it still refuses to dissect these creatures because the film isn’t about the skilled hunters but the thrashing prey, fighting for survival.
Spoilers ahead
The surviving members of the family find Emmet (Murphy), a family friend from before the creatures arrived. He has lost his family and so he has given up on anything but survival. He ignored all signals for help, including the one from the Abbotts (our main characters).
Emmet’s fate is the inverse of Krasinki’s character’s progression in the first instalment. Everyone has lost someone, so the question is: Why do they keep going?
The answer is simple – why do small fish swim away from a shark? Because it has to.
Reagan (Simmonds) is determined to find the source of a radio broadcast, one she believes to be an SOS signal. And Emmet follows, after some excellent desperation-acting from Blunt. They traverse across to a small island, hoping to save the people trapped there. When they arrive, they find a thriving community with food and company. They’re free to talk and eat and laugh. Large groups, huddling over the fire – a sight many long for currently.
It’s difficult to say whether the small fish fight to live with the hopes of finding peace — one here survival isn’t necessary. Even if that peace proves to be fraught, it’s what humans seek. Ultimately, A Quiet Place Part 2 succeeds because it’s a smart understanding of the themes of the first one.
4.5/5 Stars
Though A Quiet Place Part 3 has been confirmed for 2023. This could be the continuation with another stellar addition or the beginning of a disappointing franchise. Let’s hope it’s the former.
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