Written by John Krasinski, based on characters created by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. Released by Paramount Pictures. Released 3rd June 2021.
The Pitch: Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
Sequels are always dicey propositions. They must be more than the first film but at the same time compliment it. Especially when the movie proved to be a sleeper, the hit no-one expected. Largely because everyone feels in retrospect, that they knew what made the first film a success. Luckily, Krasinski has no need to listen to voices telling him which way to turn. He manages to precisely nail down the mood, textures and feel that made A Quiet Place such an indelible modern masterpiece.
KRASINSKI KNOWS HOW TO STRETCH EVERY NERVE
Part II begins as Part Zero, as we're given a flashback to the Abbott family in happier times, at a little league baseball game with their children. In a quick and organic sequence, we're shown the strengths and insecurities of their three children and of the parents themselves. The scene's calm is broken when we witness a meteor descending in the distance... From then on, we're launched into a suspense / action sequence where silence is golden. Obviously, in a film where the alien creatures hunt by sound, silence and it's opposite are employed to devastating effect. Again, it's a testament to Krasinski that he knows how to stretch every nerve. The sounds, when they come, are terrifying because after the first film's events and the opening sequence for this film, you know what breaking the silence will mean for any character unlucky enough to do so.
TO LOSE DIALOGUE IS TO LOSE ONE OF THE GREAT MAGIC TRICKS ACTORS EMPLOY
The opening widens the scope, showing the aliens' arrival, but then downsizes again when we're jumped forward to the events that closed the first film. Cause and effect. Since we know the fate that befell Krasinski's Lee Abbott at the end of the original, we now must rely on the beautifully empathic faces of Emily Blunt as his wife, Evelyn and Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds as son Marcus hearing-impaired daughter Regan, respectively. We also get the return of Cillian Murphy's Emmett, glimpsed in the film's opening moments sharing a critical moment with Regan. The film contracts – then expands again as the Abbott's are forced to go on the road to Emmett's enclosure and seek his help. Help he refuses to give, valuing survival over strength in numbers. From there, it becomes a sort of split-focus road movie, where characters are force in differing directions to begin the journey back to civilisation. It's here in the mid-section where the film really comes into it's own, with Krasinski offering us not one, not two, but three interlocking suspense and action sequences that gradually snap shut on themselves, reducing back from three, to two, to one, making us practically chew our own fingers off in the process. The actors here are amazing, obviously having to fight the instincts to communicate in the easiest way possible, to scream, to recite dialogue, therefore losing one of the many great magic tricks actors have in their pockets. Blunt's performance in particular is incredible when you think of the decisions Evelyn must make. Jupe and Simmonds are also excellent, making you feel the moments and beats they both share and face when alone. Murphy is full of bottled rage and grief, his fatherly concerns potentially getting in the way of what must be done.
The film is happy to show us the downsides of 'community' and looking out for each other, before reinforcing the idea that you can get more done together than apart. It's masterfully done, cut precisely to snatch you away from the action and leave you wondering, wanting more. The film speaks to the tiny electronic islands we isolate ourselves on, making us aware that these are not the World, but a version of reality that cannot hold. It's a film that could become bombastic and overblown, but instead sits on itself, containing it's own excesses. The ending is left opening, at a crucial point, whilst still managing to satisfy. It gives you hope not only for the people in the film – and by extension humanity itself – but for the future of science-fiction horror. In that respect, one is reminded of another sci-fi horror: This could be one of the best sequels since James Cameron's Aliens and marks Krasinski out as leading light in genre film-making.
A Quiet Place Part II is out now.