“A Quiet Place: Day One” Review: An Unnecessary Prequel About Aliens, A Cat & Pizza

Though it was largely a silent film, “A Quiet Place” made a massive wave when it first hit theatres back in 2018, shaking up the film industry as a whole thanks to its brilliant sound design, film concept, direction, and gut-wrenching story. When I heard of the film and how it was produced, I had to watch it in theatres, and boy did it exceed expectations. It was a film that didn’t need a sequel, but when “A Quiet Place Part II” was announced, I went and watched that as well. And though I’d argue it wasn’t as good as the first one, I still found it to be an enjoyable film.

Hence my scepticism when they announced a spin-off film set on the very first day of the attack. The concept is fine; an alternative perspective on a catastrophic event that changed the world forever is interesting, but they already did that with the second film. What separates this from its predecessor is that it talks about two broken people trying to enjoy their past in a world that is falling apart right before their eyes. As the first ever spin-off film in the franchise, will this film be the benchmark for all future instalments moving forward, or will they leave the series alone, like stale pizza in a rundown pizza joint? Let’s find out.

To start things off, the entire concept of the film was built on the idea of sound, or lack thereof, a fact that was made abundantly clear in the first minutes of the film that takes place in the bustling city streets of New York, which on average reaches about 90dBs. Pulling away from the loud metropolis, we find our protagonist, Sam (played by Lupita Nyong’o), a dying poet who is living out her remaining days in hospice. There, she is accompanied by Frodo, her eerily and conveniently quiet cat. On the fateful day, her nurse decides to take Sam along with the rest of the hospice residents out on a stroll in the city to watch a play, something Sam only agrees to if she were able to eat pizza in the city.

However, as she is going back to the hospice against her will, she witnesses a meteor shower that brings the species-killing alien predator first hand. But instead of going home or finding a way to escape, Sam presses on through the alien-infested city just to get a slice of nostalgic pizza. During her venture, she meets up with Eric (played by Joseph Quinn), an equally broken young adult who misses his home in the UK. Together, they venture into the city to fulfil Sam’s dying request.

Unlike the rural, out-of-the-way town the second part took place in, we actually get to see a widespread attack on a major city in this film. This is a very welcome change because we already know how these creatures act towards a handful of people in a small town. Now we finally get to see what these things do to hundreds of people at a time, with several dozens more of these monsters compared to the previous films.

A particularly exciting scene features a massive swarm of aliens following closely behind a helicopter, transmitting an emergency alert. Much like the previous instalments, the CGI in this film is on point, as there is not a single scene where I noticed that the creatures were out of place.

The film is an explicitly bleak expedition through the newly ruined cityscape. Despite this, it still remains a character-first story that has a lot of raw emotion to it, which may resonate with many audience members. Since it is essentially the end of the world, these two characters try their best to escape, but also tie up loose ends in the event that they don’t make it, which is an interesting take on the apocalypse horror movie genre that I’ve only seen in a few indie films. 

As mentioned earlier, I love the first two films. They were truly a cinematic experience that you had to watch in a dark room with the best set of headphones you have. Unfortunately, I don’t really get the same vibe with the franchise’s latest instalment, nor do I want to re-watch it.

The key feature of the franchise is the sound. Sometimes, we take the background noise, the sound, and the music for films for granted, and we only notice it once it’s gone. We don’t really get that sensation in this film, as there is always noise one way or another, which I found weird since it doesn’t really stick to the entire theme of the franchise. You can argue that it is the day of the invasion, so no one really knows how to deal with it, so it can get a pass for now.

However, this change is actually quite detrimental to the film as a whole. Since everything is so noisy, the monster just suddenly appeares, which makes sense, but there is not a single proper buildup of tension in the film, something the previous films were masters at doing – the epic build ups culminated in the monster’s actual appearance, which would leave us sweating in our seats. Now, in “A Quiet Place: Day One,” because there is no buildup, the film instead resorts to blasting the audience with some cheap jump scares just to be scary, which left me quite disappointed. There were also a few instances where I was about to take a nap in the theatre, only to be woken up by a jump scare. In Part II, you see the aliens much more clearly and frequently, unlike in this part, where they move too quickly or are hidden behind clouds of dust and fog, resulting in my immeasurable disappointment.

Another thing I also can’t seem to wrap my head around is the aliens. We know how much a little squeak can result in someone’s death in this film; our ears perk up at the slightest creak of the floorboards, and our bodies reflexively cringe at the clatter of bottles. But now, people are just casually walking in their sneakers and hyperventilating right in the aliens’ faces and manage to walk away scot-free, which is utterly baffling. Either the aliens are deaf or the film gives the main characters way too much plot armour. Alongside this, if you keep your eyes peeled for some details, you WILL notice several continuity errors (hint: keep an eye out for Sam’s iPod).

Despite all these faults, the one thing I can’t let slide the most is the protagonist’s motivation and how she acts. Right out of the gate, I found Sam’s need to have pizza at all costs to be quite annoying; it was like dealing with a ticked-off five-year-old when their mom says they aren’t having McDonalds. I understand that she is dying and that this might be her last chance, but having that as her driving force for the entire film is quite nonsensical, to say the least. I understand that she wants to relive her childhood again and, in turn, feel alive again, but the film would have benefited from an entirely different character with much stronger and more grounded motivation.

Eric is another problematic character, as he just appears halfway through the film. There is no prior scene that introduces him to the story there is not even a passing glimpse of him — he just appeares. From then onwards, he just tails Sam and her cat. It is not a joke when I say he might have been a last-minute addition to the film just so that Sam could have someone to talk to and have her reason for wanting pizza explained. Alternatively, you could conjecture that he had a scene where they introduced his character earlier on – but it had an unfortunate encounter with the editing room floor. We’ll never know.

Since we mentioned the cat, we might as well talk about it. Frodo is perhaps the most awkward addition to the entire film. You’d think that carrying an animal that has no control over its instincts would be a death sentence, but no; the world is burning around Frodo, but you wouldn’t get a single purr out of this cat. Not only that, but Frodo has more screen time than the actual aliens. There are only two things that drive the plot: Sam usually looking for pizza or her cat. It would be gut-wrenching to see the cat die, but it would have added a lot more tension and stakes; instead, it’s there to kill my suspension of disbelief.

Overall, “A Quiet Place: Day One” is an unnecessary film that looks to sully a great franchise. It doesn’t add much to the overall lore of the franchise, as it doesn’t really set up for anything, nor does it address some unanswered questions from the previous instalments, if any. The plot and motivation of the characters are outright weak, and the emotional impact rests on the shoulders of pizza. So, if you love the first two films and would like to retain some good memories about this franchise, then it is best to skip this film altogether. 

You can now watch “A Quiet Place: Day One” in theatres today!