“A Quiet Place Part II” Review
(From Left) Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Emily Blunt return for “A Quiet Place Part II,” the sequel to the 2018’s smash-hit horror film.
“A Quiet Place Part II” does everything that a good sequel is supposed to do: it continues the plot of the original, makes it larger in scale and also improves upon the overall story. By further embellishing the world he created in the first film, director/producer/writer/actor John Krasinski has made one of those rare horror sequels that is just as good as, if not better than, the original.
Set immediately after the events of the first film, the Abbott family - mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Evelyn’s newborn son are currently on the run from blind creatures with an incredibly strong sense of hearing. Only this time, the family have discovered the creatures’ weakness, high-frequency noises generated by Regan’s cochlear implant which makes them vulnerable to human weapons.
When Regan discovers a way to broadcast the frequency over the radio, Regan goes on a miles-long journey to find the only active radio station in the area aided by a disgruntled survivor (Cillian Murphy) who thinks that humanity isn’t worth saving. While Regan goes to find the station, her mother and two brothers must try to survive while creatures start to close in.
With the original film having a very small cast, limited locations and a budget of less than $20 million, “A Quiet Place” was the perfect kind of low-budget horror film while still being able to permeate mainstream cinema. However, “A Quiet Place Part II” has a much bigger budget, $60 million, and an even bigger cast which allows Krasinski to not only show off this world but to also introduce more survivors. While the first film made it very clear that the Abbotts were not the only survivors, “A Quiet Place Part II” has the luxury of having a larger cast and more characters for the Abbotts to interact with.
Cillian Murphy is a welcomed addition to the cast as Emmett, a survivor who has given up on others and is only interested in self-preservation.
Cillian Murphy, in particular, is excellent as Emmett who reluctantly helps the Abbotts despite losing everyone he’s loved to the creatures. His character development is superb and brings a new side to this world. While the Abbotts have been through a lot of pain, they still have faith in humanity and each other, but Emmett has completely lost faith and doesn’t believe the survivors are worth saving.
While Evelyn and her now-deceased husband Lee (John Krasinski) were the leaders of the family in the previous film, here Regan is the one to step up as she and Emmett journey towards the radio station. Seeing Millicent Simmonds become this outstanding character over the course of two films is incredible and having her be both deaf in the film and in real life really makes her character truly authentic in the portrayal of the deaf.
Since the original film is set 474 days after the creatures began their attack on humanity, one thing I was always curious about was what happened on Day 1. It seems that Krasinski was too and begins the film on Day 1 and shows Lee and the rest of the Abbotts try to stay alive together as their neighbors are massacred by the creatures. Krasinski also confirms that the creatures are actually aliens which fell from the sky. Much like the first film, the opening is engaging and completely sucks you in by not only being scary, but also being more of a spectacle.
What Krasinski also does that helps the world he created is showing what has happened to various groups of humans. While some have established safe-havens for survivors, some have lost their humanity and have become feral proving that the only thing more scary than monsters are other people.
“A Quiet Place Part II” isn’t one of those sequels that tries to recapture the first film but instead continues the story while improving on the original. Just like the first film, “A Quiet Place Part II” ends on a satisfying note while also leaving room open for a sequel and if Krasinski sits in the director’s chair for a third time for “A Quiet Place Part III,” I’ll be the first in line.
