A Quiet Place Part II: A Solidly Crafted Continuation That Captures The Spirit Of The Original
John Krasinski returns to the helm of the Quiet Place franchise, writing, directing, producing, and starring (briefly) in this surprisingly solid sequel. With Part II, Krasinski crafts a taut continuation to the Abbott family’s story that effectively captures the spirit of the original while building out its post-apocalyptic world.
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.
When A Quiet Place released in 2018, its success was anything but; as soon as the film premiered at the South By Southwest Film Festival, it earned rave reviews and social media buzz. The film was destined to be a hit; the fact that it grossed $188,024,361 domestically ($350.3 million worldwide) wasn’t nearly as surprising as John Krasinski having a solidly white-knuckle horror film in him. Although Krasinski never intended on building his creature feature into a full-fledged franchise, the nearly 16x return on investment undoubtedly had investors (and general audiences) begging for more. When the inevitable sequel was announced, we were admittedly skeptical; the original felt like a standalone piece, and we felt like it was going to be difficult to recapture or build out.
Fortunately, those feelings couldn’t be further from the truth. Under Krasinski’s attentive care, Part II manages to capture the spirit, tension, and heart of its predecessor, while continuing to build out the Abbott’s story in emotionally resonate ways. After its heart-pounding opening flashback sequence that shows us the day the sound-attacking alien creatures first appeared, we pick up right where we left off. In the wake of Lee Abbott’s death, the remaining family members, which includes a newborn, set out in search of a new home to evade the attention of more creatures. This brings them in contact with the hardened and reclusive Emmett (Cillian Murphy), an old friend of Lee's whose wife and children were killed by the aliens. After hearing a recording of “Beyond the Sea,” Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Emmett venture out to see if there’s any hope out thee on the horizon, while Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her older son Marcus (Noah Jupe) hold down the fort and protect the baby.
Part II trades in the Signs-like vibes of the original for more of a Last Of Us feel full of big set pieces, abandoned by humanity and overtaken by nature. Krasinski once again creates a smorgasbord of palpably tense scenes and perpetually ratchets the tension as things glide along. He sets the bar high with the opening scene and never wavers from that mark. There’s a nice flow to the film’s unfurling; it undulates between quiet moments that let the characters and the story breathe and big action sequences that suck all the air out of your lungs. It definitely veers into some rote territory, but Krasinski consistently finds exciting ways to up the ante, while hitting the vital character beats that make its narrative a compelling ride.
The fractured story allows everyone to share the screen equally (although it’s Millicent Simmonds’ Regan who emerges as the primary protagonist and continued heart of the franchise), and it also leads to some excellent cross-cutting that weaves its divergent storylines into a cohesively riveting clincher. The cinematography (by Polly Morgan) is even more gorgeous than the original. She draws a lot of beauty and loneliness/isolation out of the many magic-hour landscape shots, which nod to the Western genre with its silhouetting of its subjects in the foreground. As conventional as Krasinski’s directing style is (which has notes of Spielberg and Hitchcock), he makes a lot of smart choices, like doing a majority of the effects in camera. In particular, the way in which he keeps everything locked in tightly to the perspective of the characters, allowing us to experience big moments and reveals alongside them. Once again, the sound design is pretty excellent and helps flesh out the believability of the film’s world and bring the alien creatures to life, but it might not be as impressive as it was the first go around.
As much as A Quiet Place didn’t really need a sequel, Part II really met every expectation and some. It’s just as good, if not (possibly) better than the original, and it’s a testament to Krasinski’s careful consideration and sure-handed direction. It’s hard to see how they’ll be able to keep things going in a manner that feels fresh and exciting, but with a Part III already in the works (this time led by Midnight Special director Jeff Nichols), they already have our money.
Recommendation: If you enjoyed the first Quiet Place film, definitely give Part II a watch; you won’t likely be disappointed.
Rating: 4 tense moments outta 5.
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