2018’s A Quiet Place was an oddity on many levels. Firstly, it was a film that was, for much of its runtime, near silent with very little dialogue or ambient sound, owing to the films premise of avoiding monsters that hunt using sound. On top of that it was directed by John Krasinski, a man who until that point was known almost exclusively for his acting in comedy films and TV. So, when it became one of 2018’s most critically adored films, especially considering it’s a horror, it was totally unexpected to say the least.
Expectations were understandably high for A Quiet Place Part II then, a film that was one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as it was originally due to release just a week or so after theatre chains across the globe announced they would be closing indefinitely. But after several delays the wait is finally over and I can most certainly say that although it pains me to have waited so long for A Quiet Place Part II, it was certainly worth it.
The film picks up in the closing moments of the first film; with Evelyn (Emily Blunt) having shot the monster that had cornered her and her three children. As the sun rises on a new day, only one neighbouring settlement has survived the night, and with their home destroyed the Abbott family make tracks towards the fire on the horizon.
Upon arriving, the Abbott’s discover that their neighbour is an old family friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy), but Evelyn must find medical supplies for her new-born child and for Marcus (Noah Jupe) who was injured during the journey.
After pinning the location of a radio signal, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) journey’s off on her own to find the source of the signal and hopefully other survivors. Emmett is forced to go after Regan, and together they journey across land and sea in the search of hope for a better tomorrow.
Expectations were understandably high for A Quiet Place Part II then, a film that was one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as it was originally due to release just a week or so after theatre chains across the globe announced they would be closing indefinitely. But after several delays the wait is finally over and I can most certainly say that although it pains me to have waited so long for A Quiet Place Part II, it was certainly worth it.
The film picks up in the closing moments of the first film; with Evelyn (Emily Blunt) having shot the monster that had cornered her and her three children. As the sun rises on a new day, only one neighbouring settlement has survived the night, and with their home destroyed the Abbott family make tracks towards the fire on the horizon.
Upon arriving, the Abbott’s discover that their neighbour is an old family friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy), but Evelyn must find medical supplies for her new-born child and for Marcus (Noah Jupe) who was injured during the journey.
After pinning the location of a radio signal, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) journey’s off on her own to find the source of the signal and hopefully other survivors. Emmett is forced to go after Regan, and together they journey across land and sea in the search of hope for a better tomorrow.
It’s actually really hard to summarise the plot of A Quiet Place Part II without giving away basically the entire story, but long story short is that if you enjoyed the first film then you’ll also have a great time with the sequel. I feel like a lot of people who took issue with the first film's slow pace and overall lack of sound will also get more out of the sequel, as even though the premise remains the same, the action continues to escalate from where the first film ended. There are more monsters to fight, and now that the Abbott’s know the monsters' weakness these sequences are more action packed. There’s more dialogue and the scope of the film is much bigger, even going so far as exploring where the monsters came from, and what has happened to humanity at large outside of the neighbouring farms that we knew of from the first film.
Yet despite this expanded scope, a greater focus on action sequences, and being generally less quiet than the first film, A Quiet Place Part II never forgets what it is, and that is a horror film.
Now whilst I normally have great issue with jump scare laden ‘mainstream horror’, A Quiet Place Part II manages to rely almost solely on them and rarely feel like it’s shooting for the lowest common denominator. I think what aids the film with this aspect is the unique premise, and the incredible sound design. Most horror films will lead up to a jump scare with a few moments of total silence, but A Quiet Place Part II revels in silence most of the time. Even with it having more frequent loud sequences, the film still relies on a mostly silent, or at least very quiet audio track. So, when you’ve spent several minutes in silence, you’re either totally anxiety ridden and will completely fall apart when the jump scare does happen, or you’re lulled into a false sense of security because it doesn’t feel like a jump scare would come from where it does.
Yet despite this expanded scope, a greater focus on action sequences, and being generally less quiet than the first film, A Quiet Place Part II never forgets what it is, and that is a horror film.
Now whilst I normally have great issue with jump scare laden ‘mainstream horror’, A Quiet Place Part II manages to rely almost solely on them and rarely feel like it’s shooting for the lowest common denominator. I think what aids the film with this aspect is the unique premise, and the incredible sound design. Most horror films will lead up to a jump scare with a few moments of total silence, but A Quiet Place Part II revels in silence most of the time. Even with it having more frequent loud sequences, the film still relies on a mostly silent, or at least very quiet audio track. So, when you’ve spent several minutes in silence, you’re either totally anxiety ridden and will completely fall apart when the jump scare does happen, or you’re lulled into a false sense of security because it doesn’t feel like a jump scare would come from where it does.
The first film introduced us to the considerable talents of child actors Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds and Part II only allows them to grow as actors even more, with Simmonds arguably stealing the show. I loved that Regan is given as much growth as she has in this film, and really love that she got to fill the hole left by her father’s death in the first film. I felt like Marcus didn’t get a huge amount to do, but considering that he was alone basically the entire film any scene with him in was entirely held up by his performance and they were always very enjoyable to watch.
But there must be something I don’t like right? Well, I feel like the wider world isn’t given quite as much explaining as is necessary. It seems like most of humanity has gone totally crazy for some reason, and it’s not explained why. Like sure, I’m sure that people would go crazy in an apocalypse, but I feel like there needed to be more justification and screen time dedicated to why these people are crazy.
I’m also conflicted about the ending. It was a great climax, but the fact that the story is left completely unresolved and there is inevitably A Quiet Place Part III in the works does kind of cheapen the whole experience. The first film ended abruptly much like this one, but at least that told a whole story, it was concise and lacked frills, but it did at least resolve things. Part II feels like it wants to expand things but not give anything the time of day to do so, and leaves you wanting more and not necessarily in the way it probably intended.
All in all, A Quiet Place Part II is every bit as great as the first film. It tries some new things, and not all of them work out, but at least it’s a good sign of Kransinski and the other creative talent being willing to take risks to expand this universe they’ve created. There’s clearly still a lot left to see with A Quiet Place, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
But there must be something I don’t like right? Well, I feel like the wider world isn’t given quite as much explaining as is necessary. It seems like most of humanity has gone totally crazy for some reason, and it’s not explained why. Like sure, I’m sure that people would go crazy in an apocalypse, but I feel like there needed to be more justification and screen time dedicated to why these people are crazy.
I’m also conflicted about the ending. It was a great climax, but the fact that the story is left completely unresolved and there is inevitably A Quiet Place Part III in the works does kind of cheapen the whole experience. The first film ended abruptly much like this one, but at least that told a whole story, it was concise and lacked frills, but it did at least resolve things. Part II feels like it wants to expand things but not give anything the time of day to do so, and leaves you wanting more and not necessarily in the way it probably intended.
All in all, A Quiet Place Part II is every bit as great as the first film. It tries some new things, and not all of them work out, but at least it’s a good sign of Kransinski and the other creative talent being willing to take risks to expand this universe they’ve created. There’s clearly still a lot left to see with A Quiet Place, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.