A Quiet Place 2 — Not Quite As Good
Sequel lags behind in terms of plot, but delivers on tension and scares.
In 2018, A Quiet Place blew our minds. Most horror/sci-fi films rely on sound, complicated backstories, and creepy visuals to keep us cowering in fear. AQP went the opposite route and presented us with a simple story, Venom-like aliens that would look tame beside a Xenomorph, and took away words and sound for the majority of the runtime. Lo and behold a new type of horror was born. Much like Bird Box, it seemed like sensory deprivation could truly be made to be scary. Imagine all the henpecked husbands who would love to live in such a world! A world where everyone had to keep quiet, or they would be cut down within a few moments by a marauding alien. Hmm…maybe I should play this game with the kids…
AQP ended quite suddenly with the death of the father Lee Abbott — played by John Krasinski, also the director — and the family house in flames, with a dead alien in the basement. AQP2 kicks things off with a little prequel of sorts, bringing us back to hours before the invasion. Everyone is happy, there is a baseball game going on and we are introduced to Emmett (Cillian Murphy) and son as the Abbott’s family friend. Something strange falls from the sky and everyone disperses. Before they have a chance to get home, the little town erupts in chaos as aliens charges into them. The camera shots here are quite marvelous, with one particular car chase sequence having the camera directly shooting the passenger POV in a tight shot, as it sped around avoiding people and aliens before crashing, putting the audience directly in the car itself. I swear I jerked forward at the moment of the crash! It reminded me of a 3D ride I took at Universal Studios, and after the 1st 15 mins, I was panting slightly and wanting more.
As we ventured back to “modern day” — some 400 over days after that first attack by the aliens - we catch up with Evelyn (Emily Blunt), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Regan Abbott ( Millicent Simmonds easily the star performer here ) as they deal with the aftermath of Lee’s death. As they wander around looking for refuge and hope, they bump into a ragged Emmett, himself dealing with the tragic loss of his family. Despite initially not willing to aid them, he eventually commits himself to providing them shelter and help.
There is a quest they eventually embark on that I won’t go too much into as that will venture too much into spoiler territory, though I have to say the eventual conclusion of the quest does set up part 3 very nicely. Their encounters with the aliens along the way were very well crafted and the tension building was superb. I am a little unsure if there were any metaphorical reasons for the use of parallel shots during some of these encounters though, besides it being a stylistic choice. Plot-wise there were a few points that were a little disappointing though. For example, no explanation as to why the military didn’t come up with the same solution as Regan in dealing with the aliens? It seems simple enough and if a barely teen hearing impaired girl could think of it, I am sure the Intelligence bureau would have weaponised this solution within the first few days of the attack. We discover too that the aliens ( SPOILER ALERT ) can’t swim. So how did it get to the island? I read somewhere that it basically sat on the boat and drifted there. Seriously? If it possessed the intelligence to take a boat ride quietly without any sounds to guide it, how would it know it has reached the shore? AQP2 doesn’t really shed additional light on the why, what, and how of the aliens, nor does it really provide us more information on what the world has become, save for one brief encounter with a dangerous group of survivors at the jetty. I could understand not providing more background info during the 1st film, but why only a glimpse in the 2nd one? There is a whole backstory to be told here but it seems John Krasinski wants to keep us guessing. Of course, if you haven’t watched the 1st movie you would be coming along for this ride a little handicapped because there are no flashbacks to what happened in the 1st film at all, and any references to AQP would be entirely lost on you.
That said, the scenes where the main characters battle the aliens are worth every cent you paid for the ticket. The now trademark point-of-audibility ( instead of point-of-view) where the viewer gains access to Regan’s visual and aural perspective, adds additional layers of tension as we see the aliens creeping up on her while she remains oblivious to them because she can’t hear the sounds they make and therefore has no idea they are there. The actor’s performances here are all top-notched and they draw us in with every shushed line they deliver, and every silent scream their emotions emit. Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy’s world-weary characters weighed down by pain and loss provide a sharp contrast to the optimism and determination of Regan who is bent on finding a permanent safe shelter for everyone, and this provides an interesting dynamic in the character’s relationships with each other. I just wished more time was spent on world and character building, instead of just jumping from one dangerous alien situation to another.
I once joked with my friends that the script for AQP has to be about only 3 pages long because 90% of the film is without dialogue. However, with no spoken lines Millicent Simmons was able to capture our hearts and gave us access to all of Regan’s fears, joys, and motivation. She is truly a remarkably & gifted actress and I am truly excited to see how her character turns out in AQP part 3.
Verdict — 90% Rotten Tomatoes rating says it all. GO WATCH IT!
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