From the dawn of the genre, to horror cinema He has always liked to prohibit things from us. Don’t poke strangers, don’t play with chainsaws, don’t underestimate the importance of sleep, and of course, don’t pet that mysterious alien creature, no matter how cute it may seem. Part of the fun of horror movies is their originality, seeing what new red lines they draw for their protagonists. (Well, that and their monsters and creaturesof course). The fact is that for some time now it has found a goldmine in the human senses. Don’t breathe, don’t open your eyes and in the case at hand, Don’t say a single word and don’t make the slightest noise. The premise and the bugs of ‘A Quiet Place’ worked so well in its day that here we are, in the third installment of the saga in six years. A prequel that once again demonstrates the effectiveness of the formula and that, against all odds, is more than on par with the originals.
Against all odds
We say “against all odds” for two reasons. First, while a prequel might be expected to add some lore to the universe in which it is set, That is precisely the film’s great weakness.. If anyone believes that ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ will explain the origin of the invasion and what happened when the aliens arrived, we regret to inform you that will be disappointed. Because we don’t see, the film doesn’t even show how people discovered that the monsters were blind and guided by sounds. Four meteorites fall, the protagonist hits herself, faints, and when she opens her eyes there’s a helicopter shouting the rules of the game over a loudspeaker. It’s another survival story, but the plot and its contribution to the franchise They are the poorest of the entire footage.
The second, that this time the team behind the cameras It has nothing to do with it with the original. John Krasinski (eternal Jim in ‘The Office’) hit the jackpot of his life as a director thanks to the first one, where he also acted as scriptwriter and star and even shared the screen with his wife, an actress as exceptional as Emily Blunt. Although he was also responsible for the second one and will do the same with the third part (scheduled for 2025), on this occasion he has stepped aside and handed over the baton to Michael Sarnoski, a very young director who only rose to fame in 2021 with his debut feature, ‘Pig‘, a very curious thriller (available on Prime Video) with Nicolas Cage as headliner. Risky bet where there is one.
Movies are not only seen, they are also heard
Sarnoski has responded so well to the trust that he even outshines Krasinski himself. ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ could very well be the best directed installment of the franchise and the most visually beautiful. It consolidates the young American director as one of the names to follow in the future and we hope that he remains linked to the genre for a long time. He has his finger on the pulse the scarescontains the actors and their composition of shots wonderfully exudes style and speaks for itself. The film enters through the eyes and thus compensates for a script that, unfortunately, bears the same signature. Never too high, never too low.
Although it is the first installment where the visual is on par with the sound, this section is again the key to the film. In a world where every noise is synonym of deathsilence embraces the viewer and gives special importance to everything that interrupts its calm. The saga has helped to understand the Oscar for sound editing better than any explanation from the Hollywood Academy. It is a marvel that vindicates that Movies are not only seen, they are also heard. All in all, it is still ironic that such a proposal arises at a time when it seems impossible to get the commitment of a movie theater and whoever is not talking to the person next door is chewing popcorn with a microphone in front. Each pass is like Russian roulette.
Enlarge
An unexpected protagonist
We couldn’t have liked the two protagonists chosen for this installment more. Lupita Nyong’o deserves heaven and no matter how much her role in ‘Us’ (Jordan Peele, 2019) was acclaimed, we are of the opinion that less is more and therefore no need to make histrionic faces every thirty seconds to show that you act well. Precisely for this reason, seeing her this time maintaining control and giving life to a much more subdued character only speaks of the amount of her records and her acting talent. The same thing happens with Joseph Quinn. The new Human Torch broke out in ‘Stranger Things’ and captured all our attention in the fourth season of the Netflix series, but it will be these types of roles that consolidate him as a star and for which we burn with the desire to continue seeing him in the large screen. But even with both brilliant, better if possible than the Krasinski family, The main protagonist of this film is a cat named Frodo. He will be the one really in charge of getting us hooked on the movie.
The character of Lupita, affected by a cancer that will excite some and exasperate others, seems to be completely indifferent to surviving. But of course, if she doesn’t care, Why would the viewer care in the slightest about his fate? Quinn’s is a little less prone to dying, but he’s barely a sketch and he just follows Frodo around, so he’s the one we pay our respects to. The biggest question mark in the movie will be whether the cat survives. He steals the show, his presence is constant and every scene with him is a new drama. By the way, if you thought he was a cat, you’d be in for a treat. There was nothing more implausible than Emily Blunt’s birth in the first, wait until you see a feline so polite and not given to meowing. Someone tell us how to do it.
Enlarge
Final assessment
Go three installments of the saga and none bad. ‘A Quiet Place’ is a rare bird in horror cinema and one of those films that no lover of the genre should miss. This prequel is as good as the originals, but more and it is once again an overwhelming sound display. Although its plot and story contribute less than expected, it has so much emerging talent in front of and behind the cameras that compensates for your script with the best staging and the best performances of the franchise. And although seeing two New Yorkers go from surviving an alien invasion to going out to buy pizza (Is there anything more Yankee than that?), there’s Frodo to save the day. A cat that will keep you glued to your seats and deserves to walk down all the red carpets at the end of the year.
Enlarge
Follow the MeriStation channel on Twitter. Your video game and entertainment website, to find out all the news, updates and breaking news about the world of video games, movies, series, manga and anime. Previews, analysis, interviews, trailers, gameplays, podcasts and much more. Subscribe!
