Co-writer and director Michael Sarnoski (Pig) helms this prequel to A Quiet Place (2018) and A Quiet Place Part II (2020), this time with only one returning character, Henri (Djimon Housou), billed as Man on Island in Part II. The main character in this prequel is hospice patient Samira (Lupita Nyong’o), who during a fieldtrip from her care facility to New York City has the bad luck of witnessing firsthand an alien invasion of murderous blind creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing out to kill off humanity. The slightest sound and they attack. (101-min.)
Glen: I really loved the first film in this franchise and felt like Part II was a worthy albeit not as effective successor. This prequel, on the other hand, while stylishly directed and featuring compelling characters, simply doesn’t measure up. The first film had the element of surprise and was rich with tension and dread. We didn’t even see the creatures until well into the story. Part II had the benefit of returning characters we knew and cared about. Here we have a new cast of characters—aside from Housou—and the invasion and its immediate aftermath essentially comprise the entire story. Knowing Samira is in hospice and will die either way undercuts her endangerment. She ends up with a tagalong named Eric (Joseph Quinn), a frightened British student who knows no one and has nowhere to go. Samira reluctantly becomes his protector. Because it’s a prequel, you don’t need to have seen the first two films, and honestly, you’ll probably like this film more if you’re unfamiliar with its two much better forebears.
Anna: You’re right, this film may benefit from less knowledge of the first two. There doesn’t seem to be that magic of tension that the prior films had. Samira is painted as a tough character. Hey, fair enough—chronic pain chips away at even the most bright-side-looking person. But Samira is guarded and uninterested in having anyone care about her, except her beloved cat, Frodo, who’s easily my favorite character. This film features the creatures more than the other films, and I think the monsters benefited from a bit of mystery in the first two. Not knowing, not seeing, is a clever ploy, and it wasn’t used well here. There are moments of tension, and the film is smart to use sound, or the absence of it, as its own type of character. It just lacks the buy-in that I hoped would be re-created and the characters that we saw in the first two. Moments between Samira and Eric are sometimes sweet as she reluctantly lets him in, but the franchise didn’t need this storyline. It’s easily the most forgettable of the three Quiet Place films.
Glen: I felt sorry for the cat, which was actually played by two cats—Nico and Schnitzel—that were leash trained and made used to being wet. Animal abuse? I also saw online a very realistic-looking model cat head that was used. There’s something soulful about Frodo, who quickly learns to navigate the monster-filled world. In one scene, Eric is trying to “rescue” him from a beam above him, and I thought, “Leave him, dumbass. He’s much better equipped to survive than you.” The heart of the story is that by needing help, Eric gives Samira a last chance to live with purpose. If I hadn’t seen the first two films, I might have cared more.
Anna: I think having our main character ill-fated from the start doesn’t help the audience have stakes in her story, and her journey to go get pizza in Harlem didn’t make me buy in any more. While it tries to give us something to care about between Eric and Samira, there just isn’t enough there. Stream it or beat the heat at a matinee for this one.
New Times Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Sun Screen. Glen compiles listings. Comment at [email protected].
