A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

Dir: Michael Sarnoski

Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou

While it may not recapture the originality or heart of the first film, this side project still delivers the thrills and surprising emotional beats synonymous with the horror series.

Over the past decade we have seen a huge influx of creative and original horror movies as we find ourselves in the era of the so called “elevated” horror movie. With movie studios such as A24 allowing their filmmakers to have full creative license over their movies, we have seen some great modern day auteurs break onto the scene in recent years through the medium of horror. These include the likes of Jennifer Kent, Ti West, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers and most notably Jordan Peele. The genre has always served as a gateway into the industry for directors and actors alike due to its often low risk-high reward production strategy, and few have benefited more than “A Quiet Place” creators Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. After their directorial debut “Nightlight” failed to take off in 2015, the Iowa natives sold their original screenplay for “A Quiet Place” to Paramount Pictures, where it was snapped up by star of “The Office”, John Krasinski, to be his own directorial feature.

Released in 2018 and starring Krasinski alongside his wife Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place” became a major box office hit, grossing $330 million worldwide and also recieved universal acclaim from critics and audiences. The film served as a launchpad for Krasinski as a filmmaker, and also saw Beck and Woods receive a Critics’ Choice nomination for their screenplay. With their original conceit now being owned Paramount, the Covid-19 delayed sequel, “A Quiet Place Part II”, did not see Beck and Woods return as screenwriters, with Krasinski taking over the writing of the project. While they may only provide story credits going forward, the franchise’s creators have managed to make a name for themselves in the industry, following up the first instalment’s success with directorial credits on: the 2019 horror “Haunt”; the Adam Driver sci-fi action film “65”; as well as the upcoming psychological thriller “Heretic” produced by A24.

Following the success of the series’ first two features, it was inevitable that more were to follow. The latest release in the franchise “A Quiet Place: Day One” was announced in 2021, and was to be directed by “The Bikeriders'” Jeff Nichols, based on a story by Krasinski. Citing creative differences, Nichols left the project later that year and was replaced by “Pig” director Michael Sarnoski.

Taking place in the now entitled “Quiet Place Universe”, “A Quiet Place: Day One” is a spin-off prequel of the original story. A stark contrast from the ambient, picturesque country setting of the main timeline, the latest instalment takes place amongst the hustle and bustle of New York City, arguably the loudest city on the planet which consistently produces a volume of 90 decibels. Amongst the crowds of almost 2 million people in Manhattan is poet and terminal cancer patient Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), who is on a hospice organised day trip to a marionette show in the city, having been convinced to attend by her care worker Reuben (Alex Wolff). During the trip, the hospice group witness countless meteor-like objects crashing into the city, which carry extremely hostile extra-terrestrial creatures that begin attacking the crowds.

Amongst the chaos, Sam and her cat Frodo take shelter in the marionette theatre, where she is signalled by fellow survivor Henri (Djimon Hounsou) to not make any noise as the visionless creatures hunt by sound. With the island’s bridges being bombed to prevent the invasion from spreading, the military announces boats are on their way to provide rescue and for all survivors to quietly make their way to the city’s harbours. Accepting her fate due to her terminal illness, Sam, accompanied by Frodo and panicked British Law student Eric (Joseph Quinn), sets of on a citywide journey to Harlem to revisit memories from her childhood and to get her hands on her favourite New York pizza slice.

Having seen the marketing for “A Quiet Place: Day One” for several weeks leading up to its release, I was hesitant that the tense and intimate aspects that have made the franchise so successful were going to be lost amongst a series increasingly loud and elaborate disaster set pieces. This could have been an easy cash grab for Paramount and Krasinski (who also serves as a producer), amping up the franchise’s taut horror premise to a action-heavy, alien invasion thriller, more akin to Steven Spielberg‘s “War of the Worlds”. While it may be considerably the least quiet film in the series so far, Krasinski and Sarnoski have managed to keep the intensity and bleakness as well as the life-affirming narratives that have become synonymous with the consistently gripping and surprisingly emotional franchise.

Krasinski may have passed on directing duties for the latest instalment but all the hallmarks of the previous films remain. Having adopted the franchise from Beck and Woods, Krasinski has a clear vision for this universe and it is crucial that the emotional beats land, and with very limited dialogue it is essential that the right actors continue to be cast as the franchise continues. The always great Lupita Nyong’o is sensational as our dogged and occasionally sassy protagonist, who will stop at nothing to get a New York slice, not even the apocalypse as pointed out by Quinn’s Eric. Not to be shown up by the Academy Award winning Nyong’o, Quinn delivers the biggest big screen performance of his career, creating a genuine kinship between their characters, with both reacting to the end of days in their own unique but realistic way. Unlike Sam, Eric is a nervous wreck who continuously looks to Sam for reassurance and is desperate to survive, initially unaware of Sam’s true motives making the ultimate realisation a truly heart-warming moment. It is a breakthrough for Quinn, best known as the heroic guitar-wielding Eddie in “Stranger Things“, and the Brit will be returning to the big screen later in the year in Ridley Scott‘s “Gladiator II”. Aside from the stellar performances from the co-leads, the real star of “A Quiet Place: Day One” is undoubtedly Sam’s service cat Frodo. It is, after all, Frodo who brings Sam and Eric together, acting almost as their unflappable guardian angel as he guides the pair through the eerily desolate and crumbling Manhattan skyline.

Despite it exceeding my expectations and delivering a surprising amount nuanced emotional beats, this side project ultimately falters in its ingenuity and originality. The post-apocalyptic world Beck, Woods and Krasinski built in which the Abbott family reside in the main titles is so unique, not just in the horror genre but in cinema as a whole. The deafening silence of the first film in particular managed to do the unthinkable – scare audiences into making a noise. As a regular cinemagoer, I get as annoyed as anyone when there is abundance of noise in a screening, whether it be the rustle of popcorn or the chatter amongst the more inconsiderate members of the audience, so the silent spectacle of “A Quiet Place” was a cinematic experience that will forever be one that sticks with me. This experience was achieved large in part thanks to Millicent Simmonds‘ character Regan, who like Simmonds herself is deaf, providing the audience with a powerful insight into deaf community as the audio occasionally shifts to Regan’s perspective. While there are fleeting moments of this in “A Quiet Place: Day One”, they are few and far between in the impressively short runtime.

“A Quiet Place” is a modern masterpiece of the genre, and perhaps it is unfair to compare the latest instalment harshly against it as it stands alone as a unique story separate from the main series. Visually realised by Michael Sarnoski “A Quiet Place: Day One” continues to deliver John Krasinski’s distinctly bleak post apocalyptic vision and remains grounded in reality thanks to its two outstanding central performances.

A Quiet Place: Day One is now showing in UK Cinemas

• 2025-2026 Movie Awards Season
  • 2026 Academy Award Predictions: June
  • 2026 Academy Award Predictions: September
• All Movie Reviews & Posts
• Movie Rankings
  • A24 Movies Ranked