MANILA, PHILIPPINES — In 2018, the world was rocked when actor John Krasinski from The Office starred, co-wrote, and directed the thriller that was A Quiet Place. The story of a family that is barely surviving an invasion of aliens with super-sensitive hearing was massive at the international box office and audiences demanded a sequel. While A Quiet Place Part II was supposed to release right before the global pandemic hit, Paramount Pictures faced a couple of delays before finally coming to cinemas. It was worth the wait.
A flashback is shown of Lee Abbott (Krasinski) attending a baseball game where son Marcus (Noah Jupe) was playing. Also in attendance are wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and son Beau (Dean Woodward). The family chats with Emmett (Cillian Murphy) whose son is teammates with Marcus. In the middle of the game, all eyes turn to the skies as an object hurtles towards the Earth.
Suddenly, the blind aliens seen in the first film begin falling to the ground, randomly attacking people left and right. The Abbotts split up and see how the aliens use their sensitive hearing to track people down and slaughtering them without mercy.
Flashing forward 474 days later, the film then picks up from the events at the end of the first film. After Lee sacrificed himself for his family, Regan discovered that the sound made by her cochlear implant has an adverse effect on the aliens and that when they receive its feedback, they become vulnerable. With her newborn son in tow, Evelyn, Regan, and Marcus leave their home as more aliens converge there.
Walking barefoot, the Abbotts search for other survivors while Regan carries an amplifier to help her implant in battling the creatures. Marcus, though, has his foot caught in a bear trap which causes significant pain. As they enter an abandoned steel foundry, they meet up once again with Emmett, who has set up a bunker under the foundry after losing his family to the creatures.
Hearing the song “Beyond the Sea” continuously playing on the radio, Regan figures out that it’s a signal to lead survivors to a nearby island. If she can reach the radio tower broadcasting it, the high frequency noise made by Regan’s cochlear implant can be weaponized against the aliens. When Regan sneaks out of the foundry by herself, Evelyn begs Emmett to bring her back but the creatures are coming ever closer to finding them all.
After grossing over $340 million worldwide, A Quiet Place was an eyeopener on Krasinski’s ability to both star and direct in a film. It didn’t hurt that wife Emily Blunt was his co-star and their combined efforts saw the unique alien invasion story written by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck become a global phenomenon. Stories of packed cinemas reacting in horror as the Abbotts tried to keep as quiet as possible.
The sequel continues those vibes, now with the baby fully out of Evelyn and with the family fighting back with their audio weapon. With Krasinski reduced to a flashback role (thankfully he didn’t write in a resurrection scene), the unit of Evelyn, Regan, and Marcus are put through the wringer a few more times courtesy of bear traps and the like. Adding Murphy to the mix doesn’t disrupt the family dynamic and after years of playing gangster Tommy Shelby on Peaky Blinders, it’s nice to see Murphy do something different acting-wise.
Simmonds was the breakout star from the previous picture even as Blunt won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Both remain fabulous for A Quiet Place Part II but this time, Jupe is also given screen time for himself. Showing the pain of the bear trap injury as well as the anxiety of taking care of his baby brother while trying to breathe in the boiler room allowed the young man to act and react even as the aliens threatened.
Sound was such a critical element in the first film because of how the aliens hunted humans and how the humans in turn had to be as quiet as they could. With the implant now being weaponized, the Abbotts are shown to not be as helpless this time and there is definite satisfaction delivered when we see them fighting back.
Unfortunately, with Philippine cinemas still closed, a crucial part of what made that first movie so much fun was taken away from those of us watching this from our homes. The human interaction, particularly the feeling of being in a packed cinema whose collective eyes are glued to the screen, gasping while watching every movement, and screaming while rooting for the characters, is gone.
Without that immersive experience, one can’t help but feel that something is missing in A Quiet Place Part II. If there’s any film that suffers from missing out on cinemas being closed, this is definitely it. While cinemas in the U.S. and elsewhere have begun to open up and have allowed moviegoers to watch this, the rest of the world still waits to join in on the fun.
