A Quiet Place II – at the movies this week

While the title might suggest that A Quiet Place II is a sequel and should begin directly after the iconic finale of A Quiet Place, John Krasinski chooses to start at the beginning, sort of. The panic and mayhem of alien invasion is so well demonstrated and then…

We just skip from day one of the invasion to day 474 of the apocalypse, just after Evelyn, the mom, (Emily Blunt) kills the alien in her home in the first movie.

Following the tragic events of the previous night, Evelyn is forced to venture out into the world with her hearing impaired daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), her son Marcus (Noah Jupe), and her newborn baby.

The family must now face the terrors outside, while continuing their quest for existence in silence. The Abbott family now know that the aliens are vulnerable to the high-frequency audio feedback from Regan’s cochlear implant hearing aid but forced to venture into the unknown, they realise that these aliens that hunt by sound aren’t the only dangers lurking beyond.

On their journey to find others and safety in numbers they meet Emmett (Cillian Murphy), a family friend from before, who assists them. Reluctantly he takes them to his bunker, where he has lived and survived all this time. Marcus and Regan then discover a radio signal from a nearby island that plays the song “Beyond the Sea” on repeat and Regan figures this is her chance to help other survivors that might be stranded but things don’t really turn out that way or do they?

Simmonds takes over as the main character in this sequel, with Blunt playing a supporting part. Simmonds rises to the occasion with a captivating and compelling performance. She was fantastic, a breakout performance. Then again, you couldn’t fault any of the acting!

All in all, Krasinski divides the action over three separate narratives, with cross-cutting between them to heighten the tension at important points. He never loses sight of the fact that A Quiet Place II is a horror film, and he keeps the well-crafted scares coming at a steady pace.

The concept of not making a sound in A Quiet Place II is so powerful that it works just as effectively in broad daylight as it did in the gloomy light of the Abbotts’ home, and you’ll find yourself holding your breath and on the edge of your seat. I kept asking myself: “Oh no! What now?”

Release date: Friday, 28 May 2021