A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

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As some of my readers know, I loved 'A Quiet Place' well enough to make it one of my favourite movies of 2018. In a time of seemingly repeated horror themes, it did such a great job with building intensity, keeping me on the edge of my seat, and it provided a damn near perfect example of how more often than not, less is more when it came to horror. The scariness didn't lie in the creatures themselves, so much as the overwhelming stress that comes from having to constantly keep quiet in order to survive.

For a brief recap (along with some potential spoilers), the film centred on a family, in the midst of some sort of monstrous invasion. The creatures they have to hide from hunt their prey by sound, so to survive this world, one mustn't make a sound. It doesn't help, however that wife and mother, Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is pregnant and ready to pop, daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) is deaf, and son, Marcus (Noah Jupe) is basically afraid of his own shadow. Sadly, husband and father, Lee (John Krasinski) is eventually killed, and the whole thing ends with Evelyn going through a sort of bad ass transformation, becoming the ultimate protector of her family.

This one picks up immediately where the last one left off, but not without an intro, sort of telling us just how this all began. We don't really get any answers other than knowing the creatures came from the sky. The family of three and a half sets out on a journey here, looking for other survivors, now that Evelyn can handle a gun, and more importantly, Regan's discovery. She learns that using her hearing aid at a high frequency is an effective distraction to use against these creatures, especially when amplified. On their mission, however, Marcus ends up critically injured and the family is rescued by their former neighbour and friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy).

Emmett gives them shelter for the night, but insists they leave in the morning. During their stay, they tune a radio into clear music, suggesting there must be survivors out there somewhere. This prompts Regan to head off on her own, despite Marcus' objections, using her hearing aid as her main defence. She believes that if she can reach the radio tower the signal is coming from, she can broadcast her hearing aid's noise so that it can be weaponized by other survivors against these creatures. Ultimately, this leads to the overall intensity of the film in which the family must separate, each finding themselves in their own pickles.

Evelyn sends Emmett out after Regan, and Regan convinces him to help her find this tower. Meanwhile, Evelyn has to head out for supplies, leaving Marcus alone with newborn baby, Beau (Dean Woodward). So you pretty much have three survival stories going on at once, and while one can definitely see some of these character pushing through and surviving (namely Evelyn), one will still get tensed up by some of the situations these characters find themselves in. While the first film did a good job with the family sticking together, this one asks how well they fare while they're apart.

It all kinda adds up, and the suspense throughout the film is pretty damn solid. Can Regan find survivors with Emmett? Will Evelyn be able to survive on her own in order to help her children survive? Can Marcus take care of Beau despite having a brutal injury, and being afraid of everything? The separation of this family gives the film that extra dose of dread, and this worthy sequel is every bit as atmospheric as the first film. My only real nitpick is that one might get a bit of a 'Walking Dead' vibe from this, especially in that this one is a bit more about the people and whether or not you can trust them.

I guess it could also be said that things end on a similar note as the first film, but involving different characters. Having said that, it's also a good way to develop these characters. If I had to pick a favourite thing about the film, it would be somewhere between the consistent intensity of the film, and the perpetually silent acting, which I understand is quite a bit harder than it looks. As far as relatively recent horror/thrillers go, these first two 'Quiet Place' films are definitely a couple of personal favourites, and would make a fine back-to-back for a night of thrills and chills.

4/5

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