The Stream: A completely unnecessary addition to the Quiet Place franchise.

The Big Screen: Lupita Nyong’o, Lupita Nyong’o, Lupita Nyong’o

The Final Bill: Despite Lupita Nyong’o’s stellar performance, this movie is not essential viewing.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Writers: Michael Sarnoski; story by Michael Sarnoski and John Krasinski
Stars: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller
Rating: PG-13 for terror and violent content/bloody images
Runtime: 1 hour 29 minutes
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night
Platform: In theaters June 28, 2024
Notable Trailers: Speak No Evil, Never Let Go, Smile 2, Joker: Folie a Deux

Shhhh… Streamers! In a summer full of sequels, prequels, and reboots, here’s another entry into the Quiet Place universe. A Quiet Place: Day One takes us back to the beginning of the invasion of those noise sensitive aliens, but this time the action takes place in New York City. Here, we are following Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a hospice patient, who gets stranded in New York City as aliens rain down and begin to wreak havoc. Sam decides that instead of heading towards the ships to escape the city she is going to trek to Harlem for the last piece of pizza from Patsy’s. Sam is accompanied on her journey by her cat, Frodo, and a law student from England, Eric (Joseph Quinn). Whispering and alien-evading hijinks ensue.

I am not sure why A Quiet Place: Day One even exists. Didn’t we already see how the invasion started in A Quiet Place II? Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how a very noisy metropolitan area like New York City adjusted to the aliens with their ultrasonic abilities. The movie doesn’t really show us that learning curve though, so I’m not sure New York City is utilized to the best of its potential. There is a lot of destruction and we get to see the aliens crawl all over buildings, which is pretty cool. There are definitely interesting shots here and there. Some action sequences are tense, but a lot of the moments with the most potential terror are edited out. Maybe this movie needed an R rating. Overall, it is pretty unsatisfying and makes the movie feel like an unnecessary retread.

On the other hand, the storyline involving Sam is very emotional and effective. The storyline itself is something that you’ve seen before in your typical indie drama, but it is an interesting addition to a sci-fi, horror film like this. However, I am not sure it would work without Lupita Nyong’o’s excellent performance. Nyong’o plays Sam as tenacious, stubborn and determined. She gets to play horror movie heroine and soulful, emotional wreck. Her eyes and physicality are expressive and so engrossing that she really makes you care for this woman despite the ridiculous circumstances. I wish Lupita was given a really good movie worthy of her acting talent, but I’m glad she has this lead role anyway.

Ultimately, A Quiet Place: Day One makes no case for why it exists. Lupita Nyong’o gives a strong performance, but the movie around it is more of the same from the Quiet universe. Yes, there are some grueling action sequences and tense moments with the aliens, but overall, it doesn’t feel necessary. This movie may be fun to watch on streaming, but I can’t say you should spend your money for even a matinee. Shhhhh… it’s a handful!