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In one respect,A Quiet Place: Day Oneplays it safe.
We get more scenes of characters creeping across a ravaged post-invasion America, eyes wide and mouths tightly shut.
Of course, safe is a relative distinction in the risk-averse arena of blockbuster moviemaking.
Theyre also pretty downbeat as far as multiplex thrill rides go.
That would be our heroine, Sam, a terminally ill poet played by Lupita Nyongo.
Nonetheless, the movie never once teases us with the possibility that she might pull through.
Sam has no delusions either about her chances.
Whats the end of the world to someone already facing down their own private, unavoidable apocalypse?
Day Onefollows through on the fatalism of this setup.
Like, all the way through.
At no point does Sam flirt with thoughts of a new beginning in the aftermath of the old world.
One of the creatures then drops into sight behind her.
At the end of her life, she chooses when and how she dies.
Thats a relatively bold choice for a four-quadrant multiplex seat filler.
Its not too many films of this budget that build to a victorious act of euthanasia.
Theres a certain logic to building aQuiet Placeprequel around an inherently doomed character.
Sam can no more stop whats coming for her thanDay Onecan change the trajectory of its franchise.
More than that, putting the main character on borrowed time scrambles the stakes of a fallen-world thriller.
Make no mistake,Day Oneis a run-and-hide monster movie, just like the otherQuiet Placefilms.
It does not totally transcend its function as an exploitation of intellectual property thats yet to be milked dry.
And maybe that alone makes this aQuiet Placeworth visiting.
