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There are enough interesting ideas and at least two confident performances holding “A Quiet Place: Day One” together, even if it sometimes feels like a first draft of a richer, more complex final film. “Pig” director Michael Sarnoski proves deft at the kind of melancholic, subtle character beats usually lacking in these blockbusters. But he lacks the skill set for action, an essential aspect of a film like this: the setpieces feel too imprecise, and the stakes never high enough to produce actual tension. Still, what could have been a cash grab clearly has loftier aspirations, resulting in a film that’s never boring and just provocative enough to spark big questions about what truly matters in this world when it’s falling apart.

The always-great Lupita Nyong’o plays Sam, a hospice stage cancer patient who agrees to a trip into Manhattan for a show with her support group, led by a bearded Alex Wolff (who also starred in “Pig”). The puppet show they attend is fine, but she’s really there for a slice of NY pizza, knowing that it’s likely the last time she will have a chance to taste something she so clearly associates with happiness. Making Sam an end-stage cancer patient adds an interesting layer to the horror that unfolds. How hard do you fight to live when you’re already dying? It’s only one of several intriguing ideas that Sarnoski’s film walks up to but then runs away too quickly, retreating into the thin structure of a survival thriller.

Another big question is, how do you silence one of the loudest cities in the world? Sarnoski’s film informs us that NYC is regularly 90 decibels, setting the stage for a movie about how a city filled with that much hustle and bustle stays quiet. But this isn’t that movie. We never get the sense we’re in a crowded city on the first day of the end of the world, as Sarnoski can’t hide that his film didn’t shoot in Manhattan (it was shot on London soundstages). This makes it feel more like sets than a lived-in reality.

We follow Sam and her movie-stealing cat, Frodo, through this landscape until they’re joined by a panicking young man named Eric ( Joseph Quinn of “Stranger Things”). Casting Nyong’o and Quinn proves half the battle with “Day One,” as their extremely expressive faces are forced to do a lot of heavy lifting as the sound-sensitive aliens take over the world around them. They both give strong genre performances, conveying most of the story through pure physicality and expression.

The problem is there’s too little story to tell. Early on, we meet Henri ( Djimon Hounsou ), a character from “A Quiet Place: Part II"; he gets one of the best scenes in the movie as a man goes into a panic attack in front of him and his son. What would you do? How far would you go to silence a man who might put your family in jeopardy? Would you kill him? It’s a beat that gets a nice callback later when Eric’s panic starts to rise, and we wonder if Sam may have to ask the same questions, but it feels too shallowly developed. Almost every thematic aspect of “Day One” feels hurried, a pace that could be why the once-attached Jeff Nichols left the project over creative differences. It’s hard to believe in the era of bloated blockbusters, but this one should have been longer; its 99 minutes don’t allow for enough character investment, world-building, or actual tension.

Yet Sarnoski’s obvious gift for nuance comes through in a few beats. He directs Nyong’o and Quinn to very solid performances with almost no dialogue, but one wishes he could have found a co-director who could give “Day One” a bit more visual style and substance. When the aliens are doing their thing, “Day One” falls into a gap between realism and action, never feeling genuinely tense but never quite like a big-budget blockbuster. The minor beats in “Day One” – kids hiding in a fountain to disguise their noise, Eric emerging from a flooded subway, a hand over a screaming mouth, Quinn & Nyong’o’s amazing eyes – elevate it above creatively bankrupt sequels. This is not that. It’s got too much going for it to write it off that cynically. Just don’t expect anyone to defend it too loudly, either.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

Rated PG-13

Lupita Nyong'o as Samira

Joseph Quinn as Eric

Alex Wolff as Reuben

Djimon Hounsou as Henri

• Michael Sarnoski

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A Quiet Place: Day One First Reviews: A Tense, Surprisingly Tender Thriller Anchored by Fantastic Performances

Critics say michael sarnoski's horror prequel isn't quite as terrifying as its predecessors, but it makes up for it with stellar character work from lupita nyong'o and joseph quinn, as well as a scene-stealing cat..

TAGGED AS: Horror , movies

Did we need a prequel/spinoff of A Quiet Place following all new characters through the silence-focused alien-invasion apocalypse? Well, you could just as easily ask whether or not we need any original movies in the first place. Fortunately, according to the first reviews of A Quiet Place: Day One , the third installment of the franchise justifies its existence with a thrilling trip through a decimated Manhattan. It may not be as scary as the first two movies, but for some, that’s not a bad thing. It also may not be as epic as expected for this kind of film. But critics mostly agree that it works as another character drama from Pig writer-director Michael Sarnoski and particularly thanks to the performances by leads Lupita Nyong’o , Joseph Quinn , and a cat named Frodo.

Here’s what critics are saying about A Quiet Place: Day One:

Is this a worthy addition to the franchise?

A Quiet Place: Day One is another excellent installment in the franchise, delivering the tense set pieces you’d expect, but also with an emotional core that you might not. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

This is a prequel done right and a real pleasant surprise. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

This prequel resonates more deeply and thoughtfully than its predecessor – and far more than the third installment of a franchise has any right to. — Aisha Harris, NPR

It is my favorite movie of the three so far. I found it breathtaking. — Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

Fans of the first A Quiet Place who are expecting another breathlessly tense sci-fi horror film, are likely to be disappointed by a blockbuster as reflective and, well, quiet as this. Day One bucks the expectations for what a Quiet Place movie, and really a blockbuster film, should be, and instead delivers something much more moving and poignant. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

It’s not often we get a post-apocalyptic saga that remains so personal, so in touch with human loss as something not just forgotten in the next jump scare but given room to linger, an aspect that survives the shift away from parents protecting their children. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

A Quiet Place: Day One can’t boast the freshness of concept of the first film, but, in pure emotional payoff, it’s the most satisfying of the series. — Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

(Photo by ©Paramount Pictures)

What makes it stand on its own?

A Quiet Place: Day One transforms into a truly singular blockbuster movie that sheds the immersive spectacle of the first movie in favor of something more tender and wistful. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

While John Krasinski’s two previous Quiet Place films were family affairs, Sarnoski’s entry into the series is more interested in found family. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

Sarnoski has done a laudable job, cooking up a spinoff that adheres to the rules of the first two movies by staying focused on the smallest group possible of core characters while spreading the fear factor and suspense across a much larger canvas. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

It’s more of a footnote than a bold new chapter in the series, but this prequel’s relative smallness has its advantages. — Tim Grierson, Screen International

A Quiet Place: Day One feels more like an ambitious indie than a summer studio movie, and its downbeat tone leaves an unexpectedly glum comedown. — Damon Wise, Deadline Hollywood Daily

(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Paramount Pictures)

Is it still scary?

The less we see of the aliens, the better, and Sarnoski leans heavily on the abject fear his characters (and audience) feel once someone makes just a hair too much noise, knowing exactly what’s coming next. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

It avoids the trap of over-explaining anything, making the terror here arguably even more primal than the previous films. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

What the film does well though is deliver a precisely balanced combination of jump scares, intense situations and confrontations with truly horrible creatures. It’s an effectively scary story, and it’s through the silence of the audience that you can measure this film’s success. — John Kirk, Original Cin

It’s not scary anymore, but it’s stressful in the way that makes you dig your nails into your palm. — Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

In an attempt to build moments of tension and induce scares, the pressure cooker feeling of the deafening silence being broken feels as if it isn’t stretched to its possible limit. That being said, for someone whose second feature is a bonanza of horror-action set pieces, Sarnoski does a sound job. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

Sarnoski doesn’t have quite the same handle on the kind of immersive action that Krasinski displayed in the first two Quiet Place movies, and it shows: the jumpscares are mostly by-the-book, and the film’s most tense moments are nothing we haven’t seen in horror before. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

While it’s designed to be the Aliens to the Alien of the other films, this one doesn’t thrill quite as much as it intends to. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

Call me macabre, but I expected to see a lot more carnage than Sarnoski’s dismayingly sappy spinoff provides. — Peter Debruge, Variety

How is the change of scenery?

Seeing New York swarming with vicious monsters — scrambling over buildings and leaving giant gashes in their walls, while the streets are lined with burning car wrecks and destroyed storefronts — makes a big impression…production designer Simon Bowles and DP Pat Scola take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by New York. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

The bustle of the city is terrifying because every single noise could end up taking someone from the “city of dreams.” Still, director and writer Michael Sarnoski didn’t ruin what makes this city special. It still feels warm and busy and full of life as people are dying constantly around Eric and Sam. — Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

It evokes some of the iconography from 9/11. This isn’t uncharted ground — War of the Worlds and Cloverfield have this pretty well covered… but it’s a rich vein for a good filmmaker to tap into. And Sarnoski does this in ways that feel earned, not exploitative. — Patrick Cremona, Radio Times

As far as the action goes, there are times where Sarnoski uses the distinctive geography of New York City well – most notably a killer sequence that sees our protagonists chased into the subway system. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly

There’s nothing to these set pieces we haven’t seen in the previous two movies, meaning it can feel overly familiar at times, but they’re so precisely honed that you’ll find yourself holding your breath all the same. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

What about Michael Sarnoski as director?

Michael Sarnoski was the perfect fit for this movie. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Michael Sarnoski blew me away with Pig and here, he manages to show that he potentially can do just about anything. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

The filmmaker manages to bring much of his sensibility and overall texture to the series… Much of it is thanks to Sarnoski’s ability to pull deep emotionality out of his stars and audience almost immediately. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

Sarnoski is working on an auteur wavelength. He often lets the momentum stagnate just enough so the viewer can truly take in the staggering annihilation of a city now in ruins, full of death, and inherent quiet beauty. — Gregory Ellwood, The Playlist

Sarnoski’s strengths as a filmmaker play better into the film’s more intimate moments compared to the larger action-oriented spectacle. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

How ist Lupita Nyong’o’s performance?

Nyong’o carries the movie on very capable shoulders. Never under-selling the crippling terror that rules Samira’s every move, the actor conveys the conflict between the character’s bitterness and her humanity, remaining tenacious and decisive even when her body starts seriously failing her. She keeps you glued throughout. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Nyong’o commands the screen, every emotion conveyed by her facial expressions. Samira’s development across the movie might be conventional – stoic loner to trusting friend – but Nyong’o makes it feel fresh and earned. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Nyong’o’s work in Jordan Peele’s doppelganger horror Us felt leagues apart from anything we could casually term “scream queen.” She returns to that same territory here, concentrating all the primal terror of a scream into a single tear rolling down her cheek. — Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

A Quiet Place: Day One may feasibly do what Jordan Peele’s Us so unfairly didn’t, and if it does carry her through to awards season, it will finally prove that the old saw about genre movies and the Academy is finally a thing of the past. — Damon Wise, Deadline Hollywood Daily

Not once does it get old watching Nyong’o dive into her bag of tricks, especially for horror films. Nyong’o continues to elicit some of the most fear-induced expressions (while flexing that one tear-drop magic), giving audiences an unlikely lead that leaves a mark. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

Quite simply: Nyong’o elevates the franchise. — Aisha Harris, NPR

And Joseph Quinn?

Quinn is enormously moving. — Caryn James, BBC.com

Joseph Quinn [is] wonderfully vulnerable. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

The British actor manages the feat of delivering an overstated performance that still somehow feels understated… With some actors, an overly emotional performance inspires eye rolls. Quinn makes you want to give him a hug. — William Mullally, The National

He delivers a far more sweet-natured performance than the emboldened personality that everyone came to know him from in Stranger Things . — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

He shows the benefits of casting a face we don’t already know from a string of movies. His sensitivity is so acute, and his big brown eyes so brimming with feeling that Eric’s resourcefulness and steadily summoned bravery almost catch us off guard. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

What about the two of them together?

The actors’ chemistry yields deeply affecting impact in their tender final scenes, rendered more powerful by their wordlessness. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Samira and Eric’s friendship also brings a deeper emotional aspect compared to the previous two movies. If you thought Lee singing “I love you” to Regan in the first movie was a lot, wait until you get to a beautiful sequence in a bar between Samira and Eric. You’ll cry over pizza. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Nyong’o and Quinn have a good sense of camaraderie, with them realistically heroic as the film goes on, and willing to sacrifice their well-being for the other. — Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

Any other standouts?

The other star is Frodo, a screen cat for the ages to rank with Ulysses from Inside Llewyn Davis or Jonesy from Alien , played by two chonky black-and-white felines named Nico and Schnitzel. He has the gentle nature and cuddliness of a service cat but also the badass curiosity to explore precarious situations and feed his humans’ anxieties. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

The film’s best character [is] a pet cat who is the best on-screen feline since Ulysses in 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis . — William Mullally, The National

Nyong’o and Quinn are superb, but they can’t compete with an adorable cat who clearly does not give a damn that he’s in an apocalypse. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

It has one of the greatest pets ever in a film. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

Will it leave us wanting more Quiet Place movies?

If this is how the franchise is going to be treated going forward, I think there’s potential to continue on with more installments. Either way, the trilogy we have now is among the better ones in recent memory. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

It has to be said that A Quiet Place has turned out to be a franchise with better legs than any of us thought, thanks to the smart people behind it and the top-notch talent on the screen. While it’s the least of the series, it’s still quite good, and it feels like a franchise that could sustain another movie or two. — Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

While this is a solid entry in this franchise, the whole appeal of A Quiet Place (which sometimes can be quite gimmicky) and its implementation of silence feels like it will run its course sooner rather than later. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

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Review: In John Krasinski’s ‘A Quiet Place,’ Silence Means Survival

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Anatomy of a Scene | ‘A Quiet Place’

The director john krasinski narrates a sequence from his film, in which he stars with emily blunt..

This is John Krasinski, the director and one of the actors in “A Quiet Place.” What you’re watching now is at the very beginning of the movie. This is our hero family walking home from a — now established as an abandoned town. And this sort of sets up a lot of the rules of the movie, one of which you’re seeing right here, which is the idea of perspective and sound. [light footsteps] When we’re close up on something, you can really hear it. And then when you go to a wider shot, you can’t hear that exact same sound, which is one of the things we really loved doing throughout the whole movie. We shot this film in Upstate New York. The idea was to be in a very rural area in sort of a post-apocalyptic time to feel isolation. And so being in the middle of nowhere helps this family feel like they’re in the middle of nowhere. And it adds tension, I think, to the fact that they have nowhere to turn or nobody around them to help them. Sound design in this is huge. It’s totally a main character that is right along here with the family. So Millie, one of the actresses, is a deaf actress. And we’re about to do one of my favorite things in the movie, which is play with her perspective. We wanted the sound of the movie to reflect her own actual experience. So you can hear sound when you’re walking with Emily and I, like this, and with Noah. [light footsteps] And then right here, you cut to Millie, and we pull sound out. So we’re in “the envelope,” we called it — the envelope being in her head, she can hear very little thanks to a hearing aid that she has. But she can’t hear much of anything. And so we play with that throughout the entire movie. So she can’t tell that there’s a sound being made behind her right now. And so this is her perspective — seeing me run, seeing me look scared, but she doesn’t know why. And then she realizes right here. And when she realizes is that her little brother just made the first big sound of the movie. And you can see that that sound has horrible consequences. [music]

By Jeannette Catsoulis

• April 4, 2018

True to its title, John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” tiptoes forward, camera fixed on the naked, padding feet of the Abbott family as they scavenge in a deserted supermarket. A title card announces Day 89 — of what, we don’t know — so we look for clues. Lee and Evelyn (Mr. Krasinski and his real-life wife, Emily Blunt) and their three children communicate urgently in sign language, and the youngest child’s interest in a battery-operated toy causes immediate alarm. Their fear is palpable, but what are they afraid of?

Thanks to that darned toy, we’re about to find out, in a perfectly executed attack sequence that establishes the stakes, and the family’s plight, with swift efficiency. Now minus one and watched by flapping posters of other missing souls, the Abbotts return to their farm as the story (by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck) leaps forward more than a year. Evelyn is now preparing to give birth, Lee is teaching his son (Noah Jupe) to forage, and their daughter (played by the remarkable young deaf actor, Millicent Simmonds ) is angrily chafing against her parents’ protectiveness.

A welcome alternative to the mind-shredding din of virtually any modern action movie, “A Quiet Place” is an old-fashioned creature feature with a single, simple hook: The creatures are blind, hungry and navigate by sound. Possessed of craniums that roll open to expose a pulsing, wet membrane, they’re like skittering ear holes with pointy teeth and clattering appendages. Drawing from a variety of heritage horrors, including “Alien” and “Predator,” their design is familiar yet effective, their origin kept shrouded. Extraterrestrial beings or man-made weapons gone rogue, they’re a mystery whose source the movie wisely recognizes as irrelevant.

Employing a narrative shorthand of news clippings, briefly whispered exchanges and critically placed devices — like a tiny oxygen mask to silence the new baby, and good luck with that — Mr. Krasinski (who helped write the screenplay) directs with skill and restraint. He knows that when the sound is turned down, we lean in , and he forces us to pay attention to facial expressions in a way that hearing audiences are rarely required to do. Welcoming this scrutiny, the actors emote like champs: Watching Ms. Simmonds cycle through hurt, doubt, anger and acceptance is one of the movie’s singular pleasures.

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A quiet place: day one, common sense media reviewers.

Clever, touching monster prequel has violence, jump-scares.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Shows the value of effective compassion, courage,

Sam makes most of her choices based on the fact th

Main character Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) is a Black wom

Deaths. One character bashes a man's head, acciden

Several uses of "s--t" and a use of "f--k."

Characters share a tumbler of whiskey in an abando

Parents need to know that A Quiet Place: Day One is a well-crafted prequel to the sci-fi/horror monster movies A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II . It introduces two new main characters -- Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) and Eric (Joseph Quinn) -- and takes place at the onset of the aliens'…

Positive Messages

Shows the value of effective compassion, courage, and teamwork. The movie is less about monster attacks than it is about human behavior.

Positive Role Models

Sam makes most of her choices based on the fact that she's dying, but she still chooses to help others and to work with Eric to succeed at their goal. Eric risks his life to get medicine for Sam, and Sam risks her life to escort Eric to safety.

Diverse Representations

Main character Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) is a Black woman with agency. She's dying of cancer but is determined to achieve her dying wish: pizza. She's paired with a White man named Eric (Joseph Quinn). The only other characters who appear for any length of time are a White male nurse, Reuben (Alex Wolff), and Henri (Beninese-born actor Djimon Hounsou), who goes on to become the leader of the survivors.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Deaths. One character bashes a man's head, accidentally killing him, to stop him from panicking and making noise. Explosions, shattering glass, and lots of loud noise and a collapsing structure due to rampaging alien monsters. Characters are snatched away by the monsters in the blink of an eye. Character is knocked down by panicking mob and nearly trampled. A person is briefly trapped under a car, their foot pinned. Character thrown up against a building by a blast. Injuries. Dead bodies. Blood spatters on walls. Rat licks up a blood puddle. Monster threat. Jump-scares. Bridges blown up by missiles.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters share a tumbler of whiskey in an abandoned bar. Main character requires prescription meds for pain due to cancer.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that A Quiet Place: Day One is a well-crafted prequel to the sci-fi/horror monster movies A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II . It introduces two new main characters -- Sam ( Lupita Nyong'o ) and Eric ( Joseph Quinn ) -- and takes place at the onset of the aliens' invasion. Violence includes monster attacks, deaths, explosions, noise and collapsing structures, characters being snatched by the monsters, a character caught up in a chaotic mob, threats, injuries, dead bodies, blood splatters on walls, jump-scares, and more. One character bashes a man's head, accidentally killing him, to stop him from panicking and making noise. There are several uses of "s--t" (mostly all at once), as well as one use of "f--k." Characters share a tumbler of whiskey in an abandoned bar, and the main character requires prescription meds for cancer-related pain. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (5)
• Kids say (27)

Based on 5 parent reviews

amazing movie!

I watched this movie tonight with my whole family, and even my easily skittish grandmother liked it. I’d label it as a thriller, though that didn’t appear to be its main purpose. more so, it’s an emotional, bittersweet movie, that will likely bring up some feelings in you. it’s sweet, sorrowful, Intense, melodramatic, but can also leave you with a strange sense of peace. it’s a beautiful movie, with a beautiful, genuine, caring, loyal relationship between the main characters. how they survive and depend on eachother is a sight to behold. i wouldn’t say it’s gory, and it’s not so high on the scary scale, but there are a few jump scares, I suppose. I think it depends on your child whether they can watch this. if they watched the originals, or any other horror/thriller, this is definitely on the lower side so they’ll be fine. I think 8,9 are probably solid ages.

What's the Story?

In A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, Samira, aka "Sam" ( Lupita Nyong'o ), is in a hospice care center, having been diagnosed with cancer. Her nurse, Reuben ( Alex Wolff ), convinces her to go to New York City to see a show, and she agrees, on the condition that they stop for pizza. She gathers up her cat, Frodo, and boards the bus. But the trip is cut short by some kind of occurrence. Before long, strange objects begin falling from the sky, and alien monsters start attacking anything that makes noise. Sam manages to survive the initial onslaught, but after another monster encounter, she decides that she wants to go to Harlem to have one last slice of pizza from Patsy's. On the way, she meets Eric ( Joseph Quinn ), an Englishman who came to New York to study law and knows no one. Sam reluctantly lets him tag along with her. Slowly they learn to take care of each other and decide that they won't give up until they get that pizza.

Is It Any Good?

It could have been a cheap cash-in that killed the mystery of the creepy sound-seeking monsters, but this prequel is instead a surprisingly riveting, intricately designed, even touching adventure. Directed by Michael Sarnoski as a follow-up to his excellent debut feature Pig , A Quiet Place: Day One begins by offering the factoid that New York City regularly generates 90 decibels of noise, the equivalent of a human scream. The movie then proceeds to use sound in a most intriguing way (as did the previous two Quiet Place movies). In one scene, the characters find themselves under a scaffolding in a rainstorm; the hammering sound of water on metal gives them enough cover to be able to whisper and introduce themselves. And a use of music in a later scene provides an emotional jolt that will be hard to forget.

In truth, the whole concept inspires the filmmakers to find ways to tell the story visually, without relying on talking; viewers are invited into the tale, rather than being told what to think. New characters Sam and Eric are surprisingly sympathetic and endearing: Sam is hard-headed and tragic, and Eric is tender and lost, like a puppy dog. He demonstrates several acts of bravery to show his loyalty. The supporting character of Henri ( Djimon Hounsou ), who becomes a major player in A Quiet Place Part II , is introduced here in a respectful and unobtrusive way. But best of all is that A Quiet Place: Day One didn't use its prequel position to explain the monsters' origin. Their real power lies in their mystery, and the movie keeps that intact, making this a worthy addition to a strong, scary series.

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Families can talk about A Quiet Place: Day One 's violence . How did it affect you? How much violence is actually shown? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror/monster movies? Why is it sometimes fun to be scared?

Do you think it would be hard to stay quiet for long periods? How long have you gone without making a sound?

Do you consider Sam or Eric role models ? Do they demonstrate perseverance and teamwork ? Are their characters examples of positive representation ?

How does this prequel compare to the original films? Did it seem like there was a good reason to tell this story?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 28, 2024
• Cast : Lupita Nyong'o , Joseph Quinn , Alex Wolff , Djimon Hounsou
• Director : Michael Sarnoski
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Paramount Pictures
• Genre : Horror
• Topics : Space and Aliens
• Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage , Teamwork
• Run time : 100 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : terror and violent content/bloody images
• Last updated : August 9, 2024

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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A Quiet Place (2018)

• User Reviews
• If the Emily Blunt character can kill an alien monster with a shotgun, what about the militaries of the world? Don't they have bigger, stronger weapons?
• Why is it a good idea to bring a 4 year old shopping in a world full of alien monsters that kill anything alive that makes noise? Aren't little kids noisy? Couldn't the daughter stay home with the 4 year old while the parents go shopping?
• Why take a noisy toy away from a 4 year old. But leave the toy and batteries where the 4 year old can retrieve them?
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Movie Reviews

Movie review: 'a quiet place'.

David Greene talks with Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang about the new horror movie A Quiet Place . Silence figures prominently in the creepy plot.

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‘a quiet place’: film review | sxsw 2018.

Hungry monsters eat anything that makes a sound in John Krasinski's third outing as director, 'A Quiet Place,' in which he co-stars with wife Emily Blunt.

By John DeFore

John DeFore

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A terrifying thriller with a surprisingly warm heart, John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place is a monster-movie allegory for parenting in a world gone very, very wrong. A couple with kids in real life, Krasinski and Emily Blunt here play parents in a world where even the slightest noise can lead to sudden, violent death: Training their children to be self-sufficient without making a sound is as unique a challenge as, well, let’s not waste the time explaining what in 2018 America might feel like a plague of revolting, apocalypse-creating monsters, because even moviegoers who don’t accept the metaphor are going to have the pants scared off them. Third time’s the charm for Krasinski in the director’s chair, as commercial success is all but guaranteed.

Opening with a card that reads “Day 89,” the movie finds our unnamed family gathering provisions in an upstate New York community that has become a ghost town. As they sign to each other — the daughter is deaf, and presumably, knowing sign language helped them keep each other alive as their neighbors were killed — we learn that the spidery creatures who have wreaked havoc have exceptional hearing. Being blind, that’s the only way they can locate things to eat. Two parents and three children start the long walk back home. In a beautifully staged, heartbreaking scene, one of the children makes a mistake and is killed.

Release date: Apr 06, 2018

A little over a year later, Mom is pregnant. Who would bring a child into this world — and how would one even manage labor and delivery quietly? A soundproofing scheme is being planned, though no one is eager to find out if it works. The four live in an Edward Hopper-ish farm house with a big red barn and corn silos next door. The camera notes clever adjustments they’ve made to turn life’s volume down, and, in an early clattering mishap, we both learn how intense the danger of discovery is and get a quick hit of already-needed comic relief.

Scenes of what passes for ordinary life let the screenplay focus on Mom and Dad’s attempts to educate their son (Noah Jupe ) and daughter (Millicent Simmonds ) while never letting them forget how dangerous their lives are. One thinks of what we hear from parents of black boys, raising them to be normal and happy but hyper-vigilant about the way they are perceived by others.

Blunt is a loving mother who can’t help but whisper just a tiny bit as she encourages her son to be brave; Krasinski’s expressive eyes are especially well suited to expressing the depth of his concern for them. On the two or three occasions when he finds ways to bring full-throated voices into the picture, Krasinski milks them for emotional impact.

Lest this sound too warm and fuzzy, understand that things are about to get incredibly violent, and stay that way.

Down in the basement, Dad’s keeping track of what they’ve learned about the monsters; trying to communicate with the outside world via Morse code and shortwave; and making repeated, failed attempts to fix the hearing aid connected to the girl’s cochlear implant. His failures on the last front prompt adolescent sulking from the daughter, though we come to understand there’s more going on there. Each member of the family feels deep guilt about her brother’s death — “who are we if we can’t protect them?,” Mom weeps at one point — but the girl feels it in a special way, and it leads her to wander off from the house at a very bad moment.

Obviously, Blunt’s character will go into labor before the movie ends. But that’s just about the only predictable thing here, and the film finds ways to turn even that into a surprise. Things start when the family members are scattered throughout the area, unable to help each other, and we get our first good looks at the exceptional creature design of these monsters, whose heads open up, petal-like, to reveal huge, intricate ears and rows of sharp teeth.

The ordeal Mom endures in a house alone with a beast would suffice to make this a crowd-pleasing horror film. But things are barely getting started, and the ways Krasinski and his collaborators find to ratchet up the tension are sometimes so surprising they provoke shocked, appreciative laughter. The final third is a thrill ride whose relentless action beats make just the right pauses for emotional effect.

You might have to go back to Jeff Nichols’ 2011 Take Shelter to find a film that has used the fantastic this well to convey the combination of fear and responsibility a good parent feels. They’re completely different films — that one a long psychological simmer, this one a sense-teasing, rolling boil. If only it were this fun being terrified in real life.

Production companies: Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night Distributor: Paramount Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds , Noah Jupe Director: John Krasinski Screenwriters: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller Executive producers: John Krasinski, Celia Costas, Allyson Seeger, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Aaron Janus Director of photography: Charlotte Bruus Christensen Production designer: Jeffrey Beecroft Editor: Christopher Tellefsen Composer: Marco Beltrami Venue: South By Southwest Film Festival (Headliners)

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A Quiet Place: Day One

Where to watch.

Rent A Quiet Place: Day One on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Grounded in raw humanity by Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn, this sideways entry into A Quiet Place finds fresh notes of fright to play amid the silence.

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Lupita Nyong'o

Joseph Quinn

Djimon Hounsou

Jennifer Woodward

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Review: 'A Quiet Place: Day One' isn't as good as the original; still a unique cinematic experience

By john clyde for ksl.com | posted - june 28, 2024 at 1:32 p.m., joseph quinn and lupita nyong’o in the prequel "a quiet place: day one." (gareth gatrell, paramount pictures via cnn).

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

The statement I'm about to make is a bold one, but I don't care: 2018's " A Quiet Place " is a masterpiece.

The movie gave us a cinematic experience like nothing we had ever seen. As an audience, we went on an emotional journey together. I don't mean we just happened to be in the same theater; we were in it together. We had become one, and while I do not know the names of any of the people in that theater in 2018, I can confidently tell you we did not walk out as strangers.

In 2020, we got " A Quiet Place Part II ." The movie lost some of the magic of the first one, only because we had already experienced the unknown, but that didn't make it a bad movie. I really enjoyed the second film, but I can't call it the masterpiece of the first.

After the second movie, director John Krasinski took a step back, but when a studio has a successful franchise on its hands, it's not going to let a silly thing like the mastermind behind the films get in the way of making more money.

The third installment of the Quiet Place franchise is now in theaters, but does " A Quiet Place: Day One " hold its own among the earlier films? In my opinion, the newest movie is not as good as the first two — but it's still a good time in the theater.

Here are some reasons it's worth a watch.

The experience

As mentioned earlier, there is something special about these movies. It's almost as if a new genre has been created. Sure, there is action, drama and jump scares, but none of those things are new or necessarily unique. What is unique is how keenly aware the Quiet Place movies make you of the sounds, movements and breathing, that not only every character in the movie makes, but also in the audience.

The first two films were set in rural America, with limited people and noise. "A Quiet Place: Day One" is set in one of the noisiest cities in the world, New York City. I cannot think of any other movie in which I was so concerned with random pebbles on the street, how a faucet squeaks when it's turned, how a book's spine cracks when opened, or how deeply a person breathes when they're sleeping.

The first two movies brilliantly captured my attention with these unique nuances, but everything is heightened in "A Quiet Place: Day One" because it's set in a massive city with millions of people, and there are no safeguards in place to combat the noise.

It's intense

Like its predecessors, "A Quiet Place: Day One" is listed as a horror film, but I don't think that's quite right. There are plenty of jump scares, but I would say the movie is more of a tense thriller than horror. From the moment things start, we're white-knuckled the rest of the way.

The constant threat is palpable, and even in the moments that slow down, you're constantly worried about what's coming and when. By the time the end credits roll, you're out of breath and ready for a break, which makes for a fun time at the movies.

It's emotional

The newest Quiet Place movie has not forgotten these movies are based on emotion and relationships. "Day One" isn't based around a family, but relationships are at its core. I don't want to give any spoilers, but watching the plot unfold engaged me, and I couldn't help but choke up more than once.

Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn gave some solid performances, and I cared about their characters and their ultimate outcome. The film does a nice job of making it more than people running as quietly as possible for 100 minutes.

What parents should know

"A Quiet Place: Day One" is rated PG-13 and that rating makes sense. There isn't any language, which isn't surprising, considering there isn't much dialogue. There are no sex or sexual situations to speak of but, as you could have guessed, the rating comes from terror and violence.

The movie is intense, and plenty of audiences will find it scary. It's also violent. There are a lot of people being killed and while it's not very graphic, there are some more graphic images of dead bodies and blood than I remember in the first two films.

While I don't think any sequel or prequel will ever hold a candle to "A Quiet Place," I have to say I enjoyed revisiting this universe and the unique experience it creates. It's a fun summer movie distraction and, for my money, it's a movie worth seeing in the theater. The movie is a collective experience, and sitting in a room full of strangers enhances the cinematic experience of "A Quiet Place: Day One."

"A Quiet Place: Day One" is officially rated PG-13 for terror and violent content/bloody images.

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A Quiet Place: Day One Review

28 Jun 2024

A Quiet Place: Day One

Beyond its hooky nobody-make-a-sound premise (Watch that nail! Stay outta the grain silo! You’re really giving birth in that bathtub?!), it’s easy to forget: A Quiet Place was so effective because it really made you care for the Abbott family. Since John Krasinski and Emily Blunt’s grieving parents were the original’s beating heart, spin-off A Quiet Place: Day One — dialling back to humanity’s first contact with the audibly enhanced aliens — has gaping holes to fill, not only side-stepping the evocative post-collapse setting of the first film and 2021’s Part II , but eschewing the Abbott clan too.

Into that void, writer-director Michael Sarnoski — previously behind Pig , taking over the reins from Krasinski — presents a new pair of protagonists who you’ll deeply connect with over the course of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day in New York City. It’s a tantalising setting for an A Quiet Place movie — as the opening text tells us, the daily hubbub of the Big Apple elicits “the volume of a constant scream”. Lupita Nyong’o is perfectly cast as central figure Sam; Jordan Peele’s Us already proved that her wide-eyed gaze was tailor-made for horror. We immediately learn that Sam is a terminal-cancer patient — a development which offers real thematic meat to chew on. As such, Day One is about how facing the end of your own life is, in a way, to face the end of the world itself.

An intimate character drama that also happens to be an A Quiet Place movie.

With her days numbered, Sam’s motivations are distinctly different to the usual survival-movie fare — and her journey through the city leads her to Eric ( Stranger Things 4 breakout Joseph Quinn), a Brit similarly adrift in the urban apocalypse. Quinn exudes endearing sadsack energy without becoming drippy; Eric’s evolving chemistry with Sam runs deep. The film’s best scene sees the pair reading poetry, waiting for thunder to rumble so they can scream their anguish to the heavens. In another life, these two might have enjoyed a Before Sunrise -esque connection. That they never will becomes increasingly gutting.

Less engaging are the alien-attack sequences: though they are solidly constructed and still tense, the Quiet Place formula — quiet-quiet-NOISE- run! — feels increasingly well-trodden. While NYC is a great end-of-days playground (the initial attack recalls Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds ), the set-pieces don’t offer much new.

But for all the familiarity (a conclusive ‘Part III’ should really be the end), Sam and Eric’s story is unexpectedly moving. In Sarnoski’s hands, Day One becomes an intimate character drama that also happens to be an A Quiet Place movie — further proof that, in this cinematic world, the only body part more vital than ears is a heart.

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A Quiet Place: Day One finds touching moments between the silent scares

The action starts over in New York City, led by great performances by Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn.

One of the weirder things about living in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic was how the outdoor advertising froze. On the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a billboard for A Quiet Place Part II stayed up for months, even though the movie never opened and all theaters were closed. This forgotten curiosity from a difficult period — as well as many of the troubling emotions I felt living through the 9/11 attacks — came to mind during the latest entry in this alien invasion franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One . As with the others in the series, this is not an upbeat picture, but it is effective and unsettling without being too gory. 

As the title suggests, this entry is a rewind back to when the nasty and aurally sensitive creatures first invaded Earth. We saw this in the prologue of Part II , but that was tucked away in a little town. What, you may have wondered, would it have been like in a place that, as the opening titles inform us, hums at a continuous 90 decibels, equivalent to a constant scream?

Writer-director Michael Sarnoski has his PG-13 cake and eats it too during the initial assault by suggesting mass carnage, but with so much smoke and debris, he doesn’t have to show too much. Our eyes and ears on the event, Sam ( Lupita Nyong’o ), is also knocked unconscious pretty quickly. When she wakes up, the survivors huddling in a theater have already surmised that the monsters are drawn to noise, so it’s important to keep mum. (It’s not too long before Sam puts together that louder noises take precedence over quieter ones, so you can talk behind cascading water, as John Krasinski did back in the first movie.) From there, it’s a lot of crouching and freezing in place whenever the baddies are near, a similar move from the other movies, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 

Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures

Sam came to New York on a group outing (to a symbolically resonant puppet show) with a hospice facility. She’s in the final stages of terminal cancer and is understandably sour about her condition. Her prime motivator in coming to New York, however, is to grab one last slice from Patsy’s famous pizzeria in East Harlem (having been there, I understand.) Once she realizes she’s on borrowed time as it is, but without access to her pain meds, her final quest is to risk it all to have one last bite of pie from this legendary spot. (Okay, we’ll learn that her emotional attachment to this place is more than gustatory, but let’s leave some mystery for now.) 

Joining Sam on this unexpected journey to her potential doom is her fluffy and extremely camera-ready cat, Frodo . (I suppose it’s the Ear of Sauron causing troubles here.) Also along for the ride is a friendly but a little skittish English dude named Eric (Joseph Quinn) who doesn’t really know anyone in New York City and is understandably freaked out about all the vicious aliens that keep leaping down from surrounding buildings and killing people. The two quickly form a bond based on pure terror (and not much talking) that is the heart of the movie. That’s a real credit to these two performers and their marvelously expressive faces, telegraphing what in other films would require whole blocks of dialogue with just their eyes. 

Another good thing about Day One is that you’ll get a really good look at the aliens crawling all over Manhattan from some sky-view shots. We still don’t really know why they want to kill everyone (are they eating the people? I’ve seen three of these movies and still don’t know) but the fear that even the slightest sound will summon them from anywhere is even scarier in the urban environment than in the previous installments out in the sticks. A quick shot of Frodo the cat chasing a mouse implies that, hey, mass murder is just in the nature of these interplanetary freaks.

For any New Yorkers watching, however, some of the movie’s effectiveness will be kneecapped by some of the fakest- looking New York stand-ins you’ve seen in a while. (With the exception of a few shots, production was held on soundstages in the U.K. and in London.) It’s not a dealbreaker — not even using the wrong font on signs for the subway — but it is a little annoying. It just makes me respect movies and shows shot in Atlanta or Toronto that don’t pretend to be somewhere else. 

But I get it. It had to be New York because the city is an island, and, as was revealed in Part II , the beasties can’t swim. (Indeed, Djimon Hounsou’s character from that film appears here, and we get to see part of a story he told.) More importantly, though, is evoking some of the iconography from 9/11. This isn’t uncharted ground — War of the Worlds and Cloverfield have this pretty well covered, in addition to the first few episodes of the Battlestar Galactica reboot — but it’s a rich vein for a good filmmaker to tap into. And Sarnoski does this in ways that feel earned, not exploitative. 

His previous movie, 2021’s Pig , was another one that could have easily taken a cheap route. That film starred Nicolas Cage as a reclusive ex-gourmet chef living in the woods with his prize truffle-hunting pig, who must face his past demons when his pig is kidnapped. In lesser hands it would have relied on “crazy Nick Cage” and not been the tender (albeit strange) drama it was. 

You can see this same sensitivity with performers in A Quiet Place: Day One . Nyong’o walks from Chinatown to Harlem for a slice of pizza even though aliens are killing everyone in the city. On paper, that’s idiotic. But somehow, this movie ends up being quite touching in between scenes when it’s making you jump. Grade: B+

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This horror hybrid's actions definitely speak louder than words..

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Anchored by propulsive performances and a simple but effective premise, A Quiet Place firmly establishes John Krasinski as a director to watch. It'll probably remind you of Jurassic Park mixed with Cloverfield, plus a dash of Aliens and a pinch of Buffy's "Hush," but between its unique approach and gleeful desire to shock you, you can't really be mad at it.

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How Much A Quiet Place: Day One Cost To Make & What Box Office It Needs

Star wars reveals luke skywalker spent more time with yoda than you may have thought, we've totally missed palpatine's biggest revenge of the sith gamble.

• A Quiet Place: Day One lacks emotional depth and creativity, with a weak storyline and underdeveloped characters.
• Lupita Nyong'o's strong performance can't save the film from its lack of tension and scares.
• The alien creatures lose their impact, and become less scary and intriguing.

A Quiet Place is a movie I never thought I’d see expanded into a full franchise, but it might have been better if it’d remained a standalone. A Quiet Place: Day One , which, as its title suggests, explores the first arrival of the noise-sensitive aliens to Earth, is interesting for a bit before coming to a nearly complete standstill creatively. Starring a stellar Lupita Nyong’o, who carries the emotional weight of the film, Day One has the depth of paper and less effective scares and tension than either of the first two movies.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Directed and written by Michael Sarnoski, from a story by him and A Quiet Place director John Krasinski , Day One follows Sam (Nyong’o), who lives in hospice care and is dying from cancer. She’s stranded in New York City after a day trip turns into a nightmare following the alien creature’s arrival. From there, the story primarily centers on survival, though Sam, along with her new friend Eric ( Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn ), a fearful law student, really wants to get the pizza she was promised. I would’ve laughed at the pizza bit had the movie not taken it so seriously.

Lupita Nyong'o Doesn't Disappoint In A Quiet Place: Day One

Day One started out strong enough, and it was easy for me to get invested in Sam thanks to Nyong’o’s sorrowful eyes and wit. Sam is a woman who is tired of waiting for death to come, but must wait anyway. Nyong’o’s face is eternally expressive, giving us insight into Sam’s emotions and state of mind despite a script that refuses to rise to her talents. Emotionally, the actress does most of the heavy lifting. I wanted her to get her pizza as much as she did, even if I also got tired of hearing about it.

Nyong’o puts a lot more effort into her role than the story offers, but she can’t save the film from becoming sluggish. Quinn, for his part, is fine. Certainly, he’s no match for his scene partner, and his character is rather bland with little depth. Therein lies the problem: Day One doesn’t offer much in the way of emotional depth, and thus there’s no anchor to fully keep the film afloat. The characters are thinly drawn and can’t match the tension, effectiveness, or feeling that is built into the original A Quiet Place .

A Quiet Place: Day One has a fairly large budget and needs to earn quite a bit at the box office to turn a profit, but it could easily be a success.

A Quiet Place: Day One Doesn’t Offer Anything New Or Intriguing

The monster aliens are somehow less scary here.

The aliens in the first movie were terrifying, creeping into scenes and putting everyone on edge. That sense of danger and fear is almost entirely lost in Day One . In fact, the aliens appear so often, and are not as sensitive to noise as the first two movies made them out to be, that they lose their impact. It’s only the initial alien landing in NYC that properly builds intensity and eeriness.

Sam, trapped in the middle of the street and surrounded by dust and debris from a nearby explosion, can’t see around her; the scene is disorienting, shot in a way that confuses and heightens the genuine fear that is absent throughout the rest of the film. It’s the only truly disconcerting scene in a movie that doesn’t know how to evolve its horror. Beyond that, the film doesn’t introduce anything new about the hostile creatures. It retreads what we already know about them and manages to somehow flatten them as antagonists.

Unfortunately, the film doesn’t invest in its characters or in its world beyond the surface, so why should we?

In some instances, the logical inconsistencies are hard to ignore because Day One commits one of the worst movie crimes — it becomes stagnant to the point of being dull. About an hour into the film, I felt myself becoming detached from the story, lulled into exhaustion by a slow pace and an insubstantial, weak storyline. The fact that Sam’s cat managed to stay quiet the whole time is impressive, but even I grew tired of watching it run around the city. It’s as though Sarnoski was killing time between the film’s big moments, which lost their momentum and payoff.

A Quiet Place: Day One had potential, but it squanders some of its goodwill early on and never recovers. It’s a tension-free viewing experience that leaves a lot to be desired. Nyong’o puts in a solid performance, and the feeling of coming alive again when one’s body and the world around them is deteriorating is effectively communicated. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t invest in its characters or in its world beyond the surface, so why should we?

A Quiet Place: Day One releases in theaters Friday, June 28. The film is rated PG-13 for terror and violent content/bloody images.

A Quiet Place: Day One is a spin-off of the A Quiet Place franchise conceived by John Krasinski. The film is set at the beginning of the invasion as humanity scrambles to survive, before the events of the original film, with Lupita Nyong'O leading the cast, directed by Michael Sarnoski.

• Lupita Nyong'o excellently brings the emotion to her role
• The story's pacing is slow and the story exhausting
• The script is thin and lacks tension
• The alien creatures don't have a strong impact

How to watch 'A Quiet Place: Day One': When is the prequel streaming?

Curious how the apocalyptic world in A Quiet Place came to be? Following the success of the first two films, the hit horror franchise has expanded with a prequel dubbed A Quiet Place: Day One . John Kransinski , who directed and starred in the first two films, is no longer involved in the latest, sans a "story by" writing credit. Day One instead is written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, who brought us the unique Nic Cage culinary thriller Pig in 2021. The cast is led by Lupita Nyong'o ( Us ), Joseph Quinn ( Stranger Things ), Djimon Hounsou, reprising his role from A Quiet Place Part II , and a very cute cat .

A Quiet Place: Day One debuted in theaters in late June and has already made its way to digital on demand services just over a month later. We're still waiting on an official streaming date, but here's how you can watch it at home in the mean time — as well as everything else you need to know.

What is A Quiet Place: Day One about?

Day One takes place in one of the loudest places on Earth: New York City. So, what happens when noise-sensitive aliens crash land in the city that never sleeps? Chaos. That's the main premise of the apocalyptic alien prequel.

The story follows Sam (Nyong'o), a terminally ill hospice patient who reluctantly agrees to take a trip into Manhattan only to find herself stuck in the city when the horrifying extraterrestrials take over. As she navigates the alien apocalypse, Sam and her service cat Frodo attract the attention of a young law student named Eric (Quinn). The odd couple (and the cat ) embark on a journey through the city swarming with aliens and their only hope for survival is to remain absolutely silent.

Check out the official trailer for a better idea of what Day One is all about:

Is A Quiet Place: Day One worth watching?

Listen, prequels are hard to get right — and they're bound to ruffle some feathers. With an 86 percent critic rating and a 73 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes , A Quiet Place: Day One mostly got it right.

Mashable Film Editor Kristy Puchko thought parts of the film were enchanting. She appreciated the "captivating screen presence" of Nyong'o and Quinn, but felt that "the love story at its core can't shine amid the required carnage and urban devastation demanded by the prequel's promise." Thus, the film as a whole didn't quite equal the sum of its parts.

However, with the largely positive critic ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, many others felt that the prequel did hold up. That's the best thing about movies — everyone can form their own opinion. For what it's worth, horror master Stephen King gave it his stamp of approval .

Read our full review of A Quiet Place: Day One .

How to watch A Quiet Place: Day One at home

Just a little over a month after A Quiet Place: Day One made its theatrical debut, it became available to watch at home via video-on-demand sites like Prime Video and Apple TV+. You can now purchase the film for your own digital library or rent it for 30 days. Something to keep in mind: once you start watching a rental, you'll have just 48 hours to finish it before you lose access. If you'd rather wait and stream Day One , keep reading to learn more.

As of Aug. 2, you can purchase and rent the film at the following retailers:

Prime Video — $18.49 to rent with Prime, $23.49 to buy with Prime

Apple TV — $19.99 to rent, $24.99 to buy

Fandango at Home (Vudu) —  $19.99 to rent, $24.99 to buy

Google Play — $19.99 to rent, $24.99 to buy

Is A Quiet Place: Day One streaming?

While there has been no official announcement regarding the streaming date of A Quiet Place: Day One, we know it will eventually make its debut on Paramount+. Paramount theatrical releases typically head straight to the streaming counterpart after they run in cinemas. Conveniently, A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II are both streaming on Paramount+ as well, so you can watch the entire franchise with a single subscription.

Stay tuned for the official announcement in the coming months. If you want to prepare, you can sign up for a Paramount+ subscription ahead of time. Monthly subscriptions start at just $5.99, but there are also some ways you can save money on your plan. Check out the best Paramount+ streaming deals below.

• Chances are, your cat would probably get you killed in 'A Quiet Place'
• Stephen King shares his 2 line review of 'A Quiet Place: Day One'
• Lupita Nyong'o is driven to spicy wing despair on "Hot Ones"
• 'Stranger Things' star Joseph Quinn describes awkward airport security encounter
• Does the cat die? Your top 'A Quiet Place: Day One' question answered

The best Paramount+ streaming deals

Most affordable: get a free 7-day trial, then one month of paramount+ essential for just $5.99.

Want to spend the least amount of money possible to watch A Quiet Place: Day One and its predecessors? Your best bet is to wait until the official streaming date drops and sign up for a month of Paramount+ Essential for just $5.99. If you're new to the streamer, you'll also get a seven-day free trial. After you watch, just be sure to cancel your subscription if you want to avoid charges. You'll have to endure some ads while you watch the movie, but just think of them as built-in snack and bathroom breaks.

Best long-term deal: Save 17% on a Paramount+ Essential annual subscription

If you opt for the annual plan instead of the monthly plan, you can save 17% on your subscription. You'll have to pay more upfront, but it pays off in the grand scheme of your streaming lineup. An annual Paramount+ Essential plan will run you $59.99 per year, which breaks down to only $5 per month as opposed to $5.99 per month. If you want to watch more than just Day One and you don't mind ads, this is your best bet.

Best deal for no ads: Save 17% on a Paramount+ with Showtime annual subscription

If ads are a deal breaker for you, you'll have to sign up for Paramount+ with Showtime. This ad-free tier will run you either $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year (which breaks down to just $10 per month). The good news is that beyond just giving you access to ad-free Paramount+ content, the extra cost unlocks access to Showtime originals and movies (like Yellowjackets and The Curse ), live TV with CBS, and college football. Although you'll have to pay more, it's definitely a whole lot of bang for your buck.

Best deal for students: Save 25% on Paramount+ Essential

College students can score a Paramount+ Essential monthly subscription for just $4.50 per month , so long as they can verify their student status using SheerID. Once verified, student discounts are valid for four years, even if you graduate prior to the four-year period. After four years, you'll be charged the standard rate for an Essential monthly subscription.

Best third-party deal: Get Paramount+ for free with a Walmart+ membership

It may not be the simplest way to watch A Quiet Place: Day One , but a Walmart+ membership gives you free access to Paramount+ and plenty of other sweet benefits. Better yet, you can kick things off with a free 30-day trial, so you can enjoy an entire month of streaming without paying a cent. Just sign up once the official streaming date is announced and be sure to cancel before your trial ends if you want to avoid charges. If you want to keep your Walmart+ membership going, it'll cost you either $12.95 per month or $98 per year ($8.17/month).

Topics Film Streaming How to Watch

Frequently Asked Questions

What should i watch on paramount+.

Paramount+ is the streaming home for not only Paramount films and original series like Halo , Rabbit Hole , and the iCarly reboot, but also Showtime originals like Yellowjackets and The Curse . It's also the home of A Quiet Place , A Quiet Place Part II , and eventually, A Quiet Place: Day One . Check out our watch guides on the best movies on Paramount+ , best shows on Paramount+ , best horror films on Paramount+ , and more.

Is there a Paramount+ free trial?

Paramount+ offers new users a seven-day free trial of either their Essential tier or their with Showtime tier. You'll have to enter your credit card information in order to sign up for the free trial, which means you'll be charged as soon as it ends. If you want to avoid charges, be sure to cancel before the trial runs out.

Christina Buff is a Nashville-based freelance writer for who covers shopping with a splash of entertainment. If you’re ever wondering what streaming service you need to watch something (and the cheapest way to sign up for it), she’s your girl.

Christina received a B.S. in Business Communication (concentration in writing) from Stevenson University and began her professional journey writing and editing press releases. Since then, she’s written content for a marketing agency, blogged for celebrities, and covered local news, politics, women’s lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and just about everything in between for various publications.

When she’s not writing, she’s probably enjoying live music, studying human design, or embroidering and upcycling clothes. You can follow her on Instagram at @touchinfinity .

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Home » What To Watch

A Quiet Place: Day One OTT Release: The Lupita Nyong’o And Joseph Quinn Starrer Rules The VOD Charts Following $258m Box Office Hit

A quiet place: day one is dominating the vod market the movie, which made $258 million at the box office, is presently trending online..

A prequel to Quiet Place Part II, A Quiet Place: Day One, directed by Michael Sarnoski, is giving the audience goosebumps by transporting them back to the chaos that followed after the aliens’ initial landing on Earth.

Starring Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn , A Quiet Place: Day One had its VOD debut on July 30 and swiftly rose to the top of the box office. According to IndieWire, it’s the best choice on Fandango at Home and iTunes for July 29–August 4.

A Quiet Place: Day One’s Success Solidifies The Franchise’s Future

A Quiet Place: Day One’s triumph is still being celebrated. In addition to earning $258.8M at the movie office, the prequel is generating buzz on VOD. Even though the movie has been in theaters for more than a month—having made its debut on June 28—this weekend, from Friday, August 2 to Sunday, August 4, it officially made an incredible $1.4M in domestic sales and $900k abroad.

The film brought in a total of over $258M after grossing $2.3M internationally throughout the weekend. The movie is still far below the first two in the series, A Quiet Place, and its $334 million worldwide gross and $296 million worldwide profit, respectively. Though it is improbable, given that Day One is now officially available on VOD, it is unclear if it will surpass its predecessors.

Michael Sarnoski’s novel twist is well-received by critics; Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie an astounding 86%. Joseph Quinn and Lupita Nyong’o are also receiving great honors for their performances, and the audience score is a respectable 73%. Despite being the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise, the movie is proving its worth. Even with a $67M budget, the franchise clearly still enjoys a good deal of popularity.

The prequel concludes its own tale, but details about the Quiet Place franchise’s future are still unknown. Nothing regarding the franchise’s future has been formally verified yet. However, given how well-received the latest chapter is, we might learn about the upcoming part sooner rather than later.

We’ll have to wait and see if the next picture introduces new characters or revisits the tale of Emily Blunt’s Evelyn and her children from the first two movies. Watch this space for additional developments!

Must Read: Throwback To Star Trek: 3 Actors Who Almost Took On Riker’s Role In Star Trek Before Jonathan Frakes

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'A Quiet Place: Day One' Made a Huge Mistake by Deleting This Scene

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The Big Picture

• Eric's deleted scene in A Quiet Place: Day One adds depth to his character and the movie's themes of survival and acceptance.
• Positive queer representation in horror is crucial, making Eric a groundbreaking survivor and leading man in the genre.
• Keeping the scene could have subverted classic alien invasion tropes and provided a meaningful allegorical layer to the film.

A Quiet Place: Day One would have been a completely different movie had they not deleted a crucial moment between Eric ( Joseph Quinn ) and Samira ( Lupita N’Yongo ) in which he reveals that he is gay and was contemplating suicide before the creatures arrived . A Quiet Place: Day One is more than a prequel ; it’s a character-driven alien invasion horror movie that is about appreciating life and fighting for survival, and the deleted scene would have provided more depth to the themes of the story . Additionally, Eric's revelation would be a milestone in the representation of queer characters in the horror genre as the movie's survivor and leading man. The scene also creates a duality when it comes to what it means to be in a "quiet place," where silence is the difference between life and death. Removing the scene was a huge mistake and a missed opportunity that would have provided the movie with a new level of meaning and representation.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Experience the day the world went quiet.

Joseph Quinn's Eric Is Revealed to Be Gay in a Deleted Scene

In the scene, which is a little over two minutes long, Samira asks Eric why he was so dressed up in the subway, and if he was possibly on his way to a job interview when disaster struck. He then, in a beautifully acted and emotionally poignant response, reveals that he grew up in a small town where he didn’t feel like he was accepted , especially by his father, who had a certain expectation of masculinity for his sons and moved to New York City to be in a more welcoming place. Despite moving somewhere he could comfortably be himself, he felt extremely lonely in the vastness of the city. Tired of being alone, he reveals that he thought “it would be easier to not live anywhere,” and that in the moments before the creatures arrived, he was contemplating ending his life .

This Apocalyptic Horror Movie Is Like 'A Quiet Place' But With a Crazy Twist Ending

The movie from the creators of 'Stranger Things' was released three years before John Krasinski's horror smash.

Quinn’s impressive performance in those 120ish seconds not only brings the audience closer to his character but also proves that he has the chops to shine alongside the immensely talented, Oscar-winning Lupita Nyong’o, who is a powerhouse in any role she takes on. Keeping the scene could have provided a more dynamic and interesting duality between the two characters , with Eric having the ability to pick death over life and Samira having no choice due to her terminal illness. Viewing the scene through an intersectional lens, the pair could relate to one another on a deeper level as they are both outsiders and potential victims of identity-based prejudice and violence; Eric as a gay man and Samira as a Black woman. The scene brings the two closer together and adds an extra layer of nuance to this character-driven horror that, in context, elevates Quinn and Nyong'o's performances.

'A Quiet Place: Day One' Missed an Opportunity to Bring Some Much-Needed Representation to the Horror Genre

The horror genre has been historically guilty of playing into homophobia and demonizing queer-coded characters by presenting them as deviant or villainous. For example, Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs , the ending of Sleepaway Camp , the overt homoeroticism of Billy and Stu in Scream , and not to mention the reclamation of “queer icons” The Babadook and Pennywise. Having a gay man be the hero of the story would not only be considered a subversion, it would be a milestone in the representation of queer characters in horror . In the movie, Eric is not defined by any stereotypical depiction of what a queer person should look or behave like, which is evident in the fact that his sexuality never really comes into question in the final cut.

The concept of "otherness" has always been at the core of horror, representing the subconscious fears of mainstream society and the ruling class, which is why queer characters are typically violently punished through death and villains are often queer-coded. Aliens, monsters, zombies, and humanoids are all products of the fear of the unknown or of any deviation from what is considered normal or acceptable in mainstream society. In the case of A Quiet Place: Day One , within the context of Eric's queerness, the aliens may represent those fears in reverse: the creatures are blind to the world around them and come after those who make too much noise, much like those who are unwilling to see humanity in people who are different from them . Keeping the scene in the movie, which doesn't provide much information about where the aliens come from or how they got there , would have been an opportunity to subvert the classic tropes of the alien invasion narrative while providing positive queer representation in a genre that, until recently, has been hostile toward any kind of "otherness."

'A Quiet Place: Day One' Takes On a Whole New Meaning With This Deleted Scene

If the scene were kept in the movie, A Quiet Place: Day One could have taken on a new metaphorical meaning, as the silence of repression typically means survival for queer people in a hostile world, where living out loud is an act of bravery and fearlessness . Eric’s survival in the end would have been even more triumphant and meaningful, especially since suicide is one of the leading causes of death for gay men (and LGBTQ people in general) . He could have just let the creatures kill him as a suicidal act, but he chose life instead.

Within the context of his suicidal intention, Eric's will to survive in the end is a radical act of self-acceptance and his friendship with Samira reminds him that he is not alone and allows him to see that life is a gift that it is too short to not live truthfully. There is also the fact that Samira makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to save Eric and Frodo the cat , choosing to die on her own terms. In a way, Eric and Samira were already living in their own "quiet places" even before the events of the movie , suffering in silence while struggling with the concept of mortality and the meaning of life.

In the end, whatever the reason, removing this crucial and incredibly performed scene from A Quiet Place: Day One was a missed opportunity for the movie to have a deeper allegorical meaning and perhaps provide a bit of social commentary underneath the chaos of the typical alien invasion story . If the scene were kept in the movie, a lot of what happens would have taken on new meaning and more people could have seen themselves represented in Eric and related to his triumph in the end. While the movie works as it is, it could have been so much more.

A Quiet Place: Day One is available to rent or buy on Amazon.

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• Movie Features

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Reveals Release Date and Previews

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The silent and horrific world of A Quiet Place continues to expand, but this time in the realm of video games. Fans of the alien horror franchise now have a release date for A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead and what to expect from its pre-order exclusives.

In a press release by publisher Saber Interactive, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead will be available on Oct. 17, 2024, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam. The highly anticipated video game will retail for $29.99 across all gaming platforms. Those who pre-order the game will receive exclusive in-game items and special features. The Hospital Care Package includes three extra inhalers and two battery packs. Concept artwork and a Creature Animation Showcase are also included as pre-order goodies.

A Quiet Place: Day One Deleted Scene Reveals Touching Moment With Lupita Nyong'o & Joseph Quinn

A Quiet Place: Day One shares a deleted scene featuring an emotional exchange between Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn's characters.

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is being developed by Stormind Games, a game development company behind story-driven games like Batora: Lost Haven and the Remothered series. Below is the official synopsis for the upcoming first-person horror game.

"Capturing the frantic terror, unnerving atmosphere and gripping human drama that made the franchise famous, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is designed for fans of the films, horror games, and story-driven adventures alike. Experience the journey of a young woman struggling to endure not only the nightmarish creatures of the apocalypse, but also the anguish of interpersonal family conflicts and her own inner fears. With nothing more than your wits and the simple tools you can scavenge, you’ll have to overcome the many treacherous challenges and obstacles that lay ahead, all while trying to survive an ever-present threat of the unknown enemies."

A Quiet Place: Day One Sets Digital Release After Impressive Box Office Run

The prequel to the A Quiet Place franchise is available for digital purchase.

For fans of the franchise, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is canonical within the post-apocalyptic world of the live-action movies. The first movie by filmmaker John Krasinski – best known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC American version of The Office – grossed over $340 million worldwide in 2018. Since its explosive debut, A Quiet Place has inspired a 2021 sequel and a spinoff prequel called A Quiet Place: Day One . Like the original film, A Quiet Place: Day One by Michael Sarnoski is earning critical acclaim and breaking box office records.

A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II are now streaming on Paramount+. A Quiet Place: Day One is still available in theaters after its late June debut, but is now available to rent or own on digital platforms. A home media release will be available on Oct. 8, 2024. This includes 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and a 4K Ultra HD SteelBook release. A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead video game will be released on PlayStation, Xbox and PC on Oct. 17.

Source: Press release

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1 hr 23 min

Twisters - Fly Me to the Moon - A Quiet Place Day One - UK Film Club - Episode 17 UK Film Review Podcast

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On this movie reviews podcast, film critics Chris Olson and Brian Penn provide a wealth of film reviews for the latest releases, as well as short and indie films, Netflix movies and more. Plus a section of listener movie reviews at the end! In Episode 17 of UK Film Club, we have movie reviews of: Fly Me to the MoonTwistersA Quiet Place: Day OneConey Island CousinsOvershadowPainBeverley Hills Cop (1984) Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) Head to our website for more film reviews. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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