A sequel and a continuation to the highly successful 2018 original science fiction horror film A Quiet Place, the latest film in the series revolves around a mother and her three children as they struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by aliens who hunt via their hypersensitive hearing.
Communicating solely through the use of sign language, the family wanders through the ravaged world, encountering new allies and attempting to figure out a means by which the aliens can be defeated.
The film stars Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. Writer and director John Krasinski returns at the helm alongside reprising his role from the first film in an extended cameo.
Set directly after the events of the prior film, A Quiet Place Part II doesn’t progress the franchise’s story by leaps and bounds, however competently deepens the lore and the setting in which the film takes place.
Eschewing the secluded and isolated location of the first installment, director Krasinski opts to expand the world, by having the characters step out and explore the catastrophe-stricken world, interacting with other characters as well as facing more perilous situations.
He also provides a backstory detailing the origins of the alien invasion through one of the most engaging and thrilling opening sequences put to screen in recent memory. The particular sequence functions as a marvelous precursor to what follows and assists in setting the mood and tone for the film.
A Quiet Place Part II can be considered a bravura piece of cinema with regards to visual storytelling and technical film making. Due to the nature of the story as well as the bare minimum dialogue spoken, the camera acts as the primary medium by which information is conveyed to the audience.
The film improves and builds upon the unique qualities of its predecessor by amping up the suspense and the tension, and constantly keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Krasinski shows us a refined vision and maturity on his film making craft as he showcases an iron grip on maintaining the tense atmosphere of the film, paying homage to the works of Hitchcock and Spielberg. He accomplishes this by employing a parallel storytelling technique which is inter-cut with one another.
The slow, long drawn camera shots (shot by cinematographer Polly Morgan), the tight and swift editing along with the haunting and looming musical score by Marco Beltrami exceptionally succeed in preserving the tension inherent in the film.
Furthermore, the impeccable sound design, mixing and editing by Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn effectively manages to startle the audience alongside having an omnipresent sense of dread.
Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe reprise their roles from the first film, building and developing their characters as the film progresses, with the latter two child actors cementing themselves as rising talents.
It is however Cillian Murphy who, as the new addition to the series provides a praiseworthy and emotionally layered performance as a gruff survivor in the post apocalyptic world. Murphy sells his grief and pain through his role and is at the times the emotional center of the film, especially whilst sharing the frame with Simmonds.
In the midst of all the action and thrills, the film also contains and touches upon many emotional notes and themes, centering around the notion of grief and loss, alongside functioning as both a statement and satire on the resilience and selfish nature of humans when facing and fighting crisis.
While running at a tightly paced 90 minutes, the film does take its time to unfold. It would have benefited from a slightly longer running time to accommodate certain elements, give a more prominent presence to some characters and avoid the feeling of the film ending abruptly.
A Quiet Place Part II is a great mix of horror, thrills, action and emotional drama thanks in part to Kransinski’s direction and screenplay, complimented by the performances and flawlessly executed production values, providing an enjoyable and highly atmospheric horror-thriller.
Texts of A Pop Culture Buff 