A Quiet Place: Day One

The third film in the franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel to the first two installments depicting the start of the alien invasion. Unlike its predecessors, this entry focuses on entirely different characters, though Djimon Hounsou does briefly reprise his role from the second film. Lupita Nyong'o leads as Samira, a dying cancer patient who must traverse an invaded Manhattan alongside her cat and an English law student she befriended to escape the island and the aliens without making too much noise. Taking over from John Krasinski as writer and director, though sharing story credit, Michael Sarnoski manages to keep the essence of the other two films while still making this his own. By setting it in the middle of Manhattan, it not only gives this entry a new location but makes the tension more intense and the characters' actions a lot harder compared to that of a forest or the woods as the previous entries were set. Sarnoski's direction has a lot more movement and more unique camera choices that take advantage of its bigger locations. What helps heighten the tension is the incredible sound design that these films always take advantage of, the cinematography from Pat Scola never making it easy to discern what could be appearing in the background, and the editing by Gregory Plotkin and Andrew Mondshein being very smooth and well paced. Of course, without the cast giving strong performances audiences wouldn't be as taken to the film if they hadn't. Nyong'o makes the feeling of being scared by aliens while also feeling hopeless from her cancer seem so easy. And her chemistry with Joseph Quinn, who plays the student Samira befriends, is incredibly strong and is the absolute heart of the movie. As either a prequel or on its own, A Quiet Place: Day One is magnificent, terrifying, and an absolute blast from start to finish. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. A Quiet Place: Day One

4. Inside Out 2

5. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

6. The Fall Guy

7. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

8. Abigail

9. Monkey Man

10. Late Night with the Devil

11. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

12. The Book of Clarence

13. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

14. Drive-Away Dolls

15. Kung Fu Panda 4

16. Lisa Frankenstein

17. Argylle

18. Mean Girls 2024