A Quiet Place Part II
With John Krasinski back at the helm, shout it out loud: this is The Godfather: Part II of horror sequels.
Silence is golden: Millicent Simmonds, Emily Blunt and Noah Jupe
Another week, another horror film. But wait, this sequel is conceived, written, produced and directed by John Krasinski, he who brought us the scariest, most gripping film of 2018, A Quiet Place. Krasinski, the former sitcom actor who puts Wes Craven and John Carpenter in the shade, understands the power of silence as a cinematic tool and used it to nerve-shredding effect in the first film. The concept, dreamed up by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, was simple: the earth is invaded by a species of extraterrestrial that is super-fast, phenomenally strong and endowed with highly-attuned hearing. The aliens, though, cannot see. So the Abbott family has an advantage over most. Because Lee and Evelyn’s daughter Regan is deaf, they can all communicate without making a sound. The downside is that Regan is unaware of the tell-tale noises that she herself makes…
A Quiet Place Part II starts on Day One, the day when humankind first encounters its fate. Opening with a scene of quintessential Americana – a local baseball game – the film sketches in the domestic dynamic with a few deft strokes, before getting down to brass tacks. It’s quite a jump start. Cut to Day 474 and Evelyn Abbott, her daughter Regan, her son Marcus and the baby must find a new place to hide out in. Leaving the breached safety of their old home – with its cushioned pathways – they set off into the wilds of New York state where even the crack of a dry leaf or twig can invite immediate death…
Most horror films use their human characters as disposable counters on a playing board rigged with booby traps. Krasinski, who has cast his own wife, Emily Blunt, as Evelyn, has created a family that we genuinely care about, with the deaf actress Millicent Simmonds providing the emotional heart of the film as the smart and courageous Regan. It is she who discovers that by applying the high-frequency of her hearing aid to a loud speaker, she can give the monsters that stalk them serious pause. And the ubiquitous Noah Jupe, now a strapping fifteen years of age, co-stars as the resourceful but panicky Marcus.
There are some surprises, all of which Krasinski introduces with a tight grip on our carotid arteries, producing both a sense of mounting anxiety and genuine moments of alarm. This critic is not prone to jumping out of his seat, but did so not once but twice during the film – which is saying a hell of a lot. By establishing three separate narratives – by dividing up the characters – Krasinski dials up the tension and skilfully interweaves the family’s respective traumas, all set to the sound of Bobby Darin (which must be some kind of first). It’s enough to silence the most rowdy cinemagoer.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, John Krasinski, Okieriete Onaodowan, Scoot McNairy, Zachary Golinger, Blake DeLong.
Dir John Krasinski, Pro Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller and John Krasinski, Screenplay John Krasinski, Ph Polly Morgan, Pro Des Jess Gonchor, Ed Michael P. Shawver, Music Marco Beltrami, Costumes Kasia Walicka-Maimone, Dialect coaches Elizabeth Himelstein and William Conacher, Biscuit tech Gary Dionne.
Platinum Dunes/Sunday Night Productions-Paramount Pictures.
96 mins. USA. 2020. Rel: 3 June 2021. Cert. 15.
