A Quiet Place: Part II (2020)

As the first film called A Quiet Place smashed into cinemas it was a hit. It was a nuanced horror film where the sound wasn’t supposed to be used. It has been repeated before and after that movie’s release. But it got rave reviews and with the whole cast returning to this sequel, it doesn’t give add something new to the formula. As much as we love to care for John Krasinski’s careful writing and directing, the emotional impact it had in the first one, doesn’t exist in part II. We get a tumults flashback depicting the initial first Day. The D-day. Then it fast-forwarding to 1,5 years later following Evelyn, Marcus and Regan trying to survive in a desolated American overrun by a blind alien monster.  They meet Emmett, played by a grumpy Cillian Murphy.

The story goes on but there’s not progress. We don’t get to know these people like we did with the first one. There are action sequences during the first and final act but everything between feels like filled moments.  There’s no decisive ending, which is a bothering factor. It happened in the first one just like this. Krasinski likes to build up tension, but there’s no news to the tension as we already have it figured out.  The second act, which is to deepen the story feels like a standstill although there’s a good tempo and decent editing to keep the flow steady. However, it struggles in-between as there’s no real goal working out in this story.

As the family Abbott arrives in a place, run by Emmett, they stay there to the very end. There’s no actual goal for them to achieve. The girl, Regan finds a boat just by a song and a map. Although she is deaf, which doesn’t make sense. Marcus doesn’t do much after he’s injured by Emmett by a trap. There’s no real movement, which it was in the other movie.  The movie doesn’t feel like a sequel, even if that’s what it intends to be. It mentions vaguely what happens in the first instalment but doesn’t add context to the monster’s origin, which is still a mystery. The alien monster seems to be destroyable by radio feedback which is used frequently in this film.

The visual effects leave more to desire. As most of the scenes are in daylight, it feels appalling to watch them, with the impression of fake CGI-monster, with inspiration from Netflix Stranger Things. For being a mesmerizing established actress, Emily Blunt doesn’t do a lot in this film. She feels low-key and her kids do most of the job. Noah Jupe makes a solid impression. Cillian Murphy gives mediocre effort in the post-apocalyptic world with his strange beard. There’s nothing nuanced in terms of writing or directing either. It’s plain overall and nothing shocking happens. It’s overall a decent movie but nothing in this film tops the other one.