A Quiet Place Part II
Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, and Emily Blunt star in A QUIET PLACE PART II. (Photo: Paramount)
There are jump scares, and then there are the couple of terrifying jolts delivered during the opening sequence of A Quiet Place Part II.
However, this harrowing sequel to the 2018 dystopian thriller is more than just a compilation of surface frights, finding fresh and satisfying new avenues to explore its characters, both of the human and extraterrestrial variety.
Like its predecessor, the film immerses us in a world where silence is valued above all else, forcing survivors to communicate through sign language and other gestures, and convey emotion using body movements and facial expressions. Footsteps are amplified like bowling balls, while muted coughs echo like blood-curdling screams.
That masterful opener sets an ominous tone, taking us back to “Day 1,” when an idyllic small town is first invaded by blind alien monsters whose hypersensitive hearing enables them to attack with lightning-quick precision whenever they hear a noise.
That’s when we’re reintroduced to the Abbott family — father Lee (John Krasinski), mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and younger son Marcus (Noah Jupe).
Flash forward more than 400 days, and much of Earth’s population has been wiped out. The family is on the run sans Lee, who has died. With a newborn in tow, the Abbotts find Lee’s friend Emmett (Cillian Murphy), whose makeshift bunker encased in concrete provides a temporary safe haven.
As they navigate an uneasy alliance with their new host, Regan thinks she’s found a method of neutralizing the carnivorous adversaries, but it would require perilously venturing outside her comfort zone.
Krasinski again demonstrates visual command of this oppressive landscape, maximizing tension while maintaining a glimmer of hope amid the heartbreak. His stylish rendering is accompanied by imaginative sound design.
Krasinski, who also took over solo screenwriting duties for the follow-up, indulges in some predictable tropes and contrivances, which come with the territory when you’re trying to inorganically create a franchise from a standalone idea.
The film further develops the roles of both children, in particular weaving Regan’s hearing impairment organically into the story rather than turning it into a cheap plot device. It does help to have seen the first installment for context.
Still, A Quiet Place Part II provides some genuine frights along the way. It’s taut and suspenseful without taxing the brain.
Rated PG-13, 97 minutes.