This may not be a gory bloodbath sort of horror film, but the suspense (bolstered by an Oscar-worthy sound design) is far more effective I’ve not been in a cinema that quiet in a very, very long time. The first twenty to thirty minutes of A Quiet Place Part II is a spectacular set-up, dripping with atmosphere and cloaked with a constant tension that rarely lets up over the movie’s 97 minute running time. On their wanderings they encounter Emmett ( Cillian Murphy), a fellow survivor of the mysterious attack who begrudgingly agrees to help them evade the creatures and find a new home. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, but thankfully Krasinski has pulled it off: A Quiet Place Part II is a worthy successor to the original, and a strong horror film in its own right.Īs the marketing for Part II has avoided any and all spoilers to a spectacular extent, it would be a shame to ruin the story of the film, but needless to say that, after an exciting flashback prologue, the film kicks off soon after the ending to the first (although the cliffhanger ending of the creatures rushing towards the farm is largely ignored) with the Abbott family packing up and attempting to find a new place to live.
If Part II flops, it not only hurts the chances of future instalments but also the audience’s feelings on Part I in hindsight. Delayed over a year since its intended release, A Quiet Place Part II feels very much like an attempt to make lightning strike twice, and a huge creative risk for Krasinski as a writer/director. A low-budget, self-contained thriller, the film went on to make gangbusters at the box office and a sequel seemed almost inevitable, regardless of whether it was justified or not. John Krasinski‘s A Quiet Place was something of a breakout hit when it was released in 2018.