A QUIET PLACE PART II
4.5 out of 5 stars
Very rarely does a sequel of any genre, especially in horror, reach the heights of the original, but that’s precisely what A Quiet Place Part II achieves. Writer-director John Krasinski’s skillful, exhilarating storytelling from A Quiet Place is strongly carried in to this beyond satisfying second part, expanding the world the Abbott family is silently surviving in. This one picks up right where the first one left off as Evelyn (with her newborn), Regan, and Marcus leave their home and walk further into the unknown, past where their sandy trail ends. The monsters’ mystique has worn off, which tends to happen after seeing them and discovering their weakness back in 2018. Even so, that doesn’t mean they’re still not scary as hell.
The performances are outstanding with Cillian Murphy serving as a great addition playing Emmett, an old friend who has lost so much from Day 1 that those are who are still alive are unredeemable in his eyes. Emily Blunt is fantastic as usual, but Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe shine the brightest. They take the torch and run with it as Regan and Marcus, respectively – embodying the bravery and persistence of their parents to fight for the ones they love. Their father would be very proud.
From the beginning, this story has been less about what’s doing the hunting and more about the family’s emotional journey of being the hunted. The connection to these characters hasn’t changed in the least and that goes for the concern we share for what awaits them as well. From the opening scene to the final one, A Quiet Place Part II, with its eye-catching editing, is superiorly suspenseful. It’s a consuming continuation that’s once again anxiety-induced yet unafraid to get a little noisy this time around. If Krasinski has one more in him, I can only expect Part III to finish out what could very well be one of the most unbelievable trilogies of all time.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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