Welcome to How Gay Is It? Out’s review series where, using our state-of-the-art Eggplant Rating System, we determine just how queer some of pop culture's buzziest films and TV shows are! (Editor’s note: this review contains mild spoilers for Paramount Pictures' A Quiet Place: Day One.)
Hide your loud, crunchy snacks! A Quiet Place: Day One is worth a trip to the box office for. While the first two of the John Krasinski helmed films (A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II) centered around a family living in somewhat isolation, this new prequel sets itself in one of the busiest — and loudest — cities in the world: New York.
In addition to changing the location and making it something of an origin story, the film also swaps out the director/writer role. Krasinski passed the baton to Pig (the Nic Cage truffle hunter film, yes that’s a real movie and it’s great) leader Michael Sarnoski.
This is probably the most strategic thing Krasinski could’ve done. We found A Quiet Place to be a refreshing and well thought out post-apocalyptic jaunt. Yet the sequel was anemic at best. Swapping out the film’s leadership results in a, once again, suspenseful and emotional journey.
It centers around Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn navigating the first day of an alien invasion. The two have excellent chemistry, and while we were skeptical of Quinn’s ability to serve as leading man, we were pleasantly surprised. Nyong’o has already proven with Us that she is a beyond compelling silent star. Her micro expressions and subtlety ground a film that is all about shocking moments. The supporting cast is Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, and Eliane Umuhire. Also there’s the feline star, Frodo, who was played by many kitty doubles.
Paramount Pictures
While not necessary to see the first two films in the franchise, the prequel does somewhat expedite the doling out of information regarding the extra terrestrial invaders. Having a knowledge of the other movies is helpful, but certainly not necessary.
The cinematography is smoky and smoldering. It’s the sound design where the film shines. We saw it in IMAX and the seats were literally rumbling with some sequences. One of the things we appreciated most about the first film, and that returns successfully in this, is the strategic utilization of silence.
Does it have flaws? Absolutely. Like most disaster related films, characters behave with a shocking lack of logic. Some of it could be attributed to being stunned and traumatized by the extreme events. However, some of it is just plain stupid behavior. Nothing is SO egregious it takes you out of the film, but there are definitely a lot of logical inconsistencies. At times it feels like there’s an intrusion of studio notes where Sarnoski was told “needs more aliens!” which he was forced to comply with. When will filmmakers learn that, more often than not, the Speilbergian Jaws approach (which was, in fairness, by necessity because the fake shark didn’t work) of “show us minimal monster” is oftentimes the most effective?
All of this brings us to the question that we at Out are here to probe: How gay is it?! It’s ace. The film is devoid of sexual or romantic entanglement, and we respect the hell out of it for that. Oftentimes films in the same genre will guide their characters into absurdly illogical scenarios (the world is ending: but let’s make out?) which can be fine and dandy if done right. However, that's a big IF.
Paramount Pictures
The lack of overt relationship complications in A Quiet Place: Day One is what makes it work for the plot as a whole. Inorganic barriers made the second film forgettable, so by cleaning things up and not trying to force an unnecessary coupling, it proves to be a worthy reason to keep the franchise going.
For the film itself, we give it 4 out of 5 stars. On our Eggplant Rating System, it garners a nada out of 5.
A Quiet Place: Day One is now playing in theaters
