John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, and eventually its subsequent sequel Part II, took the world by storm with an entertaining but simple premise: aliens, but what if they could hear real good? Of course, that’s not the only element of the Quiet Place franchise, and its conceit runs with the pervasive eerieness of silence specifically during the theater-going experience as though it’s a John Cage rendition of “4’33.” But it all boils down to that dynamic, and it arguably makes good use of it throughout the two films making up the franchise. A Quiet Place: Day One deigns to give viewers a look at the start of the alien invasion, before everyone became experts at silence walking on sand and crafting coffin-shaped boxes for newborns. It also ports the reins over to Michael Sarnoski, who recently directed 2021’s Pig; here, he nabs director and writing credits as well working with Krasinski to craft the story of the opening days as the alien race crash-lands into New York City.
Lupita Nyong’o stars as Samira, a hospice patient who finds herself in NYC for a marionette show and decides that one of the last things she wants to do is grab a slice of pizza at a familiar pizza shop in Harlem. Unfortunately, the aliens have other plans for her as they attack right when she’s about to get that treat, but the events of A Quiet Place: Day One see her heading in the opposite direction of safety as a resigned last decision. Along the way she meets Eric (Joseph Quinn), a law school student who survives nearly drowning in the subway only to follow her into the danger – perhaps it’s the cute cat Frodo that’s the real draw? Either way, they work together to escape the coming apocalypse as long as they can.
Sarnoski’s film works similarly to some of the best The Walking Dead bottle episodes. Limiting major characters to just two (three with the cat?) gives the movie an intimate feel to it, and thankfully it never attempts to drive an unnecessary romantic narrative. Instead, A Quiet Place: Day One hones in on human need, especially in the face of imminent demise. Of course, Samira’s already been living in that reality, and as the film shows just before the alien attack, she has come to grips with the fact that her cancer is ushering in her end very soon and to live life with the fullest intentions, even if that means “just” getting a slice of pizza. It’s understandable that some viewers may see this plot point as inane; on paper, it really sounds it. But Sarnoski is able to wring out those poignant moments of human connection with the help of the excellent Nyong’o and Quinn’s heartfelt performance; it works well to tell this tale of mortality that is quite akin to the events of A Quiet Place.
With that said, the prequel element and the title’s reference to Day One sets a few expectations that the film can’t deliver. One problem is that it doesn’t really explore any new territory for the alien invaders that we haven’t already seen, since both films did have short flashbacks to the start of the invasion; we’re not treated to new information about the alien race or even any revelations if the government knew about the invasion in advance. Instead, Day One quickly skips through those elements and treats it as a very generic telling of an apocalypse, missing opportunities to explore the loud clamor of New York City. It has a couple of tense sequences where the hustle and bustle of city life clash with the need for silence, but with the limited characters comes more quiet moments that mirror the main series’ plot points. It’s not that Sarnoski isn’t good at crafting the suspense; the problem is that what we get is good, but not enough of it.
Therein lies the overall issue with the scope of Day One, that it plays it fairly safe without doing much different (besides maybe the feline friend here to keep everyone on their toes). It’s an emotionally compelling tale but ultimately nothing we haven’t seen before in this universe, and as a prequel, it leaves the viewer wanting some more actual backstory of the origins of the invasion. This film indicates that the government seems to know something about the aliens, hinting that the actual prequel before the events might be the most interesting story of all. Alas, A Quiet Place: Day One lingers on more of the same; it’s not a bad film by any means, and matches the quality of its parent franchise, but it also never manages to break free of being shackled to the same ideas either.
4K UHD
Paramount Pictures has released A Quiet Place: Day One on 4K UHD and Blu-ray in a collectible steelbox set as well as a standard edition. The film is presented in 2.39:1 on this excellent 4K transfer that manages to evoke crisp city textures along with the destroyed backdrops of bombed-out areas. Detail is very strong with exceptional clarity even during background imagery. Smoke and detritus textures are all sharply visible, and despite the illustrious presentation the CGI graphics manage to evoke realism, especially considering the film’s expert use of sound to manufacture a weightiness to the alien creatures. The use of Dolby Vision/HDR 10 is not exceptionally noticeable but it does help with the overall brightness levels especially during the film’s outdoor sequences, as well as managing the darker conditions in water textures very well. Overall, no complaints on this UHD, as it provides a stunning and immersive theater-like experience.
And speaking of theatrical conditions, the Dolby Atmos track on this release packs an amazing punch. It’s no surprise that sound design is one of the most important elements in the Quiet Place series (either voluminous or the lack thereof), and this disc offers an exceptionally immersive experience with full-room sound involvement. Overhead effects, satellite speaker jump scares, and soundtrack swells are all handled excellently by the Atmos option, and dialogue is crisp and sharp when needed despite the relative lack of it throughout. Also of note is rumbling low end, which at one point had my entire room quaking. For those unable to take advantage of the Atmos track, there are also a number of Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks including an English surround option. In Paramount fashion this also features English and alternative language subtitles too.
The UHD and Blu-ray both feature a number of new extras featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew. “Beginnings and Endings” goes into the synthesis of the film’s creation and the inspiration for what this movie could accomplish. “In the City: Chaos in Chinatown” goes over the locales used in the film and recreating the Chinatown neighborhood, as well as some of the costume design. “The Exodus: Against the Tide” covers the way they shot the destroyed sets, and specifically the scene where everyone is evacuating New York City. “The Long Walk: Monsters in Midtown” has a few different focuses, including working with the cat, bringing in Joseph Quinn, and shooting areas. “Pizza at the End of the World” covers more building of the sets, covering some of the new creatures in the movie, and specifically finding the pizza in the movie. Finally, there are a number of extended and deleted scenes included – 3 extended slightly, and 2 fully deleted scenes.
This special steelbook version does come with both a UHD and Blu-ray disc, virtually identical, as well as a digital code, a Paramount coupon, and of course the special cover art and packaging on the steelbook itself.
Extra Features
- NEW 4K transfer with Dolby Vision/HDR10 and Dolby Atmos
- NEW Day Zero: Beginnings and Endings (1080p; 7:58)
- NEW In the City: Chaos in Chinatown (1080p; 7:51)
- NEW The Exodus: Against the Tide (1080p; 6:27)
- NEW The Long Walk: Monsters in Midtown (1080p; 7:49)
- NEW Pizza at the End of the World (1080p; 7:17)
- NEW Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p; 15:06)
- NEW Limited edition steelbook design and included Blu-ray copy
Verdict
A Quiet Place: Day One is a fine entry in the series but doesn’t do too much to set itself apart from the rest, making it feel like more of the same. This 4K UHD steelbook set has excellent video and audio, though, ensuring a very theatrical experience provided you have the means to reproduce it. The extras are pretty standard EPK-style fare, but do add some more depth to the creation of the movie.
