Never one to pass up a good way to make a buck, Paramount has announced a planned sequel to box office giant A Quiet Place, apparently not smart enough to hush up at the right time. The original A Quiet Place was generally well-received except for the few people who were unable to suspend disbelief, but the best element of John Krasinski’s first horror film was that it smartly wrapped itself up in a bow. There wasn’t much question about what would happen after the film’s end; there wasn’t an expectation that a devilishly loud sequel would be looming after. So Paramount, of course, decides to greenlight a second film and make it a franchise.
In general, horror sequels are a bad idea. There’s a reason most genre films are 90 minutes long or shorter: they can’t sustain an elongated idea for much more than the allotted time frame, and ultimately they rarely need to expand on those themes. Sequels water down the idea of the film until there’s little of the original intent left. They take a story and stretch to its absolute breaking point (looking at you, Paranormal Activity). Sequels are like parasites: they eat away at the audience until there’s nothing left, and then they die. And so Paramount, of course, decides to greenlight a second film and make it a franchise.
I feel like I have to repeat myself, because, unlike the aliens of A Quiet Place, companies are simply not hearing fans: sequels kill, and no one should be clamoring for a follow-up to this movie. And I’d be surprised and disappointed to see John Krasinski return.
And so Paramount, of course, decides to greenlight a second film and make it a franchise.
