I’m one of those “I don’t like horror” people, meaning I’m the guy that “real horror fans” hate. I claim I don’t like horror movies, and then I come out and gleefully talk about how much I loved the first one. IT film or that I’m a huge fan of Jordan Peele. For most people, there might not be any real difference between these films and the average slasher, but for me, there is. That difference is exactly why I love both. A quiet place And A quiet place part IIbut I have serious reservations about the A quiet place: day one Release date this week.
I am excited A quiet place part III if that day ever comes, and there could be any number of spinoffs that are also something I would love to see. But an origin story for this particular film franchise could have potentially told all about A quiet place which I like.
The Quiet Place films were unique cinema experiences
A quiet place was a huge box office hit when it was released, and a big part of the reason for that was probably the word of mouth that came from people who saw the film in theaters. The cinema experience of A quiet place was unlike almost anything I had ever seen or in this case heard … or I guess actually not heard Before.
A quiet place was built on its silence. The monsters followed sounds, and so the characters did everything they could to be as quiet as possible. It was a unique approach to a horror film that will likely make for an equally unique Halloween Horror Nights house at Universal Orlando this year.
A quiet place practically required silence from its audience, so much of the film takes place with little to no noise that silence is simply required for an audience to hear everything that Is there to be heard. Nevertheless, A quiet place has taken audience engagement to a whole new level.
The screaming and jumping that characterizes many horror films is one of the reasons I dislike the genre. I’m easily frightened by jump scares, and it’s difficult to eat popcorn when you’re afraid of getting it all over you when the monster jumps out to eat someone. At the same time, the screaming and jumping are part of the communal experience of horror films. Audiences are expected to do that sometimes, and that’s part of the fun. When everyone is scared together, everyone has fun.
But A quiet place asked people to be quiet. It was as if the audience was afraid that if they were too loud, they would be able to hear the people on the screen. People who might have let out a scream in another horror movie tried to suppress it. We all tried to support each other and force each other to be quiet.
Something about this experience was a big part of the reason why A quiet place was so funny to watch. The filmmakers knew that with the release of A quiet place part IIwas postponed so that people could see the film in theaters rather than simply releasing it digitally, as was the case with so many films during the pandemic-related theater closures.
The origin story status of “A Quiet Place Day One” brings with it a disadvantage
The problem is, that A quiet place: Day One, Because of its premise and place in the story, it strongly suggests that the focus on silence will be significantly downplayed, if not absent entirely. That’s not to say there won’t be scenes where people are very quiet to avoid being killed by a monster, which happens in most horror films at one point or another. However, the film’s overall atmosphere of silence will likely be gone.
A quiet place: day one is basically a movie about an alien invasion. The monsters will come and the humans will fight, flee and hide in equal measure. The quiet place: day one Trailer shows us more scenes of the creatures killing people than in the previous two films combined. This is neither surprising nor a bad choice; it makes sense considering what happens.
But we must assume that humanity will not easily discover the fact that silence is protection. It does not seem as though people would even suspect it at first glance. Even if some people can sneak past monsters by remaining silent, that is a long way from discovering that they cannot see.
And even if some people find out the truth, it will be difficult to spread this information to the world. A quiet place, day one is mostly literal, and the film only covers the first day of the invasion. That’s just not enough time to make too many groundbreaking discoveries about their attackers while billions of people are just trying to survive. If that were to happen, to bring the film into a more familiar A quiet place mood, I’m not sure if it would work properly as a story.
I have my doubts about the first day, but I hope I’m wrong
So A quiet place: day one feels like it’s going to be a more traditional horror movie. So a movie where a group of main characters try not to get killed by a big scary monster. Some will succeed, some will fail. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be a bad movie. It could still be a very good version of that kind of movie. It just doesn’t sound like A quiet placebut like any other horror film. I’m not impressed by this kind of film.
I could be wrong, and I hope I am. I watch every movie hoping I will like it, so I will be optimistic when I see A quiet place: day one. Maybe there is a way the film can thread that needle and find a way to tell an origin story without losing what A quiet place particularly.
