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A Quiet Place: Day One – A Decent Drama, But Not a "Quiet Place" Movie

A Quiet Place: Day One was a tough one to critique. It wasn’t a bad movie by any means, but as a "Quiet Place" film, it fell very short of the mark expected. This installment is more of a drama about a young woman surviving the initial alien attack, rather than a gripping horror-thriller that fans of the series might want, and rightfully so, expect.

Image by Gateway Film Center

A Drama in Disguise

While the film ties into the "Quiet Place" series, it doesn’t need to. The drama is so well-constructed that it could have been any disaster movie, and the plot and outcome would remain unchanged. This could have been about surviving a massive hurricane, earthquake, or any other catastrophe, and it would have made just as much sense. The "Quiet Place" elements feel forced, making it clear this movie was shoehorned into the franchise to leverage its popularity.

Image by IMDb

Missteps in Character Development

The main character is compelling—she’s strong and resilient despite her illness. However, the film’s attempt to integrate other characters falls flat. The protagonist’s interaction with two orphaned children, for instance, could have led to a rich, emotional subplot. Instead, she abandons them to a passing crowd, a strange and disappointing choice that misses an opportunity for deeper drama.

The male lead is another misstep. His character is written so poorly that he appears to be either autistic or brain-injured, making irrational and dangerous decisions throughout the film. This portrayal, far from adding depth, comes off as offensive and undermines the narrative. By the end, his behavior is inconsistent and inexplicable, further detracting from the film.

Image by Entertainment Weekly

Plot Holes and Inconsistencies

The film makes several questionable choices that undermine the established lore of the "Quiet Place" series. For example, the army is shown to be aware that the aliens can’t swim, broadcasting this information repeatedly. This raises the question: why didn’t the family in the original films know this crucial fact? Such inconsistencies make the film feel disconnected from the rest of the series.

Moreover, the aliens’ arrival on Earth is portrayed as a meteor shower, yet the army is somehow prepared for an immediate counterattack. This doesn’t align with the chaotic, unprepared world depicted in the first two films. The suspension of disbelief is further strained by scenes where characters survive encounters with the supersonic-hearing aliens by making noise, yet aren’t detected. And I mean making noise very close to aliens. Like, there's a scene where white dumbass male protagonist is literally inches from one of these aliens, with many others around, and somehow, remarkably the alien doesn't hear his heart beat, doesn't hear his heavy breathing, doesn't hear him maneuvering himself around a steel girder. I don't buy it.

Image by Bloody Disgusting

Missed Opportunities

The film sets up several interesting plot points but fails to deliver on them. For instance, the main male character stumbles upon a field of alien eggs—a potentially fascinating subplot that goes nowhere. I would have loved to have seen one of these alien eggs hatch. See what their young look like. See how their babies act, or react to our world. See how well they hear when they are born. Do they start with this super-sonic hearing, or does it grow with the creature as it ages, just as we humans are more attuned to our senses as we age? But no. He returns without mentioning the eggs, a detail that would surely be crucial for the survivors. There were several examples of these missed opportunities and they make the film feel incomplete and unfulfilled.

Image by People

A Decent Movie, But Not a "Quiet Place" Film

As a standalone drama, A Quiet Place: Day One isn’t bad. But as part of the "Quiet Place" saga, it disappoints. For me, this is a classic and all too familiar case we see now in movies; a decent script that the studio doesn't want to take a chance on, so they have to shoe-horn it into an existing IP because they figure that people are more likely to see it because of the IP attached to it. But, then we go to see it, and are completely let down, and sometimes even angry that it is included in these properties. The Child's Play remake hits number one for me for this point. What would have been a great movie was actually ruined because it was called Child's Play. Call it anything else, and that movie could have been great. Same thing here. Don't call it A Quiet Place: Day One; call it, The Day They Attacked or take the aliens out altogether and make it about surviving a massive hurricane or tornado or earthquake. There's a thousand other ways this could have been done without tarnishing the "Quiet Place" film's name, and I'm not even a fan of these films really.

Image by Rolling Stone

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’d give A Quiet Place: Day One a 5 out of 10. It’s a decent drama, but it doesn’t fit well within the "Quiet Place" world. The lack of horror and suspense, along with the forced franchise elements, make it a letdown for fans of the series. This could have been a much better film if it hadn’t tried to ride on the coattails of its predecessors.


Pros:

  • Decent Drama: The film succeeds as a drama, with a strong protagonist navigating the chaos of the alien invasion.
  • Strong Lead Character: The main character, despite battling cancer, is portrayed as strong, diligent, and level-headed.
  • Intriguing Setup: The initial attack and the survival aspects are well-constructed, adding depth to the main character’s journey.

    • Cons:

  • Forced Franchise Elements: The "Quiet Place" world elements feel shoehorned into a movie that could easily stand alone as any disaster film.
  • Lack of Horror: This is more of a drama with horror elements, not the horror movie that fans of the series would expect.
  • Weak Supporting Characters: The main male character is poorly written, coming off as inexplicably foolish.
  • Plot Inconsistencies: The film introduces intriguing plot points, like alien eggs, but fails to follow through with them.
  • Disjointed Continuity: The movie’s portrayal of the army’s knowledge and preparedness contradicts the established lore from previous films.
  • Suspension of Disbelief Issues: The aliens’ supersonic hearing is inconsistently applied, breaking the immersion.


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