Film Review: A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

2018’s A Quiet Place surprised many with its original horror concept and solid direction from then new filmmaker, John Krasinski. The follow-up rejects the claustrophobic gimmick of the first, A Quiet Place Part II propels both the characters and audience into the unpredictable and dangerous world outside their families farm in a thrilling fight for survival. Which ultimately terrifies more with its convoluted story and incompetent characters than anything else.

Before those negatives are analyzed, it is worthwhile to give attention to what the film does right considering there are several. From the first trailer of A Quiet Place that came on ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the unique relationship between the film and sound has been one of the most noteworthy aspects of the series. Even more so than the original film, A Quiet Place Part II plays impressively with its sound mixing and use of sound in general to enhance the thrills and atmosphere.

Film Road to Halloween: A Quiet Place (2018)

Tricks such as switching between viewing the world through silence and noise work to great effect to enhance moments of action and horror. It creates a genuinely suspenseful viewing experience. This is also enhanced by both the cinematography from Polly Morgan, which skillfully frames scenes to slowly build various threats and dangers, and the editing from Michael P. Shawver, which often will have multiple points of tension overlap each other to create the biggest climaxes possible to the scenes of tension.

The other major highlight would be the performances. Where many were impressed by the works of John Krasinski and especially Emily Blunt in the original film, it is Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe who step up in the sequel to great effect. Both thematically and practically, Simmonds and Jupe are given more emotional depth and substance in the plot to chew on. And both wildly impress, with Simmonds even becoming the true lead of the feature. Nearly any moment of emotional poignancy or power comes from these two actors, and the sheer emotional power they carry as two young actors in a gimmicked horror world is incredibly impressive. In more supporting roles, both the returning Emily Blunt and debuting Cillian Murphy are also rather solid in selling the weight of this world and just how much it has taken out of their souls.

Sadly, the actual material these performances are given to work with leaves plenty to be desired. A Quiet Place Part II‘s screenplay doesn’t just continue the series tradition of featuring major plot holes, but borders on incompetence at times with how it creates momentum within the plot. Characters will act randomly with no sense of logic, signaling the film falling into the worst cliches of the horror genre, while simply hoping the audience will overlook the basics of what is actually happening.

Guest Review – A Quiet Place

The plot itself is not just incredibly stupid, but also extremely convoluted. Mainly due to how the film has to attempt to justify its character acting the way that they do, the film never is able to fully explain its plot and it feels rather confusing. The motivations that push characters to literally risk the lives of themselves and everyone around them is built on a house of cards and never feels that well built or smart. There are also multiple potentially worthwhile ideas mentioned that ultimately lead to nothing substantial, making their inclusion questionable at best.

What this leads to is ultimately an incredibly frustrating, and at times even laughably bad, viewing experience. Where A Quiet Place had flaws that could be found as the audience looked for them, A Quiet Place Part II is defined by its flaws. It takes all the pieces needed to be a truly great horror sequel and ties them together with a flimsy and disappointing execution, that does the entire project a disservice. Where the film might not be a complete disaster, and pieces such as the acting still stand as rather undeniable successes, it would be an understatement to say that A Quiet Place Part II was a letdown and ultimately is a hollow follow-up to the unique and at least competently crafted original film.