REVIEW: ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ turns up the jump scares
REVIEW: ‘A Quiet Place Part II’
"A Quiet Place Part II," John Krasinski's effective sequel to his 2018 horror film "A Quiet Place", begins with a scene that is so generic that it gave the masked viewer a pang of sadness. For children's softball games, crowds have gathered in a park on a summer afternoon; It is a lovely, normal day. A title card reads "Day 1". And suddenly a strange dark fire appears in the sky. Demons have arrived, and nothing will ever be normal again.
That scene is a prequel flashback (answering the question of how many of us might have Krasinski in this film, first seeing the fate of his character in "A Quiet Place"); We got ready for "Day 474" soon after the previous film ended. Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her three children - daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and an infant - are accustomed to living in devastated silence, afraid of triggering alien monsters sometimes associated with sound . Now they should leave their quiet haven and go out somewhere in search of security among other humans.
No, it makes no sense; I particularly wondered why they are all barefoot all the time. (Are there no socks in the world after this apocalypse? But apparently there are diapers?) But this creature's character has a heart, and Krasinski makes it a charming little creepy. Blunt, who is married off-screen Krasinski, is always a delight to watch; Here she is in fierce-mother mode, and you tremble for those demons. Simonds, whose character is deaf (her talk, or listen, provides some elegant sound design), steps in as a fellow heroine: "I can save them," she firmly signs her family is. "I can save us."
The film's final third cleverly cuts between three different locations and the plot; Each of them a constant cliffhanger - you see each worrying about the other two. And yes, maybe we're seeing monsters too much - the first film was scary, because what you can't see is always more awesome - but they're still fun to watch, with their beautiful gliding and a terrible flower with them Kind of a sudden blooming habit.
"A Quiet Place Part II," with its skillful jump scares and sly central premise (silence is security, noise is fear), delivers the goods, and sends me home nervously hoping something might sneak up on me - as That all horror films should do. On Part III, Silently Bring.
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Local angle
Parts of "A Quiet Place 2" were filmed just outside Genesee County in the village of Akron in Erie County.
Filming took place in the summer of 2019. Scouting Trip director John Krasinski stayed at the Candy Apple during a location.
Residents of the surrounding area saw - and in some cases got - Krasinski and others.
To read coverage from the time of filming, visit https://tinyurl.com/23brxs5k.
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A Quiet Place Part II
With Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, Jimon Hounsou.
Written and directed by Krasinski.
Rating: PG-13 for images of terror, violence and bloody / disturbing images.
Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Playing: opens in theaters on Friday
3 stars (out of four)
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