A QUIET PLACE: PART 2

THREE AND A HALF STARS Evelyn is still trying to save her family from aliens who'll kill anything that makes a noise.

HORROR THRILLER US #QUIETPLACETWO

Emily Blunt, John Krasinski

John Krasinki’s A QUIET PLACE was that most unusual of aliens-invade-the-planet films in that it A) successfully bridged the space between horror and thriller, B) revelled in silence rather than noise, but most importantly was C) really good. Edge of the seat good. People loved it good. We loved it so much we’ve been hanging out for Part Two good.

Hang out no more people for after an excruciatingly long COVID-induced pause, distributers who knew this had the kind of legs that would help restart cinema going (more relevant in overseas territories than here in Australia), have finally guided A QUIET PLACE: PART 2 to a screen near you.

It was worth the wait.

Granted there’s a certain more-of-the-same-ness about QP2 - the same blind aliens are chasing to kill anyone or anything that makes a noise, so the same family is still on a run-and-hide mission to stay alive - but director Krasinski has found solid ways to keep our attention. One of those is to throw the children of Lee and Evelyn (Emily Blunt) further into the fray. It makes for a more resonant and more interesting story as the pressure to keep the family alive has been spread more widely. Regan in particular steps up to give her mother a helping hand in matters of survival.

Krasinki’s other trick, and arguably the more interesting one, is the way in which he splits his narrative and runs it in parallel. For long periods he doubles (and at some points trebles) the tension, as if we weren’t already tense enough. Throw in a few horror standard gotcha frames and he serves up to a rollicking night out.

At one level QP2 is perfect escapism for audiences who are demanding exactly that in challenging times. On another, it’s a welcome reminder about the need to keep calm (stay quiet) and band together when fighting an unforgiving enemy in those same challenging times. Whichever way you look at it, this is a movie for our times from a director to watch.

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