FILM OF THE WEEK
A QUIET PLACE PART II (15, 97 mins)
Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Action/Romance. Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, John Krasinski, Scoot McNairy, Djimon Hounsou. Director: John Krasinski.
I VIVIDLY recall watching A Quiet Place in a hushed cinema, palpably aware that people around me were neglecting to burrow sticky fingers into tubs of noisy popcorn for fear of breaking the silence.
Writer-director John Krasinski's nerve-shredding sci-fi horror was an intensely visceral big screen experience that invited us to hold our breath (and nerve) as a family of four battled sightless extra-terrestrial invaders which hunt by sound.
The lean, pulse-quickening sequel is a perfect film to woo thrill-starved audiences back into socially distanced cinemas.
Part II ventures beyond the family's sprawling farm to meet other survivors of the extermination, whose morality has been irrevocably warped by their close encounter with the aliens.
A protracted flashback to day one of the invasion, breathlessly staged by Krasinski as a series of adrenaline-pumping stunts, cleverly turns up the volume on the blood-curdling screams, gunshots and explosions before attention shifts forward 15 months to the eerie serenity of a planet devoid of noise pollution.
Conveniently flawed logic from the first film proliferates and we can anticipate some of the jolts now, but Part II has a couple of nail-biting tricks up its sleeve. Cameos from Scoot McNairy and Djimon Hounsou catalyse a sickening realisation that the otherworldly predators might not be the biggest threat to the Abbott family's survival.
On Day 474 of the invasion, fiercely protective mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and son Marcus (Noah Jupe) have successfully neutralised the alien threat around their farmhouse using amplified feedback from Regan's cochlear implant.
The grief-stricken brood cannot hide forever and beacons of fire in the distance confirm the existence of fellow survivors. Carrying her newborn in her arms, Evelyn shepherds the family through the post-apocalyptic wilderness.
In an abandoned steel mill, they encounter dishevelled family friend Emmett (Cillian Murphy), who has turned his back on the possibility of humankind retaliating against the creatures.
"The people that are left, they're not the kind of people worth saving," Emmett warns Evelyn with sunken eyes, glistening with pain.
A radio signal from a nearby island rekindles hope and teenager Regan urges her terrified brother to follow the courageous example of their father (Krasinski) and never give up.
"Look what happened to him!" angrily snaps Marcus.
A Quiet Place Part II falls tantalisingly short of the stomach-churning suspense of the first film and Krasinski's script doesn't boast a stand-out scene to rival the rusty nail or bathtub birth.
However, he knows how to mercilessly dial up distress, eliciting strong performances from wife Blunt and young co-stars Simmonds and Jupe, who savour increased screen time as plot strands diverge.
Spielbergian influences are evident in set pieces but Krasinski's rapacious ETs have no intention of phoning home.
Rating: 3/5
