With $638 million in worldwide box office revenue from just two films, it seemed obvious that Without a sound had the economic potential to become a franchise. But there was no question of focusing a third time on the Abbott family, whose story seemed to have made the rounds. As American Nightmareanother semi-horror saga before it, the easiest thing was to go back to where it all began. We turn on the engine of the DeLorean and set off for Without a sound: day 1.
We will avoid revealing the keys to the scenario and simply say that this prequel mainly follows two characters who find themselves trapped in the city while our extra-terrestrial friends have just arrived and are making a massacre among the population too noisy.
John Krasinski leaves the camera and the pen to entrust the direction and the screenplay to Michael Sarnoski, director of the astonishing Pig with Nicolas Cage, who takes over the license with Krasinski’s consent. He keeps the producer’s hat to ensure that his baby remains in good hands. In front of the camera, the saga that saw Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy pass by hires Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn. With the one who notably shone in Us and the one whose appearance in Stranger Things remains one of the major events of the series, suffice to say that this first day starts on rather solid foundations.
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The sound of big money?
However, we could not help but fear this third opus which marked the official entry of Without a sound in the purely economic dimension of the industry. If one had to be naive to believe that the second part did not have a financial objective, there remained a plot interest around a conclusion for the Abbott family (hence the use of “Part 2” in the original version ). With A Quiet Place: Day 1the saga begins its transformation and the future profits will undoubtedly decide the next ones. Days “. We’ve never seen Hollywood give up on a goose that lays the golden eggs after all. The main question was then to know if, behind the need to boost the coffers, this new feature film would be able to justify its existence on the screen.
In order not to dwell around the pot-au-feu for too long, our response will be twofold. Is it that Without a sound: day 1 brings real added value to the saga? No. Viewing will not change your appreciation of the general mythology and we won’t learn anything more about the monsters coming from the sky – although the film tries and we’ll come back to that. However, a useless film does not necessarily mean a failed film and we appreciate the journey of our two heroes enough to take part in the game. Here too, we will come back to it. To put it simply, the success of Without a sound: day 1 has just opened a Pandora’s box where the variations can extend over years. After the Conjuring universewill we soon see the Without a sound universe ? The footage is perhaps the first drop in a vase that would soon overflow.
The first day of the rest of their lives
Let us not sink into pessimism prematurely. Without a sound: day 1 is, for the moment, to be taken for what it is, that is to say a successful prequel and faithful to the spirit of the franchise. Sorry for fans of big scares, under the leadership of Krasinski, the franchise has perhaps never skimped on some gore effects and a tension specific to horror cinema, it remains carried by its emotional side with an emphasis placed on the family unit, whether it be the Abbotts or those they meet. Humans have always been at the center of the scenario, the aliens serving mainly as narrative tools to get people to talk to each other without saying a word. The first film focused on the reconstruction of a torn family and the second on our ability to forgive ourselves and move forward.
We should therefore not count on this third part to abandon this cathartic dimension. Without a sound: day 1 goes further than its predecessors and places the emphasis almost exclusively around this duo, the camera never letting go of Lupita Nyong’o or Joseph Quinn, thus sharing their fears almost in real time. Less of a horror film than a real drama, Without a sound: day 1 will stop on each look encountered, confront mourning, shout his rage, contrast the fear of living with the fear of death around a mismatched tandem. A emotional power that the saga had perhaps lost a little more (and even that) in its second chapter, which is not afraid of emphasis here.
A note of intention which therefore needed two talents in front of the camera capable of transmitting a lot with little oral material. Joseph Quinn masters his subject and quickly finds his tempo, vibrating in rhythm with his comrade, thus creating a rapid alchemy. But if there was only one crown to give, the queen would obviously be Lupita Nyong’o. The actress manages to alternate strength and excitement with a look. And when a smile joins the party, a whole heart melts. Afterwards, if you want our purely subjective opinion, the cat is the real star of the film.
When they get to town, people eat the sidewalk
Obviously, we didn’t come here to butter sandwiches and neither did Michael Sarnoski. The interest of this Jour 1 and to carry out its action in the city also lies in the possibility of let go of the crowd of monsters on its inhabitants without being tricky. The director takes pleasure in accentuating the threat through numbers and the aerial dimension with monsters that can also land from the top of buildings. Metro, theaters, large avenues… if the potential of the setting is not fully exploited to our chagrin, the director has enough fun with the urban scale to transpose the horror on a larger scale.
However, the devil is in the details and despite impressive sequences, there are several downsides to the coin. The film manages to maintain its intimate dimension, but by orchestrating more impressive carnage, the monster loses its aura since there is no longer any need to wonder where it is hiding. A voltage drop requiredespecially since the concentration of the scenario around our duo really prevents us from worrying about them for three quarters of the film, protected by their status as main characters. From then on, we have a little feeling of arrogance where we will mostly see extras getting eaten just to add some rhythm.
And then there are all these little narrative or poorly exploited facilities which parasitize the whole. The script attempts to contribute to the characterization of the alien, without really stopping there, thus not justifying the interest of several scenes except to provide artificial tension. Likewise, the dominant use of music (where the first film was played almost entirely in silence) in order to accentuate emphasis with large hooves or to camouflage ambient noise. Because yes, who says city and crowd, says logically more noise. A noise sometimes very cleverly camouflaged, notably by the weather, but too often permissive when we remember the Abbotts’ effort to hide a simple step. The monster then appears not when we don’t expect it, but rather when it suits the scenario.
A Quiet Place: Day 1 is not without its shortcomings, but neither were its predecessors. He has on his side the strength of his interpreters, of great staging ideas and a desire to go beyond a framework that one would have mistakenly believed to be more restricted. It’s much easier to be the least successful part of a saga when it doesn’t have any real failures.
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