ReelBob: ‘A Quiet Place: Part II’ ★★★
Though more a creature feature than a family-survival story, this sequel still packs a nerve-wracking wallop.
“A Quiet Place: Part II” is as nerve-wracking and tension filled as its predecessor. This sequel, though, is more creature feature than family-survival story.
Like the original, “Part II” is directed by John Krasinski, who also has a cameo at the beginning of the movie, and returns Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe as the Abbotts — mother, Evelyn; daughter, Regan; and son, Marcus.
There is also little baby boy Abbott, but more about him later.
The movie opens on day one — the invasion of Earth by the aliens who hunt by sound. We then jump forward to shortly after the events that closed the original 2018 movie.
As in the original, the Abbotts must walk quietly. They must communicate — like the deaf Regan — through sign language or whispers.
The family must leave their sanctuary after a deadly encounter with an alien. They find shelter in what appears to be a deserted factory. It is where another survivor, their neighbor, Emmett (Cillian Murphy) has taken refuge. Emmett is alone and fearful, having lost his entire family.
At first, he refuses to aid the Abbotts but slowly — and reluctantly — overcomes his fears and allows them to stay.
At the end of the first movie, Krasinski’s Lee Abbott, discovered a radio frequency that could impair the aliens.
Regan, who has inherited many of her father’s scientific and engineering smarts, hears music — through her father’s device that can incapacitate the invaders — coming from a radio station on an island that is a couple of days away.
Without telling her mother, Regan heads for the island, planning to use her device to hurt as many of the aliens as are in earshot of the station’s transmitter.
Evelyn cannot go after her because of the baby and Noah has injured his foot in an animal trap. She begs Emmett to bring back Regan.
Simmonds is the main attraction here. She gives a kick-ass performance, not allowing her deafness to deter her from her task. She is smart and resourceful, but also allows us to see the fear she holds inside.
Murphy gives a strong performance, one of his best in years. Blunt is as sturdy and emotionally ferocious as in the original, while Jupe also reveals some heretofore inventiveness.
Yes, the baby. Evelyn has created a basket-like device to conceal and carry the child and has an oxygen tank with a small mask that covers the baby’s mouth and nose so it can breathe, and its cries will not be heard.
It also is disturbing that, at a few junctures, the baby is put in jeopardy.
Social services probably will not approve, but drastic times call for drastic measures.
“A Quiet Place: Part II” contains more creature encounters than the original. And we see a fuller picture of their looks and capabilities. The film’s use of silence and sound effects create suspense, with kudos to supervising sound editor Erik Aadahl and his team.
Everyday objects are viewed as potential menaces because of the slightest sounds they could make. Also making your heart pound — as it did in the first movie — is Marco Beltrami’s intense score.
“A Quiet Place: Part II” has some head-scratching moments — most notably an open garage door at a most inopportune time. Still, you should experience the movie in a theater, where every noise is amplified, and every crunch or clank is a potential death knell.
“A Quiet Place: Part II” is a wonderful reintroduction to the movie-going experience.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
A QUIET PLACE: PART II
3 stars out of 4
PG-13, bloody and disturbing images, terror, violence
