PIC of the Week – A Quiet Place Part II
Article Series by Ray Schillaci
Paramount lives up to its name with entertainment upon the release of A Quiet Place Part II. To be honest, I was not wowed by the first movie. I happened to see it after much hype and I felt that I already knew what was going to happen the moment we were introduced to the alien monsters that had sensitive hearing and the family that flees them with the pregnant mom. To me, the suspense was not effective because I read the build up. Between the woman giving birth and the newborn, how can they keep hidden when going into labor and the cries of a child will give their location away?
Writer/director/actor John Krasinski proved to be adept at setting the mood and dread. But, I felt it was also very calculating and manipulative. With all the good word of mouth about the sequel and a great trailer I was compelled to check the further adventures of the family traversing an alien filled landscape. Whatever issues I had with the first one were quickly dismissed with Krasinski’s suspense filled continuation that opens with the introduction of the invasion.
Lee and Evelyn Abbott are living in a small rural town enjoying their son’s baseball game. Krasinski paints an almost Norman Rockwell scenario as he introduces the family before the invasion. All that warmth that comes from the scene is suddenly dashed by the chaos of the brutal attack. Once again, sound plays a big part in this film. Quiet moments are unsettling and onslaughts are loud and jarring.
Then we fast forward a year later to Emily Blunt’s character leaveing the home with her family including a newborn in search of other survivors. But, most of humanity has been decimated and the few who have survived are barely human. Evelyn and her children refuse to give up hope and traverse the infested landscape with only a firearm and her deaf daughter’s cochlear implant, microphone and speaker which makes the monsters vulnerable.
While on their search, Evelyn’s son Marcus is injured and they flee to a foundry to escape the aliens. Once there, they discover an old friend Emmett and for a moment they feel safe. But, Emmett insists they cannot stay and paints a dire picture for their future. His view is dashed when the kids hear a song on the radio, “Beyond the Sea”. They insist it’s a sign of hope.
Emmett has heard the song countless times and stands firm that it is nothing to be excited about. Evelyn’s daughter Regan, being more like her father, sneaks out of the foundry and sets off to where she thinks other survivors are. When Evelyn discovers this, she asks Emmett to go find her while she gets medical supplies for her kids and leaves Marcus to take care of the baby. This becomes a triple conflict as we follow Regan and Evelyn on their separate journeys and Marcus taking care of the baby trying to avoid the monsters.
Yes, once again the whole situation is manipulating the audience, but this time it’s not easy to read the outcome. The suspense is real, the conflict is immersive. Writer/director Krasinski has us on the edge of our seat and his sound crew takes it up a huge notch to make us feel uneasy at every turn.
The 4K UHD version is a step above the Blu. Just the opening alone shows a vastly different inequality and clarity. The dark scenes are claustrophobic and never hard to make out what’s going on. The presentation is crisp, clean and definitely one you can use as a perfect example of what a 2160p/Dolby Vision is capable of.
The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is one helluva monster in this presentation. The surround effects will have you cringing. The assaults will have you jumping and leave you in awe while the quiet scenes leave your nerves jangled. Best of all, the dialogue is clear and precise. No need for subtitles, but they are optional.
Is there a need to see the first movie? I’ll say it helps, only to understand the relationship between Krasinski’s character and his family and have a better understanding of why the family’s one defense is a cochlear implant. I found A Quiet Place Part II a bold improvement over it’s counterpart. My only qualm was having an open ending that leaves you knowing there will be a trilogy. I just don’t know if Krasinski can top himself and if we really needed a continuation. Only the future will tell.
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