Immediately after the events of the first film the Abbott family must abandon their home and venture out into the world in search of a new one. 

A Quiet Place Part 2 opens with a flashback all the way back to the beginning on day 1. We get to see Lee (John Krasinski) and Evelyn (Emily Blunt) at a local little league baseball game with their children Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Dean Woodward). As they encourage Marcus who is at bat, Lee chats with fellow local Emmett (Cillian Murphy) about a professional baseball game he is listening to on the radio. That is until the station cuts out and the sky is lit up with fire. What follows is an exhilarating, tense and action packed beginning to the end of the world. It is a perfect opening that reminds us of the ferocity and deadly efficiency of the creatures that now prowl the Earth forcing humans to be silent. 

We then cut back to the Abbott’s in their basement fresh from their discovery of the monsters weakness on day 474. With their home in tatters they set out to find other survivors and start anew. Meeting Emmett again circumstance requires them to separate in an effort to make a safer home for themselves. 

Back in 2018, A Quiet Place snuck under the radar a little to become one of the best films of the year. In fact I placed it as my second favourite of the year in my 2018 – Year in Review. All the way back in March 2020 I had tickets for a double bill to mark the release of this sequel, but thanks to the global Covid pandemic I have had to wait 436 days between its original release date and this preview screening and it was absolutely worth the wait. John Krasinski who has starred, written, produced and directed this sequel has made another truly brilliant piece of cinema. 

The film excels at so many things it is hard to know where to start. It gives us a genuinely interesting new story to tell that expands our world view slightly, gives us another leading character who is fully realised and pushes the story arc of the Abbott’s forward. It provides superb large scale action at the beginning before settling back into the nail biting tension of the first film for the rest of its duration. The acting performances are top notch from all involved with Millicent Simmonds the stand out. The soundscape is again phenomenal and something that excels in a packed cinema where the audience is frightened to move and break the silence. And it also finds genuinely authentic ways to return to key moments and places from the original that will evoke memories from its audience. 

I absolutely loved this sequel that stands alongside its brilliant original. A must see.