The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2021 - Issue 29

bitefilmreview Images courtesy of Sustance Global PR I n the history of filmmaking, only director John Krasinski man- aged to get all movie-goers quiet for more than 90 minutes, twice! A Quiet Place Part II is the kind of experience we’ve been longing for while quietly and patiently self-isolating in our homes for over a year. Of course, there were no blind, noise-seeking aliens to hide from, but the world felt like a dangerous place to live in. We could not have asked for anyone better to create an apocalypse af- ter an alien invasion than Krasinski and cinematographer Polly Mor- gan. Just like the first film, this one benefitted immeasurably from Marco Beltrami’s vigorous and perfectly layered orchestral score. A Quiet Place Part II is an alien-centric horror sci-fi drama with blind venom-like-looking villains who have developed such an intense sense of hearing that they can track their victims from the slightest noise. The film explores a world where dialogue has to be kept to a minimum, meaning the story can only move forward through image, sound and music. The film thrives on this conceit to deliver clever, lean scares, spinning ingenuity within a confined space. A Quiet Place Part II reflects on day one of the alien subjugation when no one knew anything. The filmmaker mounts a full-on assault on the senses as the noise-seeking creatures attack the baseball field, a heartland of America. The match is called off when something mas- sive blows up in the sky, and everyone shuffles home. Many citizens didn’t stand a chance when the aliens suddenly slammed into town, sending Lee Abbott (Krasinski) into hiding with his deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds). At the same time, his wife, Evelyn (Emily Blunt) frantically drives with her two sons, Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward). This particular scene is like a high-octane victory lap for Krasinski's accomplishment in the first movie. The bracing violence re-acclima- tises us to fear sounds while locking us into the different characters' points of view with long takes as they try to navigate through pure chaos. Krasinski and sound designers Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl achieved fantastic mileage from the juxtaposition between silence and carnage.