After A Quiet Place became an instant hit in 2018, the pressure was on for director John Krasinski to back it up with the sequel A Quiet Place: Part II and boy did he deliver.

A Quiet Place: Part II picks up where the original left off, following a family who have survived an alien invasion. These aliens are highly sensitive to noise, so one false move causing a clatter and it’s curtains. The suspense is gripping, the scares are enough to make you physically jump out of your seat and/or scream out in your seat in the cinema.

Emily Blunt is in fine form, pulling on the heart strings as the grieving widow Evelyn Abbott with three children in her care. As the matriarch of her tribe, she puts herself at risk continually for the sake of her precious children – real motherly instincts at play.

Cillian Murphy is also great as the morally ambiguous Emmett. It’s an interesting character development that keeps the audience guessing throughout.

The stars of the show are surely the two kids, Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds as brother and sister Marcus and Regan Abbott. The sibling bond is believable that you really care about what happens to these kids. Simmonds brings a grit and determination to her character which is remarkable.

The special effects of the aliens are gory and terrifying, but not much explanation is given regarding why the aliens hunt for noise. Perhaps that plays into the mystery of the apocalyptic theme of the film, but there are a lot of unanswered questions (Part III anyone?)

Krasinski answered questions in a live Q&A after the screening, in which he was asked what it is like directing his wife, Blunt, he said she was the best and most professional actor he had ever worked with. It was heart-warming to hear him gush about his wife, despite putting her through a risky horror scene.
In the trailer and initial scenes of A Quiet Place: Part II we are taken back to day one of the invasion. The streets are mayhem, and Blunt is attempting to escape in a car with two kids in the back. People are getting killed all over the place, the road is swarming with aliens. Krasinski says that it took weeks of preparation to get the action sequence down, but the cars on the road swerving and crashing is all real and Blunt didn’t use a stunt double so the fear on her face as a bus is reversing into her car at 40mph is real fear.

A Quiet Place: Part II is a film made for the cinema and unlikely horror movie director Krasinski is cementing himself as one to watch.

A Quiet Place: Part II is in cinemas from May 27, 2021 with advance screenings this weekend.

**** Four stars