A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

Director: John Krasinski
Stars: Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Cillian Murphy
Runtime: 97 minutes

Synopsis: Following the events at home, the Abbott family now faces the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path.

Verdict: I don’t usually enjoy ranting about something that doesn’t have to do with the movie I’m talking about in my posts but, this time, I unfortunately feel obliged to. “A Quiet Place 2” marked only the third time I watched a film in theaters during this rocky calendar year. Even though I didn’t fall in love with its predecessor, I won’t deny the fact that its reliance on an atmosphere built around sound – or rather the lack of it – categorized it as a flick that was enhanced by the theatrical experience. So imagine my frustration when I found out that only a couple of rows in front of me sat a pack of insufferable pre-teens who made it a mission to ruin the event for everyone. Their intolerable loudness most definitely contributed to ruining the general mood of a movie that heavily depended on it. I’m only mentioning that because I thought it would be unfair to John Krasinski’s sequel not to, and because part of me wants to let off some steam after this reminder of the cons of the theatrical experience.

With this out of the way, “A Quiet Place 2” sees Emily Blunt’s Evelyn and her children leave their house following the events of the first chapter in what seems to be morphing into a franchise to seek refuge elsewhere. Still surviving under the threat of monsters who will attack anything that makes the slightest of noise, the premise gives the film an occasion to explore what the world has become with the presence of these uninvited guests. It provides the narrative with a chance to work on a much larger scale, with much higher stakes. An opportunity that Krasinski never fully grasps as he remains very much grounded in giving the audience more of the same. Without offering much that we haven’t seen on a technical level, his efforts behind the camera continue to be shadowed by a script that only gets more ridiculous as time goes by. Filled with logical inconsistencies, awkward conveniences, and moments that will make your eyes roll so hard that you’ll be able to see the back of your head, the story is easily the movie’s biggest weakness, followed closely by the addition of unnecessary jump scares that seem to be thrown in with the purpose of startling the audience rather than the characters.

So yeah, “A Quiet Place 2” happened, I guess. Despite my less-than-ideal experience watching it, I don’t think I’ll have an urge to revisit it anytime soon. I hate to say it, but it almost felt like a 97-minute long “Walking Dead” special.

FINAL GRADE: 5/10