A Quiet Place Part II (John Krasinski, 2020)

I confess to a bit of a hazy memory of part one — there are some kind of aliens or critters who react to sound and are menacing an American family in the wilds of New York State. Alongside bearded Lee Abbott (Krasinski) and heavily pregnant Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt), there are various kids, including the hearing impaired Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds) who is, of course, used to communicating nicely. It seemed a bit of a back to basics one damn thing after another thriller, without the tongue in cheek of Tremors or the social commentary of Blumhouse horrors.

The smash hit nature of A Quiet Place led to a cash in sequel — going back to day zero of the crisis and setting up a rather chubby Emmett (Cillian Murphy), who you just know the survivors of part one will run into. And so a branching number of parallel plots are set up — Evelyn and her surviving children — which are resolved by just in time plotting.

It doesn’t bear to think too deeply — how the aliens react to some noises and not others, how come there are still plenty of cannisters of oxygen still there at the local supermarket, how come the electricity grid is still running and the battery life of hearing aids. The suspense is slick and the film doesn’t outstay its welcome — 97 minutes is enough.  In fact it shares many of the virtues of the first film, which also settled for narrative convenience, adding redemption and becoming adult.

Will they be tempted to do a Part III? I hope not.