A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

The best entry yet in the franchise, original, inventive and emotionally complex thanks to Lupita Nyong’o’s transfixing lead performance as a woman with terminal cancer facing the invasion. It is moving, structurally perfect and exquisitely complete.

The critic highlights how the film morphs into a bittersweet tale of living with a death sentence, praising Sarnoski's patient hand and focus on existential themes of mortality and meaning, making it lonelier, sadder, and more powerful than prior entries through Nyong'o's performance.

The review commends the intimate, character-centric approach in this New York-set prequel, praising Michael Sarnoski's handling of quiet and Nyong'o's nuanced performance in a well-wrought genre exercise with low-key passion.

The film offers an intimate, poignant take on the franchise with strong leads forming a new bond amid the invasion. Sarnoski handles the sombre mood and themes of meaning amid destruction effectively in this understated entry.

The critic praises the taut, consistently terrifying prequel for its intense New York setting and emotional depth, highlighting Lupita Nyong'o's riveting performance and the director's control, restraint, and compassion in balancing thriller elements with a melancholy quest narrative.

The prequel keeps the franchise’s silence-is-golden premise fresh with a bold, innovative and heart-in-throat approach to the alien invasion. It works best experienced with an audience.

The critic notes that Michael Sarnoski brings deep emotion to this mostly satisfying prequel, which takes us back to the start of the alien invasion, with Lupita Nyong'o and an astonishing cat performance adding new levels to the apocalyptic franchise.

The prequel is a bleak but curiously life-affirming disaster movie set in noisy New York, boosted by Lupita Nyong’o’s textured performance as a terminally ill poet. It is stylish and satisfying overall, despite some underdeveloped elements and over-reliance on a cat.

A predictable prequel that still delivers well-timed tension and suspense, with imagery recalling 9/11 chaos. It stands out for its emphasis on the bond between humans and animals, handled with humour and feeling.

The film has interesting ideas and strong performances from Nyong’o and Quinn but feels like a first draft, with imprecise action setpieces and insufficient tension or character development.

Strong performances from Nyong’o and Quinn cannot fully overcome a sense of déjà vu in this prequel. The intimate two-hander relationship and intense opening sequences provide some appeal amid familiar franchise elements.

The critic finds the film a reiteration of the franchise formula that does not fully exploit its fresh New York setting or premise, though it appreciates the welcome silence, Nyong'o's emoting, and the therapeutic arc centered on the protagonist's personal quest.

The critic faults the murky, indistinct visuals and sound design that undermine the franchise's core strengths, along with an overly sentimental character arc and questionable racial politics in the ending.

The prequel succeeds as an intimate character drama thanks to strong performances from Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn, focusing on two strangers navigating the alien invasion in New York. The alien set pieces feel familiar, but the emotional core of facing mortality amid the apocalypse stands out as unexpectedly moving.

This rare prequel outclasses the originals for its moody, intimate human drama and bleak tone centered on a terminally ill woman’s quiet quest, with strong performances and personal moments standing out.

A modest but effectively melancholy prequel that preserves franchise tension while introducing new characters and themes of caring for one another. Nyong’o and Quinn are compelling, though it does not reach the heights of prior entries.

The critic finds the prequel gimmicky and thin despite Lupita Nyong’o’s affecting performance and some strong action sequences. It lacks meaningful symbolic resonance beyond its survival premise centered on a cat and a terminally ill woman.

This prequel bucks diminishing returns in horror franchises with its fresh vision, new cast, and relentless scares that keep the tension high. Director Michael Sarnoski balances intense chase sequences with human tenderness and psychological realism, making it one of the more intelligent survival stories.

The chills work better than the thrills in this prequel; the story is dominated by Nyong’o’s character and her cat, with Sarnoski adding little new information about the aliens.

Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn deliver excellent performances in this gripping spin-off that expands the franchise effectively. The film maintains tension through its horror elements while highlighting the leads' chemistry in the chaotic New York setting.

The prequel prioritizes sentimentality over suspense, delivering a sappy Hallmark-like story with too little action or answers about the invasion, despite a few tense setpieces and Nyong’o’s committed performance.

The critic views it as a riveting drama that explores emotional territory differently from the originals, praising its focus on human stories, New York setting, and performances by Nyong'o and Quinn. They single out the emotional resonance and character-driven approach for praise.

The critic praises it as an excellent, emotionally resonant prequel with strong tense set pieces, effective sound design, and standout performances from Nyong'o and Quinn (plus the cat), which add heart without feeling forced.

The critic calls it the best film in the series, a surprisingly meditative character drama rather than a straightforward monster movie. Sarnoski is praised for his eye for haunting, vivid imagery of a ruined New York and the quiet bonding moments between characters.

The critic praises the film as a touching character-driven action film that justifies its existence through brilliant performances by Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn, focusing on personal stories rather than just horror. They single out the cast and character development for praise, while noting it is less horrifying than predecessors.

The critic describes a smaller-scale, intimate prequel that delivers white-knuckle terror and shocking visuals of a devastated New York, anchored by Nyong'o's magnificent performance, though the screenplay is sometimes ponderous.

The critic finds the film a melancholy prequel that stands out due to Lupita Nyong’o’s spiky yet vulnerable performance, but notes its downbeat tone makes it feel more like an ambitious indie than a summer blockbuster.

The critic finds the film a cloying, perfunctory commercial for the franchise, criticizing simplistic character arcs and lack of depth despite strong performances. They complain about maudlin storytelling and failure to make characters resonate.

The review describes it as a serviceable sci-fi prequel that keeps its mouth shut but offers little new to series fans, praising the cat and Nyong’o and Quinn’s performances while noting repetitive elements.