When John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” was released in 2018, it became quite the blockbuster, receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics alike.

To be fair, the premise itself was rather unique. An invasion of aliens who hunt using sound? That’s the perfect recipe for a bloodbath and a nail-biting movie!

Fast forward to late June 2024 and the latest instalment of the post-apocalyptic horror series, “A Quiet Place: Day One” has finally arrived in Malaysian theatres.

While Krasinski has passed directorial duties to Michael Sarnoski, he remains onboard as one of the film’s producers.

As the title suggests, the film takes place during the very beginning of the alien invasion, following one unlucky citizen of New York City. The audience views the invasion through the eyes of Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a cancer patient out on a trip in the Big Apple with her cat, Frodo, when the aliens arrive with a bang.

Chaos soon follows, as the screaming, panicking crowds make for easy prey for the aliens, who leave the city a desolate ruin.

With nowhere to go and not much time to live, Sam sets out on the final quest of her life: to seek what could possibly be the last pizza on earth. (It makes more sense in context.)

Along the way, she bumps into and loses contact with various other survivors, including Henri (Djimon Hounsou) and Eric (Joseph Quinn).

Will she live long enough to find her pizza? Does she like having it with pineapple? Those are questions you must watch to find out for yourself.

The previous films took place in largely rural settings and even out in the wild, as the aliens proved to be quite the constant menace. So, imagine what an alien invasion taking place in one of the world’s busiest cities must be like. Death and destruction are pretty much guaranteed.

The film spares no expense or time in getting to the meat of the story, namely the terror that results from dealing with these indestructible monsters.

In some ways, the scenes of terror and destruction in the film resemble that of real-life terrorist attacks, with people frightened and confused all at once. It hardly helps that most frightened people are noisy people, resulting in folks not even being able to scream for help before being offed.

Like in the previous films, you, as well as the characters, will be holding your breath every time the movie quietens down because there’s almost always danger lurking behind every corner.

Given the nature of the film’s monsters, even the slightest sound becomes an effective jump scare. So do eat your popcorn in silence, please!

But a good premise is nothing without good characters and even better actors to portray them. And those are not lacking in this film.

Nyong’o gives a powerful performance as the film’s main character, an ordinary person having to deal with an extraordinary situation.

The film has very limited dialogue, obviously, but the audience is able to gauge how she is both terrified and brave in the face of terror.

And as the story progresses, you will also learn a little bit about why she is so intent on getting that pizza, and might even sympathise with her.

Also, shoutout to the cats playing her cat, Frodo! They are effectively the secondary main character of the film and you will definitely be worried for their safety just as much as for Sam’s!

Some praise also has to be reserved for Quinn, who plays a frightened Englishman who joins up with Sam after a chance encounter. Though they literally cannot speak much to each other, the bond they form is believable and the lengths they go to help each other, heart-warming.

That said, if you go in expecting the film to explain where the aliens came from or what created them, you are going in with the wrong expectations. This film is simply a glimpse at the first hours of terror during the invasion and anyway, some things are best left to the audience’s imagination.

All in all, if you want a horror movie with relatable (and non-irritating) characters, “A Quiet Place: Day One” is the film for you.

As of press time, ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.