After John Krasinski first introduced the world to his silent horror movie series, a prequel arrived to tell the story of the alien invasion’s first attack.
A Quiet Place: Day One takes place in New York City, one of the noisiest places in the world. A pretty bad place to be when super-hearing aliens land down, right?
With the horror movie franchise continuing to grow (with A Quiet Place 3 still on the way), it’s certainly worth checking out this latest installment, starring Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and the best cat actor you ever did see.
Here’s everything you need to know about A Quiet Place: Day One, including the cast, the plot, and reviews.
A Quiet Place: Day One release date
A Quiet Place: Day One was released on June 28, 2024.
The spinoff was originally set for release in September 2023, but Paramount Pictures first moved it back in July, with the movie only having to compete with Disney’s The Magician’s Elephant and an unspecified wide release from Universal Pictures.
Paramount then moved from its next release date of March 8, 2024, in line with a wider studio shake-up.
As for A Quiet Place Part III, it’s due to hit cinemas sometime in 2025, with Krasinski returning to direct and Emily Blunt set to star once again. It’s believed to be the final installment of the trilogy, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Critical reception and reviews
A Quiet Place: Day One received positive reviews, and is currently sitting at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Audience Score is currently at 73%.
In our own A Quiet Place: Day One review, we gave it four stars, and said “Frankly, it’s one of the most exciting movies to watch on the big screen this year. When a movie makes your heart pound and locks in your attention this much, it doesn’t deserve to be underestimated in the slightest.”
Is there a trailer?
The first trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One was released on February 7, 2024. You can watch it for yourself below:
It opens on scenes from the first two movies, before rewinding to “Day 1” in New York City, when the monstrous aliens crash-landed and immediately began preying on humanity.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“Discover why our world went quiet,” the tagline reads, with the trailer teasing terrifying scenes of city-wide carnage as our leads fight to survive.
A Quiet Place: Day One cast
A Quiet Place Day One tapped two big hitters for its cast: Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, the beloved star of Stranger Things Season 4.
Nyong’o plays Sam, a woman with terminal cancer who becomes trapped in the city after her group takes a day trip. She then meets Eric (Quinn) a young man who recently moved to New York, who suffers from panic attacks.
Plus, there’s Sam’s cat, Frodo, played by Schnitzel and Nico. Together, the three must make it across the city to the docks, where boats are departing to safety.
There’s also Alex Wolff as Reuben, Sam’s care worker, and Djimon Hounsou as Henri, reprising his role from A Quiet Place Part 2.
A Quiet Place: Day One will be written and directed by Pig’s Michael Sarnoski. Midnight Special and Mud director Jeff Nichols was originally tapped for the project, but he exited its development in October last year.
A Quiet Place: Day One plot
A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel that takes place on Day 1 of the alien invasion in New York.
Quinn explained: “It’s more of a [character] drama than anything. The script is obviously set in the world that we know, but it’s very much a film about these two characters who are lost and trying to negotiate their fates. There are also some wonderful other characters in the film who Sam encounters, but the bulk of it is Eric and Sam in their mutual acceptance of this bleak, more quiet, new reality.”
During an earlier appearance on the Empire podcast, Krasinski spoke about the origin of the monsters and how the world reacts when they’re first unleashed. “They are absolutely aliens. They’re from another planet,” he said.
“Where I developed the idea of them and what I wanted them to look like was most alien movies are about takeovers, agendas, they’re a thinking alien creature, and for me this idea of a predator, this idea of a parasite, this idea of something that is introduced into an ecosystem [was interesting].
“I remember a terrible joke that I said was it would be – it’s disgusting and disturbing, but it’s true – it would be like releasing wolves into a daycare center. That’s how the world responds.”
For more on the best new movies to come, check out our guides to Gladiator 2, Beetlejuice 2, and Mission: Impossible 8.