A Quiet Place: Day One introduces a whole new set of characters to the sci-fi horror series, but if you pay close attention, your viewing experience will be even more richly rewarded.
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00:00A Quiet Place Day One introduces a whole new set of characters to the sci-fi horror series,
00:05but if you pay close attention, your viewing experience will be even more richly rewarded.
00:10John Krasinski became a household name as an actor, solidifying his place in pop culture
00:14history by playing prankster Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office, but he's since become
00:19synonymous with one of the most highly regarded horror franchises in recent memory in the form
00:23of A Quiet Place. The first entry was released in 2018 as it introduced moviegoers to an earth
00:28overrun by blind aliens who hunt and kill people with their heightened hearing ability.
00:32With direction from Krasinski and a script by Brian Woods and Scott Beck,
00:36A Quiet Place was a huge hit at the box office. It quickly led to a sequel that
00:40was released in May 2021 and helped resurrect movie theaters in the wake of the COVID-19
00:44pandemic. The first two films focused on the Abbott family, who have survived in large part
00:48because they live on an isolated farm in the middle of a forest. Plus, they communicate using
00:52American Sign Language, as the daughter Regan is deaf. Their story wrapped up in A Quiet Place
00:56Part 2, making it so that any additional films in this franchise would have to focus on different
01:01characters in other parts of the world. And so, arriving in theaters in June 2024, A Quiet Place
01:06Day One is a prequel set on the day that the aliens arrived on Earth, but this time it takes
01:10place in the loudest urban area in the United States, New York City. Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph
01:15Quinn star as Sam and Eric, two strangers brought together by the invasion, who lean on each other
01:20to survive. The story is almost completely separate from the first two films, except for
01:24one key detail. That would be the character of Jaiman Honsu Anri, who already appeared in Part 2
01:29and now has a small part in Day One. In Part 2, Anri is the leader of a small colony of survivors
01:34on an island. Since the aliens can't swim, the island residents have been able to re-establish
01:39a somewhat normal life. Anri explains to the Abbott family and their friend Emmett that after
01:43the government discovered the creature's inability to swim, the National Guard attempted to move
01:47survivors out to the islands. Unfortunately, all of the commotion of trying to organize people
01:51onto boats created what was essentially an all-you-can-kill buffet of people. Of the 12
01:55boats prepped for escaping New York City, only two made it out.
01:59Anyway, you're here now? A new day?
02:03When the Abbotts arrive, they tell Anri about their plan to broadcast the feedback of Regan's
02:07hearing aid over the island's radio system to kill the creatures. He then helps them on their
02:11mission, but when things look to be too dangerous, he decides against it to protect his own family.
02:16Tragically, he expresses this reluctance a little too loudly, and an alien that managed to make it
02:20to the island kills him. Knowing Anri's fate makes his inclusion in Day One all the more tragic,
02:25as his presence serves a dark omen for things to come.
02:28In Day One, Sam meets Anri at a theater in New York City while they're attending a marionette
02:32show, and his son takes a liking to Sam's therapy cat, Frodo. After the aliens attack the city,
02:38Anri helps Sam adjust to the new reality. In addition to teaching her that the creatures
02:42are attracted to sound, he brings her back into the theater for safety and proves to be a
02:45formidable leader in the face of danger. While Sam and Eric traverse around the city on their
02:49own mission, Anri guides survivors to the boats heading to the island. He also ends up being part
02:54of the film's emotional climax. Day One is very much Sam and Eric's story, but with Anri making
02:59his presence felt in these small but crucial moments, it allows the prequel to feel connected
03:03to the larger franchise in a satisfying way.