Promising to blow away the cobwebs of lockdown is horror sequel A Quiet Place: Part II. Director John Krasinski's sequel is being positioned as one of the key comeback films this summer, building on the mythology of his acclaimed 2018 chiller.
In the original movie, Krasinski starred alongside real-life wife Emily Blunt in a story about a family beset by hideous creatures. These aliens (confirmed as such by Krasinski) were capable of hunting via sound, setting in motion an especially fraught battle for survival.
A Quiet Place: Part II sees Blunt's character Evelyn, plus her children Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe), leaving their homestead and setting out into the devastated world beyond their home. As before, this means being absolutely silent at all times.
The movie has been delayed from March 2020 and has subsequently built up a real head of steam. Here's what we've discovered from the final trailer.
1. We visit the same store from the first movie
That shot of the space shuttle toy is immediately chilling – this is the noisy gizmo that doomed young Beau at the beginning of the first movie. There are plenty of callbacks to the first film in this trailer, but this is one of the most emotive, a reminder of how the most innocuous of objects can spell doom.
2. John Krasinski's Lee is in the flashback sequence
Given that his character Lee bravely sacrificed himself in the first film, we were curious as to how Kraskinski would appear in the sequel. He appears to be centre-stage during the pivotal alien invasion sequence, which looks like a hair-raising onslaught of choreographed mayhem. The arrival of the creatures is initially described by one man watching a television as "a bomb", but this is clearly not the case. The appeal of the first movie was the enigma of the aliens – here's hoping the sequel doesn't over-explain things.
3. Co-ordinates or dates seem to be pivotal
Are these dates indicating where and when people were last seen? Co-ordinates that are needed for a journey from location to another? It may well tie into the wider storyline as the surviving Evelyn and her children venture into this strange new world to find fellow human survivors.
4. Regan pines for her father
This is another quietly affecting shot, taking us back to the introspective silo tower sequence from the first movie. The fragility of the family unit is key to the appeal of A Quiet Place and Krasinski, sensibly, appears to be foregrounding this again. One cannot have a horror movie without a rooting sense of empathy for the characters.
5. Regan may be using sound technology against the aliens
At the end of A Quiet Place, Regan discovered that her hearing aid could produce white noise capable of disabling the aliens. In this trailer, she appears to glimpse one of the beasts behind soundproof glass, which maybe indicates that she's in some kind of a radio studio (supported by the sight of the AM/FM logo in the background). Are the Abbotts about to communicate Regan's DIY method through some kind of radio broadcast? It would be an effective way of communicating to any and all survivors how to cripple the monsters.
6. Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou are fellow survivors
Cillian Murphy knows a thing or two about surviving drastic situations – he was the star of Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic horror 28 Days Later (2002). He plays Emmett who runs into Evelyn and the kids and appears to offer them shelter – but is he all he seems? There's also a welcome appearance for Gladiator (2000) and Blood Diamond (2006) star Djimon Hounsou, whose character is presently unnamed. Are they trustworthy? At one point, they're seen shutting people below some stairs, Harry Potter-style. We assume this is with good intentions, but in this terrifying landscape, one can never be too sure.
7. The aliens may have evolved to hear through water
One of the truly nerve-wracking scenes in the first movie was Evelyn standing on the other side of running water from the alien. The sound appeared to block the creature's ultra-sensitive hearing, but in the trailer for the sequel, one appears to be cognizant of Evelyn despite the apparent impediment of water. Are we about to see an evolutionary upgrade of the aliens' abilities? After all, we know so little about them, and who's to say that they're incapable of evolving to become ever-more efficient killing machines?
8. The reviews are glowing
Several reviewers got to see A Quiet Place: Part II prior to the outbreak of coronavirus, and that means a delayed fuse in terms of the critical reactions. The new trailer is swift to capitalize on the critical response, with one appraisal lauding the movie as "astonishing". That's bound to build anticipation between now and the film's release date.
9. It's only in cinemas
The theatrical space made A Quiet Place a uniquely immersive experience. The film's life-or-death battle between sound and silence spilled over into the cinematic environment with the slightest rustling of popcorn or sweet wrappers erupting like an explosion. It was a thrilling rollercoaster ride, and after a year away from cinemas, audiences are clearly primed for a similar experience with the sequel. Are you ready to step back into a theatre and revisit that sense of everyone taking a collective breath?
A Quiet Place: Part II is released on the 3rd of June, and is also being paired with the first movie as part of our A Quiet Place double-bill. Tweet us @Cineworld if you'll be among the first in line at your local Cineworld.
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