Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Starring: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Missis, James Cromwell
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 131 mins

Rebel Ridge is a crime thriller by Jeremy Saulnier, his first film in six years after Hold The Dark. Saulnier has proved quite the accomplished director, with Blue Ruin, Green Room and Hold The Dark all suitably atmospheric and gritty. Of his four films to date, Green Room is undoubtedly the one that’s attracted the most acclaim, a visceral and raw thriller about a punk band who get themselves tangled with a bunch of neo-Nazi skinheads. Although critics liked Hold The Dark, audiences seemed to find it more challenging but I thought it was brimming in atmosphere and it has a particularly sensational midway shootout sequence. 

Another revenge thriller, Rebel Ridge opens with Marine veteran Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) cycling into the town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his jailed cousin. He’s intentionally rammed by two police officers, who seize his $36,000 in cash via civil forfeiture. But the corrupt police force, led by the charismatic Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) don’t know who they’re messing with when Terry turns up at the police station to report the cash as stolen. 

Rebel Ridge is a gripping thriller with a deliciously mean streak about it, even if it’s slightly overlong and peaks in its first act. Despite its early peak, I still had a grin on my face throughout though. Straight from the off, the film grips with the casual horror of how the police lay the law down and how we can relate to Terry, who was simply minding his own businesses before the police officers pick on him. Saulnier has plenty to say on police corruption and there’s some terrific chase sequences, with crunchy violence, echoing late ’80s action films and the classic Westerns before them.

Aaron Pierre is brilliant as the calm but righteous Terry, a role that was originally destined for John Boyega. He’s also going to be starring in the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King, so I suspect he has a strong career incoming. As you’d expect, Don Johnson is great as the deliciously crooked police chief – he could play this role in his sleep, and AnnaSophia Robb also impresses in what’s arguably her highest-profile role outside of her childhood career.

Elsewhere, there’s a pulse-raising score from Brooke and Will Blair and the film’s slickly shot by David Gallego, who does a particularly excellent job at establishing the town’s geography. It’s just a shame that such a tightly crafted action thriller has been consigned to Netflix – Rebel Ridge is a lot better than many action thrillers that get theatrical releases and this one deserves to do well.

Director: Fede Álvarez 
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 119 mins

Alien: Romulus is the latest in the franchise and represents a change of course after Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant prequels. Directed by Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus is an interquel, set between the events of Alien and Aliens. It follows an entirely new cast, with a group of young space colonists in pursuit of better life conditions after being treated poorly by the Weyland-Utani corporation. 

Legacy sequels seem to be in-fashion at the moment, with films such as Halloween (2018), Terminator: Dark Fate and The Exorcist: Believer ignoring previous, lesser-regarded films in their respective series. While the approach to break free of poor sequels is an admirable one, not all legacy sequels have been positively received, with some creating even more irreversible damage. Álvarez is most notable for his horror work and made a name for himself with the Evil Dead (2013) remake and Don’t Breathe. While these films are fine, Álvarez has always been a more visual director than one with thematic depth which doesn’t make him a natural fit for Alien. 

Unfortunately, Alien: Romulus is an outright disaster. The characters are unlikeable and paper-thin, there’s no thematic depth, the script is ear-scraping and there’s a complete lack of tension. Furthermore, Álvarez makes the grave mistake of including tedious moments of fan service, but they certainly didn’t service this fan. Most embarassingly, Alien: Romulus makes Alien: Resurrection seem a competent film. 

The problem is Álvarez and fellow screewnriter Rodo Sayagues’ script, which is just woeful. The characters speak unnaturally (Spike Fearn’s Cockney geezer Bjorn is particularly grating) and there’s no development. The first 45 minutes of the film are thunderously boring as we are introduced to the characters. Whatever your opinion of Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott economically introduces the colony ship crew and we know who’s who very quickly. Other than a couple of snippets of Rain’s (Cailee Spaeny) upbringing and how her reprogrammed android surrogate brother, Andy (David Jonsson) has come to be the way he is, Alvarez gives us nothing. 

Because Álvarez either knows he’s not adding anything new to the party or is lacking confidence that his idea can carry a film, he litters the film with ‘fan service’. There are numerous callbacks to previous films which drag the film down, especially the reprise of one of Sigourney Weaver’s iconic lines. But the worst crime Álvarez commits is by including a character (or more specifically, a related character) who featured in a previous entry and it’s shoddily recreated using CGI and AI technology because the actor is no longer alive. Ethical concerns aside, it adds nothing to the film and the visual effects are embarassing. 

Aside from the shoddy visual effects, the film’s murkily shot by Galo Olivares. The film lacks any of the technical wonder of Ridley Scott’s prequels. It’s quite interesting how those films too, also have large sections set in dark environments but Dariusz Wolski is a far more accomplished cinematographer than Olivares in that he is able to bring out the wonder in them. Even Benjamin Wallfisch’s score fails to make an impression, who chooses to ape Jerry Goldsmith’s original Alien riff rather than forge any creative path of his own. 

Both Álvarez and Sayagues also fail to understand the lore of the series. The Xenomorphs (and various other creature) don’t follow franchise logic and because characters are able to get away with seemingly impossible tasks as a result, it results in a complete lack of tension or investment. 

It’s quite staggering how poor Alien: Romulus is. To think we got this rather than a sequel to the flawed but fascinating Alien: Covenant is an insult. Not only is this this comfortably the worst film in the franchise, it’s also Álvarez’s worst effort out of his own filmography. The initial concept should have been buried well before the film was greenlit. Sadly, the reception to Alien: Romulus has been bafflingly positive – I just hope Álvarez goes and does something else rather than further tarnish the series. In my opinon, this is comfortably the worst film of 2024 so far. 

Director: Shawn Levy  
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen 
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 128 mins

Deadpool and Wolverine is the long-awaited sequel to Deadpool 2 and in this installment, The Merc with a Mouth teams up with Wolverine. With 20th Century Fox now absorbed into Disney, the film now exists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Six years after the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is now at rock-bottom, having broken up with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He’s soon captured by the Time Variance Authority, where an agent called Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) explains that because Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) died in Logan, its universe has lost its anchor-being. Mr Paradox wants to use a ‘Time Ripper’ device to accelerate the process of Wade’s timeline being wiped but Wade refuses to accept his fate and travels across universes to find a suitable Logan replacement. Shawn Levy’s in the director’s chair, who has experience with both Reynolds and Jackman and fortunately, the film is still 15 / R-rated rather than being diluted for Disney. But Jackman was adamant when Logan released that that would be his swansong, and it proved a suitably fitting and moving conclusion to the revered character. It’s safe to say, many were trepidations when Jackman agreed to return for this sequel. 

While there’s the occasional laugh here and there, Deadpool and Wolverine is a disappointing sequel. There are simply no stakes with the overused multiverse construct and the film has next-to-no plot. The film simply felt like a series of smug in-jokes, akin to Marvel patting itself on its back. There are so many cameos and while some are great, it all feels meaningless in this overly corporate-feeling film. Deadpool and Wolverine is also let down by a poor villain with no personality or character development and typical end-of-the-world antics. You’d think this would be old hat for comic-book films now. I felt quickly worn out and the film more than overstays its welcome at 128 minutes. There’s no denying the script is sharp, even if the tone is far from personal but there are a lot of hands in the pie here – there’s five credited writers. Carrying on the confusion is Rob Simonsen’s score, which is just all over the place – he typically turns in thoughtful work. 

To give the film its due, both Reynolds and Jackman give committed performances. Deadpool is old-hat for Reynolds now but he’s fine and does his shtick. And while Jackman doesn’t ruin his Logan legacy by returning, I’d have preferred it if he hadn’t returned because his character isn’t given the time to shine here. 

Deadpool and Wolverine is easily the worst of the trilogy and feels like a cynical love letter to Fox. I really hope this smug cynicism isn’t a tone that will be replicated in future comic-book films but I suspect the rapturous audience reception and strong box office means studios will double-down on this approach. This is a creatively bankrupt, plotless and tiresome film. Shawn Levy is a fine director and some of his films have a real sense of fun but Deadpool and Wolverine feels like a product constructed by a corporate committee. 

Director: Jason Yu 
Starring: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 95 mins

Sleep is the directorial debut of Jason Yu, a South Korean black comedy horror mystery thriller. Hyeon-soo (Lee Sun-kyun) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) are newlyweds and one night, Soo-jin discovers her husband sleepwalking. His nighttime antics get increasingly severe and with Soo-jin heavily pregnant, she’s worried harm could come to her newborn. The film received acclaim where it played in the Critics’ Week at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, an initiative aimed at discovering and supporting new talents. 

Much to my disappointment, I lost patience with Sleep pretty early in and found the 95 minutes to really drag. My main problem with it is its complete lack of logic – it’s absolutely riddled with plot holes. The film struggles to satisfy its genre intentions – it’s not scary whatsoever and lacks tension on the horror front. From a black comedy perspective, I didn’t find its humour funny at all but perhaps some of its intended humour is lost in translation. The plot is generally all over the place and the direction the narrative ultimately heads in is very unsatisfying. 

There’s no character development of the two newlyweds – all we really know about Hyeon-soo is that he’s an actor and we learn nothing about Soo-jin. You don’t need a fully fleshed out character every time for a film to work but I struggled to empathise with them. What’s more, a character’s mental shift feels sudden and completely unearned. 

The score by Hyuk-jin Chang and Yong-jin Chang aggressively doesn’t fit the film and veers between different genres. Cinematographer Tae-soo Kim fails to make the most of what is mainly one location (a block of flats and an apartment, although there are some scenes set in different places). It never settles on a visual style and the film looks drab. 

It’s a real shame because the idea of someone sleepwalking to dangerous effect is horrific. With the right hands and a more intimate, atmospheric approach, there’s a lot of potential here. But Sleep is an utter logic-defying car crash and I’m genuinely surprised at the very positive critical reception. 

Director: Chris Nash 
Starring: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Sam Roulston, Alexander Oliver, Lauren Taylor
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 94 mins

In A Violent Nature is a high-concept slasher, which flips the genre on its head by depicting the events largely from the killer’s perspective. The film opens with a group of friends discovering a locket hanging on the remains of a fire tower. When one of them pockets it, the corpse of Johnny (Ry Barrett) swiftly arises and stalks the group and anyone in his way for the locket. 

While In A Violent Nature has an interesting concept, unfortunately the film fails to make the most of it. Comparisons have been drawn with slow cinema, which are certainly apt given nothing happens other than Johnny gruesomely murdering the group between large, prolonged stretches of walking through the Ontario wilderness setting. A last minute shift to another character also feels completely out of place. 

Being free of a narrative isn’t necessarily a problem in my view but director Chris Nash doesn’t do anything with the concept to maintain interest. The writing is particularly poor and the group of characters seem to simply box-tick trendy current personality types – I didn’t care for any of them at all. Nash also fails to maintain tension or a sense of dread in between kills, forgetting tension for monotony. 

At least In A Violent Nature is memorable for its brutal slayings. Two of them are particularly grisly and prolonged and will be what the film is remembered for. To a degree, most of the kills are more elaborate than the last but the two in question (one involving a character practicing cliffside yoga and the other a log splitter) don’t come at the film’s climax. 

Nash also succeeds in not revealing Johnny’s face until quite far into the film (Longlegs also succeeds in this department). Instead, DP Pierce Derks uses the dark and shadows or simply follows Johnny from behind and this is deeply effective. 

While there are two slayings that will be forever etched in my brain, it’s a shame In A Violent Nature cannot quite make the most of its innovative concept. The slow cinema approach is also novel but what undoes the film for me is the ear-scraping script, its lack of tension or dread and the last minute perplexing bait-and-switch to another character’s perspective. In a Violent Nature is certainly a better film to discuss than to experience. 

Director: Osgood Perkins 
Starring: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Nicolas Cage
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 101 mins

Longlegs is a horror thriller written and directed by Osgood Perkins, his fourth film but by far his highest profile effort. The film follows Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), an FBI agent assigned to investigate a decades-spanning case of a series of brutal murder-suicides. In each incident, the father has murdered his wife and children before taking his own life, but a letter with cryptic Satanic coding is left at each crime scene signed ‘Longlegs’. There’s no forensic evidence to suggest any outside parties have been present. 

The film’s had quite the marketing campaign with rapturous reviews prior to its release, with many praising Nicolas Cage’s performance as the titular character. With sky-high expectations, it’s always easy for films to disappoint and be a victim of its own marketing success. 

Although Longlegs isn’t as outright scary as some have made it out to be and is more of a crime thriller, this is still a barnstorming original effort from Perkins. He maintains a real sense of dread and tension throughout and the film is relentlessly bleak with some a terrific central performance by Maika Monroe. 

The film’s beautifully shot by Andrés Arochi, favouring close-ups of characters but keeping the background in shot – an early scene where Harker reads a letter following a home invasion is brilliantly shot as we’re constantly peering at the edge of the kitchen door frame. I also loved the muted, grey colour palette and the dreary, dilapidated homes many of the characters live in that portray the Oregonian setting is not particularly affluent. It’s also complemented by an excellent, rather minimalist score by Zilgi (who is actually the director’s’ brother, Elvis Perkins) but there are equally many scenes of silence which really contributes to the dread. 

While I really appreciated the film’s mix of being a procedural crime thriller with Satanic worship and occult mystery and while the film ends neatly and in a satisfying way, it would have been even more effective if Perkins’ hadn’t explained some details.  

Maika Monroe is brilliant, and if she didn’t already after The Guest and It Follows, cements herself as a modern horror scream queen. Harker is a fascinating character, completely deadpan and somewhat distant and struggles to fit in with her peers. There’s a brilliant early scene where she’s invited into a young girl’s bedroom and when her mother walks in on them, Harker’s sat on the bed looking away from the girl. Her unpredictability contributes to the dread and when we meet Alicia Witt as her mother, you can see an uncanny resemblance between them. Blair Underwood is also excellent as her superior, Agent Carter, bringing a humanity as he tries to make sense of Harker’s findings. 

And then there’s Nicolas Cage and despite warming to his performance more on a second watch, is a mixed bag. He’s genuinely creepy at times as the elusive serial killer but equally very Cage-like in his intensity, which detracts from the seriousness of the film and is the complete opposite of Monroe’s performance. I wonder whether it would have been a stronger choice to have picked an unknown actor for the role. However, on the plus side Cage is in the film for just the right amount of time and doesn’t overly outstay his welcome. 

Longlegs is ultimately an excellent horror thriller and will surely propel Perkins’ career. I can’t wait to watch his prior filmography and the film’s an excellent showcase of Maika Monroe’s ability and I hope she gets more meaningful work from her success here. While perhaps a little too neatly crafted in its narrative, Longlegs is a fiersomely original horror directed with real skill and flair. 

Director: Ti West 
Starring: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 104 mins

MaXXXine is the third instalment in Ti West’s X series and a direct sequel to X. It’s surreal to think what was originally a relatively low-key release is now a full-blown film series, with West having originally shot X (which I loved) and Pearl (fine, but overrated) back-to-back.  

MaXXXine picks up in 1985 shortly after the gruesome events of X, with Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) attending an audition for the lead in a new horror film following her pornography career. Minx’s transition to socially acceptable filmmaking is amidst the Night Stalker murders in Los Angeles and she soon finds herself intertwined in a tale of bloodshed and blackmail. 

MaXXXine is a thoroughly enjoyable, if uneven third instalment. Like its predecessors, West experiments with exploring a different horror sub-genre – in this case, Giallo horror. It unexpectedly shares many of the story beats of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood but in a thrilling way that isn’t derivative. The score by Tyler Bates is brilliant and is probably a career-best. The film’s also beautifully shot by Eliot Rocket, who really captures the neon, seedy 80’s Hollywood aesthetic. 

Like Pearl indirectly provided commentary on the coronavirus pandemic, West uses MaXXXine to explore the rise of extremist politics. There’s a big third act reveal that didn’t fully work for me but it does work in the interests of what West is going for. In a way, it’s good MaXXXine tries to stand on its own feet before eventually connecting to X. 

But sticking on that note, MaXXXine an odd film in the context of the trilogy. While there’s a handful of gory kills, there’s next to no tension, with West instead simply embracing its 80’s roots. I wonder if MaXXXine would be an even better film if it wasn’t chained to the confines of a series. 

There’s some very entertaining performances across the board. Mia Goth is reliably strong but Kevin Bacon steals the show as a seedy private investigator, resplendent with gold teeth. Giancarlo Esposito is also a highlight as Maxine’s agent with an outrageous haircut. 

I really enjoyed MaXXXine and although it’s a little shambolically crafted, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had a big grin on my face. There’s some expertly crafted sequences and West, in combination with the music, cinematography and performances, confidently captures the time period with care and passion. 

Director: Kevin Costner
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Jena Malone, Michael Angarano, Abbey Lee, Jamie Campbell-Bower, Luke Wilson
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 181 mins

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is the first in a planned four-film epic Western series directed, produced, co-written and starring Kevin Costner. Costner is no stranger to the epic Western having helmed the (overrated) Dance with Wolves and Open Range. His aim with this series is to tell a story spanning multiple generations, akin to the excellent How The West Was Won. Still, films like this just aren’t made anymore so despite Costner’s historical lack of subtlety, I was hoping it would be successful for the genre’s sake. 

Told over a bum-numbing 181 minutes, this first chapter has three overarching stories, with separate strands within them. To keep it brief, Horizon, a supposedly idyllic paradise in the San Pedro Valley, is brutally attacked by an Apache tribe led by Pionsenay (Owen Crow Shoe). We see how some of the survivors, chiefly Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and how her daughter are offered santucary in Camp Gallant. 

In another story that begins in Montana, we see a woman, Lucy (Jena Malone) shoot James Sykes and escape, with the brothers hot on her tail. Within this storyline, we meet Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner) who befriends prostitute Marigold (Abbey Lee), who is looking after Lucy’s child. 

Finally, around two hours in, we are introduced to a wagon trail led by Matthew van Weyden (Luke Wilson) heading to Horizon.

It’s hard to definitively judge Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 without the context of its sequels but as a standalone film, it falls short of the mark. While it’s always watchable, nothing really happens and the different storylines are no closer to colliding by the end of the film. It’s certainly true that the characters find themselves in a different situation than the one we first see them in when they are introduced though. 

There’s some good setpieces, especially the opening, violent Horizon massacre but there’s a lot of baggage too that could have been edited to make the film tighter. Costner and Jon Baird’s script is very talky and not particularly sharp and the film lacks any of the emotion of How The West Was Won, often resorting to cliche. 

Despite J. Michael Muro’s expansive cinematography and John Debney’s throwback, swirling but ultimately unmemorable score, the film felt more akin to a television series rather than a piece of cinema. The ending is particularly criminal, without any kind of hook for the unengaged viewer to feel the need to instantly put on Chapter 2. We end on a random scene and then a montage (trailer) for Chapter 2, which felt like a particularly cheap move. 

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is an odd film – as a standalone piece of cinema, it’s a failure but in the context of a series, I am somewhat interested in what happens to these characters next. With the trailer for Chapter 2 seemingly promising more action, I hope better storytelling and pacing comes with it  because these are the critical components that hamper this opener.

With Chapters 3 and 4 in various forms of pre-production, I wonder if there will ever be a finished product. It certainly takes a devoted fan of the Western, who appreciates its sprawling and old-fashioned nature to want to persist with this story and realistically, I struggle to see this series performing well financially. With Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 set for release in August, we’ll undoubtedly have a clearer idea whether Costner’s passion project is a viable one.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 164 mins

Kinds of Kindness is the new film by Yorgos Lanthimos, hot on the heels of Poor Things. Although it may seem as if Lanthimos has been uncommonly busy, Kinds of Kindness was actually shot before his Oscar-winning darling and it’s an entirely different beast in almost every way. 

An absurdist triptych, Kinds of Kindness sees Lanthimos on scripting duties with Efthimis Filippou in their first collaboration since The Killing of a Sacred Deer (in my opinion, Lanthimos’ best film). On both The Favourite and Poor Things, Lanthimos didn’t have a hand in the script and you could tell – Lanthimos and Filippou’s scripts all have an arch quality to them, and is what makes them so great. 

Kinds of Kindness is a thrillingly cold-hearted triptych with a razor dry sense of humour which only Lanthimos could have accomplished and represents the director at his most daring. As with any anthology film though, certain stories resonated with me more than others and the first one’s the best for me, because Jesse Plemons carries the emotional spiralling descent so chillingly. 

While it may lack the sheer horror of The Killing of a Sacred Deer’s final act, this has all the surrealist elements and uncomfortable feeling of The Lobster and Dogtooth. There’s certainly a lot going on in Kinds of Kindness and even if some elements don’t seem to be fully fleshed out, it’s a fascinating film. Conversations about what ties the stories together are likely to only end in frustration.

The cast are all at the top of the game but Jesse Plemons is sensational, particularly the first two stories where he has the lead role and it may just be career-best work. Emma Stone is also very strong, particularly when she takes the lead in the third and somewhat frustrating fable and Willem Dafoe’s reliably excellent, with the same lilt he has in Poor Things.    

Jerskin Fendrix’s score is very fitting and full of portent and cinematographer Robbie Ryan captures the neon glitz of Los Angeles but he’s not given as much an opportunity to really push the boat like he did with the memorable fish-eye lens of Poor Things. 

Kinds of Kindness is a fascinating film in Lanthimos’ catalogue and in many ways, feels like a return to his past which is his strongest period. This has all the eerie strangeness and uncomfortable feeling of his best works, backed up by committed and memorable performances across the board. 

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 99 mins

A Quiet Place: Day One is the latest in the expanding series, functioning both as a prequel and spin-off. While A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place: Part II focussed on the Abbott family, Day One relocates the action to New York and follows Sam (Lupita Nyong’o). 

Sam is a terminally ill cancer patient who lives at a hospice. Thinking she’s had her last visit to the city before her death, she’s convinced to join a trip to a marionette show in Manhattan by a nurse, Reuben (Alex Wolff) with the promise of pizza afterwards. However, things take an apocalyptic turn when meteor-like objects fall from the sky mid-performance. As the extraterrestrial creatures take ahold of New York City, the citizens are encouraged to make their way to a boat because the creatures can’t swim. Sam, on the other hand, decides she would rather stay in the city and get pizza from her favourite restaurant, Patsy’s. 

Unlike its predecessors which were both directed by John Krasinski (but he still gets a story credit here), Michael Sarnoski is in the director’s chair this time around. Sarnoski’s debut feature was Pig, which I utterly despised, so I was rightfully rather trepidatious heading into A Quiet Place: Day One. 

A Quiet Place: Day One fortunately isn’t a disaster and there’s a lot that it gets right amidst more shortcomings. You mileage will vary depending on how much you buy into the story of a terminally ill individual wanting to eat pizza, as well as regular defiances of logic. On the plus side, while Sarnoski’s direction of Pig was bland, it isn’t here. 

While the film’s overly schmaltzy in its quieter moments, I liked the more thoughtful idea of coming to terms with death within an apocalypse  and the film is visually interesting. I liked how we see the creatures in broad daylight, whereas Krasinski tended to keep them in the dark the first time round. There’s some good set-pieces too, but unfortunately Sarnoski often doesn’t develop them. The film also would have benefitted from another re-write as the dialogue is quite wooden in places and although it’s only 99 minutes, cutting it down by 15-20 minutes would have made for a more effective piece. 

It’s Lupita Nyong’o who really holds the film together. She tells us a lot about her character through her facial expressions, especially the pain and grief she’s experiencing. Joseph Quinn didn’t do much for me but Alex Wolff is excellent as Reuben and is almost unrecognisable.

While A Quiet Place: Day One is a rewrite and edit away from being pretty good, the result is an interesting mess held together by an excellent Lupita Nyong’o performance. It’s definitely better than A Quiet Place: Part II and it’s not far off the quality of the first, which despite its excellent concept I find to be quite overrated.