A Quiet Place: Day One: early reactions praise Nyong’o, franchise progression

The first reactions to prequel installment A Quiet Place: Day One have arrived, with viewers noting a dramatic shift in the franchise.

The first reactions to A Quiet Place: Day One have tiptoed online just one week before it hits theaters, with many praising it as bringing a new twist to the ever-growing horror franchise. But how does it stack up against its predecessors?

Check out some of the initial reviews of A Quiet Place Day One:

A Quiet Place: Day One is excellent.

It didn’t have as much apocalypse-falling carnage as I’d hoped for but the human story told here is both terrifying and beautiful.

Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn are great. Nice new bits of lore, too. Plus, the cat is a star. pic.twitter.com/X7JGLHU06A

— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) June 23, 2024

A Quiet Place: Day One is easily my favorite in this franchise. It’s human & raw & is a story about the desperation that exists when all hope is lost & how that turns into a deep connection with each other. Joseph Quinn, you movie star! Lupita Nyong’o has an Oscar for a REASON. pic.twitter.com/Mm4XffHHLs

— Rachel Leishman (@RachelLeishman) June 23, 2024

Loved A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE.

Thematically, if PART I and II are more akin to ALIEN — small, quiet moments of terror — DAY ONE is closer to ALIENS.

Big, loud and scary monster carnage.

Nyong’o gives a heartbreaking weight to her role — and the final shot will leave you BROKEN. pic.twitter.com/8P5A1XGpxJ

— Jake Hamilton (@JakesTakes) June 23, 2024

As of now, reviews seem a bit divided on exactly how much action can be anticipated, with a split evident. That might be a bit of a disappointment for those looking for a certain level of thrills, but that director Michael Sarnoski has actively done his part to offer a new direction shows that the series refuses to be put into one mold. Well ahead of the movie’s screening, co-star Alex Wolff did try to tell people just as much, stating, “That’s not a horror movie, not really. I might get in trouble for saying that. It’s from the director of Pig, this film I did, so it’s very…It’s more a drama.”

Indeed, Pig is what helped Sarnoski land directing A Quiet Place: Day One, as John Krasinski was a fan. That aesthetic evidently is crucial to this prequel. “It wasn’t something that we leaned away from. In the first two, family was really important. And with that comes characters that have an established relationship. I wanted to explore what the end of the world looked like for people that didn’t have an established relationship, or a reason to care about each other.”

As you can see, Lupita Nyong’o is earning a lot of praise here, with fans naming her performance as a standout of the movie. Joseph Quinn – who played Eddie Munson on Stranger Things – has also latched on. And of course there is the cat, who potential viewers are already saying better not die!

A Quiet Place: Day One is a little less scary but with a bigger heart. The scares are predictable. The cat is a scene stealer as you’ll hold your breath every time he appears, which is either a good or a bad thing. Joseph Quinn and Lupito Nyong’o performances were fine. But, all… pic.twitter.com/8CvXOASuuz

— Gig Patta (@GigPatta) June 23, 2024

A Quiet Place: Day One is on track for a $40+ million opening weekend, positioning it to more than double the 2018 original and somewhere in the neighborhood of the 2020 sequel, which opened near the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Quiet Place: Day One will play at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival before going wide on June 28th.

What do you think of the A Quiet Place: Day One reactions? Will you be checking it out in theaters? Let us know below!