A Quiet Place Part I and II Reviews

 

MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

John Krasinski was known for his humor in “The Office,” but now he may go down as the heir apparent to Alfred Hitchcock, the mantel last being upon Stephen Spielberg. A Quiet Place is Krasinki’s ode into the realm of horror, suspense, and thriller. His terrors aptly named Death Angels will find themselves on a mantel with the Xenomorph from Alien, the Yautja from Predator, and the other monsters that have captivated our craven imaginations. 

A Quiet Place Part I is a masterpiece of suspense, giving us tension that at times is deafening. The story of the Abbot family surviving the tempest of the creatures, who hunt by sound reminds me of Noah’s family, the last people on earth who have hope. The sequel (Part II) which now is available on Paramount+ streaming service and to buy in early access on Amazon Prime continues this notion that the Abbot family are guardians of hope. Not only do they have the weapon to stop and kill the Death Angels, they believe in people, that as Emily Blunt says, “people are worth saving.” This is a very Christological statement, for did our Lord not prove this by dying for our sins on the cross? That we were worth saving even when we were his enemy (Romans 5:10). 

Both films are riddled with Christian symbolism, which isn’t a surprise because Krasinski is devout Catholic. The first is the monsters themselves, they are called Death Angels. The last book of the Bible tells us there will not only a a Horseman called Death (Revelation 6:8), but that four angels of death will rise from Euphrates, “Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.” (Revelation 9:13-16), interestingly the horses of the Euphrates Angels of Death sound like description of the death angels in Quiet Place if primitive man described them, “And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.” (Revelation 9:17); the Quiet Place death angels gallop like a horse, have heads look fire when they open, and one would call them a lion if they had no modern terminology. Next the Death Angels arrives on asteroids or their pieces, and we are told in Revelation that there will be an asteroid, “The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.” (Revelation 8:10-11). Continuing on the death angels falling to earth on asteroids pays homage to the namesake fallen angel and those that fell with Satan, Jesus said, “He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” (Luke 10:18), and “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)

The next clue is the Death Angels hunt via sound, they use their receiver ears drums to find sound and eliminate it. This is interesting because God creates everything with a sound, a word, and Jesus is called the Word of God (Genesis 1:1-3, John 1:1-17), so these death angels are clearly Satanic forces, but the right frequency of sound immobilized them, a la the words of God!, “Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In the same manner Jesus was able to defeat Satan by uttering the words of scripture (Mark 4:1-12). Another aspect of similarity between Satan and the death angels is prowling and devouring, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Sober means alert and in both Parts I and II being alert is paramount to survival. 

Next we have Regan Abbot (Millicent Simmonds), who is deaf. This is important because she is weak, she had no idea when a Death Angel appears behind her like in first film. And yet she is the one who discovers the death angels’ weakness, even though she is weak, this reminds me of the verse, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me..” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Regan is the vessel God is using to battle the fallen angels. 

Then there is the name of the family, Abbot, which is an office in the Monastic Christian tradition, “a man who heads abbey of monks.” (Webster’s Dic.) In the same way the Abbot Family is an order of believers who cling to the blessed hope, but unlike monks, more like friars they go out into world to share that hope. Yet like a monastery they have been cut off from the world at large and do not know what evil other than the death angels lurk out there, as Emmett shares. Abbot in Aramaic means Abba or “Father” which chiefly is God the Father of the Trinity who sent His only Son Jesus to save us (John 3:16). We then see the Abbot family carries that salvation to the world allegorically through the signal, and they clearly show they are The Father’s children in that they want other people to be saved. 

There is a strong pro-life message in the film as Emily and her older children protect a newborn baby. There are times a viewer may even try to justify letting the baby die to save the family as a whole, but that never happens, life is sacred and every member of Abbot family fights to keep the baby alive; perhaps even an analogy of the Christ Child who was hunted by Herod’s death squads (Matthew 2:16-18), so this baby had death angels after it. 

Then we have Emmett, a friend of the Abbot family who did not come to their rescue, and who had given up hope. He is like backslidden believer who thinks they have lost their faith. His hope is rekindled by Regan, who he helps get to telecommunications tower to unleash the signal that defeats the death angels. Again we are created on the image of God who with a sound, word, creates all things, we are meant to make sound, while the death angels are perversion, they use sound to “kill, steal, and destroy.” (John 10:10). Emmett in the end places his body between a death angel and Regan who then broadcasts the signal in time to save her family once again. 

Then we have Lee, who was the patriarch of the Abbot family, played by Krasinski himself. Lee creates the hearing aid that has the signal that immobilizes the death angels. This paints him as both Creator and Christ type, offering the signal that “defeats the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), i.e. death angels. Lee solidifies himself as a Christ type makes the ultimate sacfifice to save his daughter and son in one of the most moving moments in Part I. He tells Regan in sign language, “I love you, I have always loved you.” No doubt the very message God the Trinity has for us. In fact, Lee’s death to save Regan who then becomes armed with weapon to kill death angels is allegorical of us, Christ died for us and is One with the Father (John 10:30), and now we are armed to defeat the devil. 

A Quiet Place Parts I and II is treasure trove of Christian allegory. It is a suspenseful story told across two films, with Parts III and IV in the works. I will say Part I was the most suspenseful, the birthing scene in bathtub cannot be surpassed in tension as Emily Blunt cannot make a sound during contractions because a Death Angel is in the house. Part II has merits on expanding the world of A Quiet Place, literally and figuratively. However, I did not find Part II as suspenseful and agree with professional reviews who said the pacing in Part I was better and tighter in the storytelling. Still both films have their strengths, a good sequel builds on the framework of the first and expands the horizons, and lore, which Part II did. 

Some final critiques, the Death Angels look like combination of Venom from the Spider-Man Universe, and the Licker from Resident Evil video games and movies. While its not an identical likeness, especially with that rose bud opening head, it is dissapointimg that creature creators keep giving us variations of Venom or the Xenomorph from Aliens. One plot hole to me is that the Death Angels can’t swim in Part II, while in Part I in the flooded basement you see one swimming. I’ve heard defenses that claim the Death Angel in the flooded basement was able to walk, like someone in shallow pool and so it didn’t drown, but to me this is reaching, you see it dive and come up for breath in the basement. I will say the Invasion in Part II on Day One didn’t scare me or thrill, honestly it felt too short and small, not enough of larger part of the town and nearby area is seen under siege.  I will say that I felt a better seamless intro would be to pick up from the ending of Part I when Regan turns up the amp and her mother reloads the shotgun. I would  have had them defeat the two more death angels, and have a burial for Lee, the father and husband! Then as Emily touches his grave, it flashes back to The Invasion scene. I also would have added tension in the climax of Part II by having the Death Angel in telecommunications tower destroying hardware that broadcasts the signal, forcing Regan and Emmett to make noise long enough to dissuade the death angel from destroying tech, and yet having to be silent or die; this balancing act would have made the finale really tense. 

In conclusion, A Quiet Place Part I and Part II are great thrillers that will have you on the edge of your seat. As a Christian I must warn the Death Angel design is nightmare worthy, and not suitable for too young of children, use discretion and discernment on showing it to younger audiences in your family. The gore is heavier in Part II with crowds being ripped apart by the death angels, and bare trap scene. For those with heart issues I  advise consulting your doctor before watching Part I or II, the same I recommend if you are seizure prone by certain sounds. 

I recommend both A Quiet Place Part I and II. I think the Christian messages of Hope, Family, Redemption, Sacrificial Love, and Confronting Fear outweighs any objectional content. I mean there is minimal swearing or sex in either film! That is rare these days in Hollywood productions. Amen.