MAKING A NOISE
WITH ALIEN-APOCALYPSE PREQUEL A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, DIRECTOR MICHAEL SARNOSKI, THE MAN BEHIND GRIEFSPLOITATION PICTURE PIG, IS DITCHING THE FAMILY — AND SHAKING UP THE FRANCHISE
WORDS SOPHIE BUTCHER
Alien nation: Strangers Eric (Joseph Quinn), Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) and Frodo the cat make a run for it;
You’re on the edge of your seat, but you daren’t move a muscle. The pitch-black of the cinema surrounds you. You’re watching a new horror movie directed by Jim from The Office, and your fists are clenched, goosebumps raised; your senses are on high alert. You bought a bucket of popcorn —but from the second the film starts, and for the entire opening sequence, the popcorn remains untouched. The room is silent, as the characters on screen tiptoe around an abandoned pharmacy, avoiding making a sound so as to avoid being torn to pieces. Tension thrums in the air, and you don’t want to be responsible for breaking it by munching away on your sweet and salty.
John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, a hushed, thrilling tale of the Abbott family —Lee (Krasinski), pregnant Evelyn (Emily Blunt), son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) —and their fight for survival against a savage alien species, was one of the major big-screen surprises of 2018. It made $341 million at the box office, more than 20 times its budget of $17 million. It introduced us to a world where the slightest sound could get you killed. (It also sparked a lot of questions about cracks in the premise, such as what happens when you sneeze? Or cough? Or fart in your sleep?!?)
Michael Sarnoski, director of new prequel A Quiet Place: Day One, vividly remembers seeing the first film in the cinema too. “It was a very visceral experience,” he tells Empire. “The audience were holding their breath.” Back then, Sarnoski was likely working towards his debut feature Pig. An intimate character study starring Nicolas Cage as high-end-chef-turnedreclusive-truffle-hunter Robin Feld, who goes searching for his titular porcine pal after she’s stolen from him, it would be released to widespread acclaim in 2021. It signified Sarnoski as a filmmaker with a lightness of touch when it comes to heavy themes like grief and mortality, and a knack for delivering impactful character moments at a low volume. Little did he know, those skills would come in handy pretty soon.