Back in 2018, A Quiet Place delivered a surprise hit. A 2021 sequel also sold a good chunk of tickets, enough to spawn a 2024 prequel called A Quiet Place: Day One.

Afflicted with terminal cancer, Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) lives in hospice care with other ailing patients. On a visit to New York City, aliens attack and slaughter millions.

Attracted by noise, Sam and the other survivors need to remain silent to avoid these extraterrestrial invaders. Samira embarks on a trek to Harlem, one that eventually finds accompaniment from British law student Eric (Joseph Quinn).

To say I disliked the original Place would stand as an understatement. I thought the film required far too many leaps of logic and became an interesting concept with eye-rolling execution.

Place Part II fared better than the original. Nonetheless, after a terrific opening segment, the sequel sputtered.

Both of those followed the Abbott family, whereas Day One omits that clan – thankfully. The Abbotts wore out their welcome so I hoped their absence would mean Day One improved on its predecessors.

And it did. While it still comes with issues, it proves considerably more satisfying than the first two films.

Though like Place II, Day One fares best in its first act. We get a brisk introduction to Samira and then see the initial alien assault through her eyes.

Because we know the background to the invasion from the other movies, the audience always is ahead of the characters. Nonetheless, the film paints the violence in such a relentless and terrifying manner that it packs a punch.

After that, we get into a fairly consistent routing of character scenes mixed with action. That feels inevitable and Day One fails to find anything new to do with it.

That said, I find no problem with this choice. The movie balances the two sides well enough that despite a predictable slant, the pattern works.

Day One comes with sparse character information. We get some basics about Samira and Eric but not much.

Normally I would view this as a flaw, but not in this case. Not every movie needs to spell out background in detail, and Day One brings just enough material to let us bond with the roles.

The decision to make the lead near death gives Day One an unusual slant. I won’t spell out Samira’s fate, but I do think the use of a terminal cancer patient as the main part gives the film added juice.

As does the casting of Nyong’o, who seems to fly under the popular radar. It seems weird to view an Oscar-winner who has appeared in a mix of blockbusters as “under the popular radar”, but I don’t think she gets the credit she deserves as a consistently strong cinematic presence.

Nyong’o does a lot to carry Day One, as she makes Samira a much more fleshed-out character than the script creates. Samira could easily fall into a variety of cliché boxes, but Nyong’o refuses to bow to those.

As noted, Day One does peak early, and it can suffer from some of the usual plot holes as it goes. Honestly, the basic concept related to aliens attracted to noise doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny.

Still, Day One papers over those issues better than did the first two movies, even if the remaining hour doesn’t live up to the initial 40 minutes. Nonetheless, the flick moves at a brisk pace and keeps us entertained most of the way.

A Quiet Place: Day One appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect a solid Dolby Vision image here.

At all times, sharpness appeared positive, as I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined. Virtually no issues with softness materialized along the way.

I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the flick suffered from no edge haloes. In addition, the movie lacked any print flaws.

To the surprise of no one, Day One favored a Hollywood Standard orange and teal palette. The 4K demonstrated them in the desired manner, and HDR added impact to the hues.

Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque. HDR gave whites and contrast extra punch. The 4K UHD became a strong reproduction of the film.

I felt even more pleased with the movie’s impressive Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner.

Vehicles, aliens, explosions and similar elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape. This meant nearly constant material from the surrounds.

The back speakers delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.

Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.

Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. People invest major bucks in home theaters for flicks like this, and Day One delivered the goods.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical audio.

A native 4K production, the Dolby Vision image boasted superior colors, delineation and blacks. It turned into a good visual upgrade over the already strong Blu-ray.

We get five featurettes, and Day Zero goes for seven minutes, 58 seconds. It offers notes from producer John Krasinski, writer/director Michael Sarnoski, director of photography Pat Scola, and actors Lupita Nyong’o, Alex Wolff, Joseph Quinn, and Djimon Hounsou.

“Zero” looks at story/characters, the use of NYC, Nyong’o and her performance. We get a few useful tidbits but much of the program sticks with fluff.

In the City spans seven minutes, 51 seconds. It features Sarnoski, Hounsou, Nyong’o, Scola, Wolff, production designer Simon Bowles, special effects supervisor Mark Holt, and costume designer Bex Crofton-Atkins.

Here we find info about sets and locations, various effects, photography, costumes, and supporting cast and performances. While more substantial than “Zero”, “City” nonetheless seems more superficial than I’d prefer.

Next comes The Exodus. It lasts six minutes, 27 seconds and presents remarks from Sarnoski, Scola, Krasinski, Nyong’o, and stunt coordinator Paul Herbert.

During “Exodus”, we learn about the “post-destruction” transformation for the sets, stunts and more effects. It becomes another mix of good notes and happy talk.

The Long Walk goes for seven minutes, 49 seconds. This one delivers statements from Scola, Sarnoski, Quinn, Bowles, Nyong’o, animal wrangler Jo Vaughan, and ILM visual effects supervisor Malcolm Humphreys.

“Walk” tells us about the feline character, Quinn’s role and performance, sets/locations, and stunts. Despite some of the usual fluff, this one proves fairly informative.

Finally, Pizza at the End of the World runs for seven minutes, 17 seconds. We locate comments from Sarnoski, Bowles, Quinn, Scola, and Nyong’o.

This one touches on more sets/locations, Samira’s quest and some character traits. It ends matters on a mediocre note.

Five Deleted and Extended Scenes occupy a total of 15 minutes, six seconds. This splits into three extended sequences and two deleted clips.

None of the longer segments seems especially memorable. The two new clips add a bit more humanity, especially the eight-minute, one-second “Poetry at Patsy’s”, but I can’t claim the movie needs them.

After two less than satisfying movies, the Quiet Place franchise finally achieves a compelling tale via Day One. A good mix of action and drama, the movie becomes an exciting and moving affair. The 4K UHD brings excellent picture and audio along with a moderate mix of bonus materials. Though not a classic, Day One nonetheless explores its “alien invasion” theme pretty well.

To rate this film visit the prior review of A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE