Movie: A Quiet Place Part II

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Giant Alien Praying Mantises

Plot Overview

The setting is of a small Americana town in New York just west of the Appalachian Ridge. The streets are deserted as every­one is attending a 4th of July Little League game. Store owner Roge is glued to the TV set watching news of some sort of incident in Shanghai while farmer Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) loads up with food­stuff for the game—he's running late. Farmers tend to keep their eye on the sky, and when they notice an unusual rumbling off in the distance, the game is called and people repair to their vehicles post­haste. The town is hit by a horde of giant insects resembling praying mantises—Roger in fact is praying the Our Father—marking Day 1 on the screen, dove­tailing in as a prequel to the story unfolded in, “A Quiet Place” (2018).

Per that base timeline, Lee had gotten his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt) pregnant five months earlier when they were likely observing Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day, a holiday that elbowed out the traditional wind-down from the Christmas season as here the giant bug infestation cut short the post 4th of July game. The protest marches in the (MLK) former can flare up in violence, just as these monsters in their migration display unprovoked aggression when they hear a sound. Then one does well to keep quiet or avoid politically incorrect speech, which­ever the case may be. The movie ignores politics but does use holidays in situ to give it an under­stated edge. In Part I the Army left people to fend for them­selves. In Part II the National Guard left them in the lurch. And in the real world President Ronald Reagan foisted a new (MLK) holiday on an apathetic public as a sop to the blacks, leaving us to deal with it as best we could, here obliquely in a movie. This was similar to a third world solution to infighting in a Joshua Hood book where, “it is a different world over there. Instead of a bunch of cartels fighting with each other and the government, over there the government is the cartel. They call it the Cártel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) and it's made up of officers from the Bolivarian National Guard (Venezuela's Army)” (197–8). In the former flick, it was mostly old white guys who were killed. Here in Part II a couple of black dudes get wiped out as well. Black lives matter. Maybe in Part III it will be Asians. Since the giant bugs were blind they could hardly be profiling by skin color, but as the movie takes pains to show, the slain blacks had, for reasons of their own, put them­selves in harm's way. Whatever.

Part II now jumps ahead to Day 474, the day after Part I had left off. Farmer Lee is gone, and what's left of his family is forced to flee to a derelict foundry and team up with their reluctant neighbor Emmett (Cillian Murphy.) By and by, they split into three packs: one to go scavenge for supplies, one to explore for a rumored refuge, and one to mind the baby. In the process they discover a couple vulner­abilities of the monsters, which had eluded Lee, but their discovery could be a portent of good things to come, like unto an incident in a John Sandford novel:

The fly tracked around the room again, and Holland said, “Shhhh … he's gonna land.” He lifted the rifle and pointed it over Skinner's shoulder toward the sink. Skinner lurched forward to get down out of the way as Holland pulled the trigger.

The fly disappeared in a puff of guts and broken wings.

Holland looked down at Skinner and whispered, “Got him. It's like … It's like some kinda sign.” (6–7)

Ideology

Son Marcus (Noah Jupe) was injured in flight by a bear trap, and then he gets stuck with the baby in an accidentally sealed chamber, They are running low on oxygen awaiting the return of their mother. (Prov. 24:10) “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”

(Prov. 24:11-12) “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?” So here we had twelve boats lined up on the shore to take refugees to an island sanctuary. The National Guard was managing the exodus. What could possibly go wrong? Well, people couldn't patiently wait their turn, but a great shout went out when the first boat cast off. Of course, the creatures are attracted to sound. Only two of the twelve boats made it.

(Prov. 24:13-14) “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honey­comb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expec­tation shall not be cut off.” Farmer Lee is a handy shopper picking up supplies for the game. He stocks up on apples from the produce section, chomping down on one on his way to his truck. The bees are all over this sweet fruit, too. He's got enough savoir faire to settle the trans­action with a nod to Roger who knows he'll come back to pay when he's got time. There's a slow old lady at the register presently.

(Prov. 24:15-16) “Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Some highway­men have laid a trap for righteous daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and her reluctant escort Emmett. But this family has been in a pickle a time or two already and managed to come out of it. We expect they'll do okay this time, too. But the wicked who trapped them might not do so well.

(Prov. 24:17-18) “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” When the monsters start attacking the captors, it might not be a good idea to jeer as one would for a bungled play at the game. The bugs are attracted by sound, and at the very least one doesn't want to distract them from their business.

Production Values

“” (2020) was written and directed by John Krasinski who also played a lead role in the beginning of it. He'd played the lead in Part I but was killed off before any­body thought of making a sequel. His real life wife Emily Blunt takes up the slack playing the surviving spouse whose family continues the saga. Also featured are Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, and Djimon Hounsou. The acting was good despite the handicap. The young actors were outstanding.

MPAA rated it PG–13 for terror, violence and bloody/disturbing images. The special effects were detailed & frightening. Marco Beltram gave it a great sound­track. The movie is well crafted, nothing cheap about it.

Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation

As a sequel it holds water quite well. It was able to play off the original themes with­out over­reaching. The invulnerable creatures weren't so impervious this time. The focus was on a small community dealing with a global problem with­out out­side help, except some­one kept the lights on. Thank you, Edison.

Movie Ratings

Action factor: Edge of your seat simmering action. Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Special effects: Amazing special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.

Works Cited

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.

Hood, Joshua. Treadstone Resurrection. Copyright © 2019 by Myn Pyn LLC. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2019. Print.

Sandford, John. Holy Ghost. Copyright © 2018 by John Sandford. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. Print.