John Krasinski's A Quiet Place (2018) was nearly a cinematic masterpiece.
It took the sci-fi and horror genres into unusual and uncharted territories: the movie was scarier because it was nearly silent, and effective as a morality play about self-sacrifice. After all, it was about what one is willing to do to keep one's family safe.
The flick made nearly $350 million dollars world-wide. Not because it had a huge special effects budget. It made bank because it didn't.
I was skeptical when I first heard a sequel was being planned. The quiet gimmick had been done already, so the audience will be prepared for that. And Krasinski's lead character, Lee Abbot, sacrificed himself to save his children at the end of the first movie.
How could a sequel of any real quality be made?
It was done by adding rich texture in a variety of ways: there was more -- but not overdone -- dialogue; the audience got a peek into the day normal stopped; it was louder when louder was necessary; and the theme of self-sacrifice was broadened from being focused on saving a single family to being focused on saving a larger community.
A Quiet Place Part II may be the best sequel of the past 25 years.
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