A Quiet Place Part II
A Quiet Place Part II is a 2021 American post-apocalyptic horror film written, directed, and co-produced by John Krasinski, serving as a direct sequel to the 2018 film A Quiet Place.[1] The story continues immediately after the events of the first film, following the surviving members of the Abbott family—Evelyn (Emily Blunt), her daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and son Marcus (Noah Jupe)—as they venture into an unfamiliar and hostile world overrun by blind, sound-sensitive alien creatures known as "Death Angels."[1] They encounter Emmett (Cillian Murphy), a reclusive survivor, and uncover clues about the creatures' origins and potential weaknesses while struggling to remain silent to avoid detection.[2] Filmed primarily in upstate New York, the production faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic but emphasized practical effects and minimal dialogue to heighten tension, much like its predecessor.[3] Krasinski also makes a brief appearance as the late Lee Abbott, with supporting roles filled by actors including Djimon Hounsou and Scoot McNairy.[4] Released theatrically by Paramount Pictures on May 28, 2021, after multiple postponements, the film opened in 3,752 theaters in the United States and Canada, marking a significant return to wide cinema releases during the ongoing pandemic.[5] The movie was a commercial success, earning $160.2 million domestically and $136.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $296.7 million against a production budget of $61 million, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the pandemic era.[5] Critically, it holds an approval rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 368 reviews, with praise for its suspenseful storytelling, strong performances—particularly from Simmonds—and effective use of sound design.[2] On Metacritic, it scores 71 out of 100 from 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[6] The film received 14 awards and 44 nominations, including wins at the Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film and Best Supporting Actress for Simmonds, though it did not secure major Academy Award nominations beyond potential technical categories.[7]Synopsis and Cast
Plot
Following the events of the first film, the story opens with a flashback to Day 1 of the alien invasion, depicting the Abbott family—mother Evelyn, father Lee, deaf teenage daughter Regan, young son Marcus, and toddler Beau—arriving at a baseball game in their rural town when meteorite fragments crash to Earth, unleashing the blind, sound-hunting creatures known as "Death Angels."[8] Chaos erupts as the creatures attack, drawn to noise; Lee and Regan take refuge in a nearby bar while Evelyn flees with Marcus and Beau in their car, narrowly escaping as the monsters decimate the crowd and infrastructure, establishing the post-apocalyptic world where silence is essential for survival.[9] In the present, 474 days into the invasion, the surviving Abbotts—Evelyn, Regan, Marcus, and Evelyn's newborn baby—flee their basement home after using Lee's rigged shotgun trap and high-decibel feedback from Regan's hearing aid to kill an intruding Death Angel, revealing the creatures' vulnerability to specific high-frequency sounds that disorient and injure them.[8] Evelyn lights a bonfire to signal for help, attracting Emmett, a reclusive friend of Lee's from before the invasion, who reluctantly brings the family to his fortified bunker in an abandoned steel foundry, highlighting scattered survivor outposts amid a world of overgrown ruins, feral human groups, and constant threat from the relentless creatures.[10] While scavenging, Marcus steps in a bear trap and screams, drawing a Death Angel; Regan and Evelyn fend it off by amplifying the hearing aid's feedback through a portable radio, confirming the frequency as a potential weapon against the creatures' armored exoskeletons and hypersensitive hearing.[8] Regan discovers a faint radio broadcast playing the song "Beyond the Sea" on loop, interpreting it as a signal from safe survivor communities offshore, and insists on tracking its source to a nearby transmission tower despite the dangers.[11] Emmett, initially refusing, joins her after Evelyn urges him to protect Regan, while Evelyn and Marcus remain in the bunker with the baby; the pair travels on foot along train tracks through desolate landscapes, evading a band of hostile, noise-making survivors who attempt to rob them, forcing Emmett to kill the attackers in a tense, silent confrontation that underscores the breakdown of human society.[8] Reaching a marina, they commandeer a boat and arrive at a small island colony thriving in relative safety, as the Death Angels cannot swim and avoid water, allowing the community to maintain some normalcy with children playing and fishing, though supplies are dwindling.[10] The island's peace shatters when a Death Angel, hidden in driftwood cargo, attacks the docks, slaughtering several residents including the colony's leader in a brutal sequence; Regan and Emmett fight back, with Regan noticing her hearing aid's feedback causes the creature visible pain, piercing its armor and exposing a vulnerable inner membrane.[11] They learn the radio signal originates not from the island but a mainland station in a train yard, prompting a desperate return trip amid worsening weather; meanwhile, back at the bunker, a second Death Angel infiltrates after Marcus's earlier noise, trapping Evelyn, Marcus, and the baby in a flooded boiler room where Evelyn battles the creature with an axe and a rigged oxygen tank explosion to stun it.[8] In the climactic train station confrontation, Regan and Emmett lure the pursuing Death Angel into an exposed position; Regan connects her hearing aid directly to the station's high-powered transmitter, broadcasting the debilitating frequency across the airwaves, which shreds the creature's armor and allows Emmett to finish it with a fatal shot, while simultaneously Marcus tunes into the signal on the bunker's radio and uses the shotgun to kill the trapped Death Angel, saving his family.[9] The broadcast propagates, reaching other survivors who arm themselves with amplified speakers and weapons, igniting fights against nearby Death Angels and suggesting a turning point in humanity's resistance against the invaders in this expanded post-apocalyptic landscape of isolated holdouts and rediscovered hope.[10]Cast
Emily Blunt reprises her role as Evelyn Abbott, the resilient matriarch of the Abbott family who protects her children in the post-apocalyptic world invaded by sound-sensitive creatures.[12] Millicent Simmonds returns as Regan Abbott, the deaf teenage daughter whose ingenuity with her hearing aid plays a central part in the story; Simmonds, who is deaf in real life, delivers her performance using American Sign Language (ASL), with her role expanded to that of a leading figure driving key actions.[12][13] Noah Jupe also reprises his role as Marcus Abbott, Evelyn's young son who grapples with fear while supporting the family.[12] Cillian Murphy joins the cast as Emmett, a former friend of the late Lee Abbott and a grieving father who has lost his own family to the creatures; hardened by loss, Emmett forms a reluctant alliance with the Abbotts, providing aid despite his initial isolation.[12][14] Djimon Hounsou portrays the Man on Island, a leader among survivors on a remote island community who assists newcomers in their quest for safety.[12] Scoot McNairy plays Marina Man, a feral survivor leading a group of bandits who pose a threat to travelers seeking refuge.[12] John Krasinski briefly appears in flashback sequences as Lee Abbott, the family's patriarch from the first film.[15]| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emily Blunt | Evelyn Abbott | Family matriarch focused on survival and protection of her children. |
| Millicent Simmonds | Regan Abbott | Deaf daughter using ASL; expanded lead role leveraging her hearing aid discovery. |
| Noah Jupe | Marcus Abbott | Young son navigating trauma and family duties. |
| Cillian Murphy | Emmett | Grieving father and reluctant ally to the Abbotts. |
| Djimon Hounsou | Man on Island | Island survivor leader offering aid. |
| Scoot McNairy | Marina Man | Antagonistic feral survivor and bandit leader. |
| John Krasinski | Lee Abbott | Patriarch in flashbacks. |