--- description: The third installment in the 'Quiet Place' franchise takes viewers back to the very first day sound-sensitive aliens invaded Earth. title: Why 'A Quiet Place: Day One' Works As a Horror Prequel image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2367ca65856e5692/698a584616d884d9d9c3ecd5/A-Quiet-Place-Day-One.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What _A Quiet Place: Day One_ Gets Right About the Art of the Horror Prequel  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jun 28, 2024 8:44 PM CUT  (L-R): Joseph Quinn as Eric and Lupita Nyong’o as Samira in A Quiet Place: Day One. (L-R): Joseph Quinn as Eric and Lupita Nyong’o as Samira in A Quiet Place: Day One.Gareth Gatrell—Paramount Pictures  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jun 28, 2024 8:44 PM CUT When a [horror movie](https://time.com/6837569/best-horror-movies-blumhouse-ranked/ "undefined") makes as big of a splash as [_A Quiet Place_](https://time.com/5228984/a-quiet-place-one-of-the-most-terrifyingly-effective-horror-movies-in-years/ "undefined") did in 2018**,** there's typically a push to find away to further capitalize on the scares that made it such a success. This can often result in new installments that not only feel contrived, but seem to strip away everything that made the original moviecompelling in the first place. Luckily, that's not the case with _A Quiet Place: Day One_, now in theaters. Serving as a prequel to both _A Quiet Place_ and its sequel, 2021's [_A Quiet Place_ _Part II_](https://time.com/6051332/a-quiet-place-part-ii-review/ "undefined"), _Day One_ takes viewers back to—you guessed it—the very first day those pesky sound-sensitive aliens invaded Earth and began terrorizing humanity. _Day One_ arrives in ayear that's already seen a spate of horror prequels—which run the gamut from the captivatingly sinister, like _The First Omen_, to the exhaustingly redundant, like _The Strangers: Chapter 1_**—**and it's a welcome entry to the genre. The story centers on Samira (Lupita Nyong'o), a terminally ill cancer patient who reluctantly agrees to take a trip into Manhattan with her hospice group only to find herself trapped in the New York City melee when the extraterrestrial assault gets underway. Eventually, Sam and her service cat, Frodo (the movie's breakout star) attract the attention of a fellow lost soul, British law student Eric (Joseph Quinn), and the three form an unlikely trio whose time together changes their sense of what makes living worthwhile. While _Day One_ was produced by John Krasinski, who helmed the first two movies, this time around, indie director Michael Sarnoski ([_Pig_](https://time.com/6080780/pig-movie-review/ "undefined")) took the reins after [_The Bikeriders_](https://time.com/6990290/the-bikeriders-review/ "undefined") filmmaker Jeff Nichols dropped out of the project in early 2022\. Directing from his own script, Sarnoski built on what made the original _Quiet_ _Place_ a smash hit—a character-driven narrative with emotional payoff—while still delivering a fresh take on the universe's near-silent doomsday conceit.  (L-R): Lupita Nyong’o as Samira and Djimon Hounsou as Henri in A Quiet Place: Day One. Gareth Gatrell—Paramount Pictures Rather than once again focusing on the Emily Blunt-led Abbott family, Sarnoski relies on totally new main players—with the exception of Djimon Hounsou’s _Part II_ addition Henri—to draw viewers into the story. "One of the great things about the _Quiet Place_ universe is that you have this sort of fundamental creature, and beyond that, you can explore any human story you want to in that world,” Sarnoski told [_IndieWire_](https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/a-quiet-place-day-one-director-michael-sarnoski-jeff-nichols-prequel-cat-1235019269/ "undefined"). "You can tell a thousand different stories in this world because it’s just about the characters." Praised by critics for ["grounding an outrageous premise in a relatable emotional core"](https://www.ign.com/articles/a-quiet-place-day-one-review "undefined") and being ["as much a melancholy quest narrative as a thriller about mortal peril,"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/a-quiet-place-day-one-review-lupita-nyongo-joseph-quinn-1235933652/ "undefined") _Day One_ currently boasts an 86 percent fresh rating on [Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a%5Fquiet%5Fplace%5Fday%5Fone "undefined") and is expected to earn [between $40 million and $50 million](https://variety.com/2024/film/news/box-office-a-quiet-place-day-one-previews-1236050753/# "undefined") in its opening weekend following a Thursday previews gross of $6.8 million. But while _Day One_ packs a poignant punch, it's not exactly in contention for scariest movie of the year. From a fear-factor perspective, horror fans hoping for a nerve-rattling viewing experience may find themselves underwhelmed by the film's somewhat stale scares. After all, the allure of a shiny, new horror concept is often linked to the fear of the unknown—that feeling of anticipation and dread that keeps you on the edge of your seat (or hesitantly peering out from between your fingers). And by the third chapter of any horror franchise, it's hard not to pretty much know what's coming. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6993136/a-quiet-place-day-one-horror-prequel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6993136/a-quiet-place-day-one-horror-prequel/"},"headline":"What A Quiet Place: Day One Gets Right About the Art of the Horror Prequel","datePublished":"2024-06-28T20:44:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:52:15.046Z","description":"The third installment in the 'Quiet Place' franchise takes viewers back to the very first day sound-sensitive aliens invaded Earth.","url":"https://time.com/6993136/a-quiet-place-day-one-horror-prequel/","keywords":["movies","Explainer","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2367ca65856e5692/698a584616d884d9d9c3ecd5/A-Quiet-Place-Day-One.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2367ca65856e5692/698a584616d884d9d9c3ecd5/A-Quiet-Place-Day-One.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A Quiet Place: Day One","caption":"Joseph Quinn as Eric and Lupita Nyong’o as Samira in 'A Quiet Place: Day One'","creditText":"Gareth Gatrell—Paramount Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6993136/a-quiet-place-day-one-horror-prequel/","name":"What A Quiet Place: Day One Gets Right About the Art of the Horror Prequel"}}]}] ```