A Quiet Place fans have been waiting a long time for the sequel to hit cinemas. It was supposed to be released last March but this was delayed thanks to a certain virus. The real world went into lockdown and everything became as eerily silent as the apocalyptic world in the franchise. 

Other film releases hopped onto platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. A Quiet Place II, however, waited until now, so that it can be enjoyed at the cinema. But was it really worth the very long wait?

The film starts with a flashback to day one, where we see what happened when the aliens first crashed onto earth (we also see a familiar face…). It then picks up pretty much exactly where the first film ended. The Abbotts have been navigating this dystopia for just over a year; a chilling parallel to the pandemic we’re nearly 18 months into. 

Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe), continue to and try find safety without making a single sound that disturbs the deadly creatures hunting them down. But they now have two extra problems: they’ve lost the dad of the family, Lee (John Krasinski), and they have gained a newborn baby – not ideal, given the situation. There’s also another unexpected addition to the gang: old family friend, Emmett, played by Cillian Murphy. 

Will Emmett help the Abbotts or sabotage their mission? Can you really keep a baby silent? And are there other threats out there that the family should be scared of?

Reader, the only way to find out these answers is while tucking into a bucket of popcorn and jumping every five minutes in your seat at the cinema. Watching this on a laptop in bed would be sacrilege. I could not cope with how many times I jumped out of my seat and laughed out loud at my ridiculous reactions, but each one was a glorious thrill.

It continues to do everything the first film did so well, which – let’s be honest – is exactly what we’re here for. The tension that’s built through the long silences, especially when we hear the world through Regan’s hearing aid, is anxiety-inducing (but in a cinematically intentional way). When that silence is cut, you feel it. I held my breath while waiting for the baby to cry the whole time. And when Marcus gets his foot trapped in a metal contraption, his wail of pain actually made me wince with fear and sympathy. There’s also a very clever and terrifying crescendo of parallel scenes involving water, aliens and even pirates.

And then there’s Regan – the real hero of the story who might just save the day.

The only problem you might have is other cinema-goers repeatedly whisper-shouting “Argh, don’t do that!” at the screen. Then again, that’s exactly what this film is all about; fear, despair, adrenaline and pure entertainment. Welcome back, cinema!     

A Quiet Place II is out in UK cinemas from 3 June.

Images: Getty