If you didn’t see A Quiet Place (2018), you’ll be bewildered because John Krasinski’s sci-fi sequel begins where it left off—as the Abbott family is running from vicious extraterrestrial creatures that hunt by sound. In a prologue/flashback, Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) drives into a seemingly deserted town to pick up oranges, etc. to take to a Little League game where his son Marcus (Noah Jupe) waits for his turn at the bat.
Suddenly, a fireball shoots through the sky. Grabbing Marcus, Lee’s wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt) speeds off with their newborn baby, while Lee loads their deaf teenage daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) into his truck. Tragedy strikes and Evelyn is left to care for the kids on her own. Taking refuge in an abandoned steel mill with a cynical, despondent neighbor (Cillian Murphy), they hide in an airless but sound-proof furnace, where Evelyn deposits her infant in a portable case with a tiny oxygen mask wrapped around its head to muffle its wails.
Self-reliant, resourceful Regan uses her radio and homemade hearing aid to pick up a broadcast of the song "Beyond the Sea" that plays repeatedly. She’s sure that’s a clue to finding other survivors. Deaf actress Millicent Simmonds delivers a pivotal performance, combining grit and vulnerability, supported by Noah Jupe who displays terror, empathy, and courage.
Editor Michael P. Sawyer cuts between multiple storylines, utilizing far too many jump-scares, with the sound dropping in and out, as cinematographer Polly Morgan captures the chaotic, post-apocalyptic wasteland punctuated by Marco Beltrami’s anxiously pulsating score. It’s a stealthy, suspenseful horror/thriller, leaving the door open for yet another installment. Optional.