“I’d forgotten how the city sings…you can hear it when you’re quiet.”

Story: Samira Sam is a young woman who’s come into the city with her hospice gang (AND HER CAT.) But when they have to leave the city due to an emergency situation, all hell breaks loose. So it’s up to Sam (AND HER CAT) to make it to safety. And pizza.

Genre I’d put it in: Gripping Horror Prequels
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the A Quiet Place films. A prequel to the events of the first two films.

Gotta say: It is a truth universally acknowledged that that whenever this reviewer sees an animal onscreen, she focuses almost entirely on said animal. The teasers for One have shown that there is an adorable kitty – named Frodo in the film – whose sheer existence amps up the terror in a certain section of moviegoing public. Y’know, the cool people. So, if you want to know if kitty makes it to the end credits? Here you go right here. Ahem. Back to the film. Yeah. One is a well done prequel that manages to pull out lots of tension and unsettling moments from a mythology we thought we’d gotten everything out of. How’d they do that?

Well, this film understands that you’ve seen at least one of the last two films. So you’re up on the lore, and what to do/not do. Writer/director Michael Sarnoski fleshes out this new look with John Krasinski, focusing more on making the audience care about who survives. Yes, we get to see the Death Angels, but as with the earlier films, they’re used sparingly. Not because the CGI is weak – the monsters are amazingly realistic for those ear-tastic buggers – but because this franchise is more about what happens before a kill, and/or people trying to avoid getting killed. One pumps viewers full of adrenaline, with occasional pressure-releases to keep things interesting. And, y’know, so we don’t get tired/numb of to the goings-on onscreen. I think a part of that is thanks to adorable little Frodo (real-life cats, Nico and Schnitzel, give ’em a hand y’all), because seeing that fuzzy wuzzy character onscreen is an instant serotonin boost, even during moments where you’re not sure how our chracters will make it through a particular scene. This is a Frodo Stan Page, and y’all need to know this. Surprise.

Nico and Schnitzel work beautifully with the two other main characters who just so happen to be non-feline. Lupita Nyong’o, a talent I’ve adored since 12 Years A Slave, plays Sam, our heroine and Frodo’s Emotional Support Human. (BTW, yes, cats can be ESAs. And I’m guessing that in hospice, when chemo/radiation is no longer a thing? The whole immunosuppressed patients needing to avoid kitties thing isn’t a worry.) Sam comes off as a hard-ass, someone who hasn’t given up, but isn’t exactly cool with the world; after all, in her world, she’s got terminal cancer. Nyong’o plays Sam with a grace that belies the character’s pain, even when things start to get tough for her.

Joseph Quinn is Eric, an man “from Kent” who came to NYC for law school. As anyone would during an apocalyptic event, he’s got his own things to deal with. But he steps the hell up, and the two have a beautiful connection that’s basically the textbook definition of chosen family. Like Nyong’o, Quinn has an excellent way of conveying emotions in complete silence, so whoever the casting director was for One? Darling, you’re a genius at balancing actors. Bravo. Other characters come and go, based on location and moments in the story.

The cinematography is as you’d expect from the beginning of an apocalypse; gritty, dusty, and overly bright, with moments of claustrophobic darkness. Cinematographer Pat Scola works well with Sarnoski, using colors thisclose to oversaturated to pull the eye and keep focus on what they want viewers to pay attention to. Shots of an empty basketball court, with a ball forever paused. Sam’s sneakered feet as she gently walks past another sneaker half-buried in rubble. And wee Frodo shaking himself after a particularly damp escapade. Let yourself really sink into the emotional beats, and damn. You’ll be glad you did.

There’s a limited amount of the red stuff here. Mostly the after-effects left on windows, buildings, and other items of the film’s soon-to-be-almost-moot civilization. Lots of folks are dragged off, and a few bloodied folks are seen in the periphery after they’ve passed on. Not everyone who our gang meets bites it; there’s even a moment that had me harking back to the truck scene in The Mist, which gives viewers a touch of hope. We all know that the human population has taken an incredibly steep nosedive in the previous films, but seeing some survivors (not a spoiler. See: living human characters in the first two films) ends things on an almost triumphant note. Take that, alien buggers!

There’s no end credits scene in One. No wrap-up that makes everything okay. It’s just how some of the characters go on after the first few days of absolute terror. We all know how things will be playing out as time goes on, and anyway? The “well’p, that’s all y’all get to see” ending is in keeping with the original and Part II. As with most apocalypse films, there’s still a whole lot of work to do, even after the credits roll. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel – or at least a pause for folks to catch their breath – but there’s still a long road ahead, no matter what. With One, we know where that road is going. But getting to see how this strange trip started was something I didn’t know I’d enjoy so much.

#Protip: At the start of this movie, text explains that NYC has an average decibel level of 90, which is “the volume of a constant scream.” I couldn’t find that exact statistic, but damn if what I found isn’t pretty freakin’ close. Oof.