I want to talk about the Christian and even Catholic images in “A Quiet Place: Day One” because they were very interesting to see and prompted a lot of questions. Is there somebody Catholic working on the post-production of this film?

Hi, I’m Mateo Rivera, The Cinematic Catholic, and today I’m reviewing “A Quiet Place: Day One,” the new prequel in this post-apocalyptic franchise that gives us a deeper look at how the world went quiet. This is a spoiler-free review, although, at the end, I’ll reveal if the cat lives or dies, in case that’s a deciding factor for you.

Is There Catholic Symbolism In “A Quiet Place Day One”?

First, let me say that I love the “A Quiet Place” franchise. The first movie is such a beautiful story with a lot of Christian imagery and symbols throughout. I recommend it to all my Catholic friends who are a little iffy about horror movies. I always say, “You at least have to watch ‘A Quiet Place.’ It is so good and so Christian. Trust me, you will love it.” The second movie echoes a lot of the same sentiments from the first film.

Going into “Day One,” I was a little skeptical because this is the first movie in the franchise not written and directed by John Krasinski, though he did receive an executive producer and story credit. I wasn’t sure how this movie would approach those same values or if it would go in a different direction. Let me just say, I was very happy walking out of this movie.

Lupita Nyong’o has really climbed the ranks in the last couple of years as one of my favorite actresses working in Hollywood today. She is so masterful at conveying emotions with her face, from huge terrified expressions to all the little nuances. She absolutely kills it in this movie, especially in a film where there is not a lot of dialogue. I really do not see any better casting than her. Joseph Quinn also gives a very strong performance, although I was a little surprised at how late he comes into the movie. I actually forgot he was going to be in this because I was so invested in Lupita’s character, and then when he popped up, I was like, “Oh right, it’s this guy.”

This movie had a lot more jump scares than the previous two. “A Quiet Place” has always had jump scares, right? It’s built into the formula. But I feel like this movie had a lot more of the “and we’re panning in on a window” type of scares.

We have never seen death and destruction on this scale in this franchise before. The first film took place on a farm, and we saw a small community in the second movie and got to see what day one looked like for the Abbotts in their town. But with this movie taking place in New York, the amount of bodies getting snatched up by these creatures is much greater. Seeing the aftermath of their arrival did hit a little bit harder. They do a really good job of conveying how quickly and how many people died in this alien invasion. Still, this is a PG-13 movie, so a lot of the deaths are bloodless, but you can get away with a lot in a PG-13 film—blood on cars, people crushed under rubble, and things like that.

As a big fan of horror movies, a lot of times that stuff won’t affect me as much. But for my Catholic friends who are not as desensitized as I am, I could see something like that weighing on their hearts a little bit heavier.

As far as the plot, it did feel a little simpler than the previous two, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For my gamers out there, this definitely felt like a DLC. This felt like a bonus extension of the previous films rather than its own standalone thing. My wife and I agreed that this felt more like a TV episode and less like a feature film, which is ironic since, at 139 minutes, it’s the longest “Quiet Place” movie. Still, I appreciated that they didn’t overcomplicate it. We got a little more lore of the creatures, but they left a lot of stuff in mystery, which I love because once you know too much about a monster, it’s no longer scary. The plot is just the characters needing to get to a place, and that’s it. This movie is the journey to that place. It felt a lot like “Cloverfield,” and I love “Cloverfield,” so put more of that on my plate.

Catholic Images In The Quiet Place

Now, I do want to talk about the Christian and Catholic images in this movie. Early on, Lupita Nyong’o’s character, Sam, goes to a theater show, and in the background, you hear two random people having a conversation. One of them says, “You know, that’s supposed to be a reference to the Virgin Mary.” If you don’t know how movies are made, a lot of times that background sound and dialogue are recorded in post-production. Because of that, it’s very intentional. Whoever edited that scene intentionally put that line in there. That’s the only line of dialogue we hear; we don’t get to hear the beginning or the rest of their conversation. It’s just that one line, and I don’t know what it means or why they added it, but it definitely made me go, “Hmm.”

Later in the film, the characters seek refuge and find themselves in a church that looks to be a Catholic one. The camera stays on this for a bit—you see people praying, and the characters seek rest and refuge in the church. You hear the dialogue of a Latin prayer. Usually, when you tell me there’s going to be a church in a horror movie, I’m thinking exorcism or the monsters bursting in the stained glass windows and climbing all over the cathedral walls. But no, the monsters and the evil are kept out of the cathedral, and the characters can rest and regain their strength before continuing their journey. The church is a little roughed up, but the crucifix and the tabernacle are untouched and undamaged.

Everything in movies is intentional. They have to build the set, dress it, record a prayer in Latin, or at least find a sample recording of it and intentionally put that in. I appreciate this franchise for always having a positive look at religion and Christianity, especially in the face of all these monsters and the evil that has spread across the world in this universe.

John Krasinski has said in interviews that he was raised Catholic and was Catholic until his adult life. I’m not sure what his beliefs are now, but I know he was an executive producer on this film. Did he put that in? Was that his choice? I’m not sure, but we love to see it. Please keep on putting more of this in secular movies; it’s good stuff.

Something baked into the formula of these movies is the emphasis on the value of life—how far you are willing to go to save one person, how much you value life once you see how fragile it actually is. They uphold that in this movie as well, although I had mixed feelings about one character’s end. Of course, this is a spoiler-free review, but if you’ve seen the movie, you probably know what I’m talking about. Maybe we can talk about it in the comments.

The Value Of Life

All in all, this movie is definitely on par with the previous two films, making this a very solid horror trilogy. I’m totally on board; keep giving me more “Quiet Place” movies. I will definitely come to see them. Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the cat—spoiler alert—the cat does not die. Now you know, and you can decide if you want to see this movie.

My Score Of The Quiet Place

For my overall score, I’m giving this an 8.5 out of 10. Great scares, great thrills; my wife and I had a really fun time with this movie, and it makes for a great date night.

For my Catholic score, I’m giving this a 7 out of 10. I would definitely recommend this to any of my Catholic friends who like horror movies or want to dip their toes in that genre. My love of horror makes me an outlier in many of the Catholic circles I run in, so whenever there’s a chance to bridge that gap, I’m just like, “Yes, come closer. It’ll be okay.”