By: Ellie Zhang

A Quiet Place: Day One, A film produced by John Krasinski, is a masterfully-crafted prequel that expands the chilling universe as the silent apocalypse emerges.

The protagonist lives in a small town in upstate New York. A black woman, known as Samira or “Sam” (Lupita Nyong’o), lives with terminal cancer– and a cat. She’s stuck in hospice, slowly rotting.

The main character’s condition and her pet impacted my emotions more throughout the movie than a healthy protagonist without a sidekick.

Sam is no people person, but she is a pizza person, which is why she agreed with some other patients to take a bus into the city.

Her love for pizza is because it reminds her of the times and happiness she spent with her father, who sadly passed. Rather than typical jump scare horror, A Quiet Place: Day One has lots of emotional weight on it.

Just because these “death angels” (aliens) crash-landed on New York City doesn’t change Sam’s focus on getting pizza. Her lifetime is limited– she has a few more days, if she’s lucky– without adding the fact that a death angel can snatch her anytime.

Sam walks against the large crowds that are running to sea where boats are waiting to bring them away to safety. Now, her attention is all on pizza.

Sam is still willing to live as long as she gets her pizza, but she is still in danger. Eric (Joseph Quinn), a new character fleeing from a flooded subway tunnel, is found by Frodo the cat.

I initially thought he would be an antagonist because of his looks; I judged a book by its cover. He turned out to be the person to help Sam fulfill her dreams and achieve happiness for the last time.

At the end, the three found the sea and a ship. At the same time, aliens guarded the dock. Sam gave Eric her yellow cardigan and her cat, before distracting death angels so he can get to safety. During the last scene, a note was left in the pocket of Sam’s cardigan, thanking Eric for letting her live again and taking care of her cat.

The ending was so heart-wrenching but also left me with a smile. The cat was an amazing actor, doing everything so realistically. Lupita Nyong’o was just as amazing as Emily Blunt, the protagonist in the first movie. What struck me mostly is the empathy and compassion. The movie seamlessly blends action and emotion throughout.