'A Quiet Place: Day One' 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review - New Director Doubles Down On Humanity In Familiar Prequel (2024)

Experience the day the world went quiet in this terrifying continuation of the A Quiet Place universe. When Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) returns home to New York City, her simple trip turns into a harrowing nightmare when mysterious creatures that hunt by sound attack. Accompanied by her cat Frodo and an unexpected ally (Joseph Quinn), Samira must embark on a perilous journey through the city that has suddenly gone silent, where the only rule is to stay quiet to stay alive. Djimon Hounsou and Alex Wolff also star in this intensely suspenseful thriller.

For in-depth thoughts on A Quiet Place: Day One, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of A Quiet Place: Day One offers a welcome uptick in quality over the already stellar accompanying Blu-Ray (SteelBook only, standard 4K UHD does not include a Blu-Ray). Compared to the first two movies, there is a lot more going on in terms of production design with the New York City urban landscape both before and after the invasion. The texture of the rubble and the delicate facets of the clothing are impressive. Even when you witness something like Frodo being submerged in water, you can pick up intricacies in the fur after the kitty has shaken it off. Skin tones appear more natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores.

The Dolby Vision presentation expands the range of the color spectrum to unbelievable heights when it comes to depth and nuance. When the characters survey the city in the daytime, they are greeted with an environment of metal and brick, but the green of some foliage and the blue of the sky stand apart. The highlights in the film are more refined with whites pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. The black levels are formidable in this presentation, staying deep and inky with impeccable detail. This 4K UHD presentation excels on all fronts including strong gains in clarity and color. The Blu-Ray is great, but Paramount has delivered another first-rate transfer on this latest 4K release.

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a Dolby Atmos presentation that conjures up the appropriate thrills. As always with this franchise, the sound design is crafted with pinpoint precision which this disc executes flawlessly. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without getting overshadowed by the score or any sound effects. There are a handful of impactful needle drops that hold up with ideal fidelity. The activity in the low end serves up the necessary power required of this narrative when confronted with the horrors of an alien invasion. When the film gets active, this disc brings these creatures right into your living room with a depth and clarity of sound that will knock you sideways.

The implementation of environmental effects such as rainfall comes through naturally. The track wakes up all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of destruction that really make you feel like you are in the middle of this survival tale. As the characters move throughout the world, every minor squeak or thud is given the appropriate weight to the thematic scenario. These and various environmental sounds emanate out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is precisely placed with perfect spatial awareness. Paramount keeps things thriving with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should have a blast with this one.

Special Features

• Day Zero – Beginnings and Endings: An eight-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the expansion of the universe, the importance of the city to this narrative, how this film attempts to upend what we expect from a thriller, the facets of our main character, the direction of Michael Sarnoski, and more.

• In The City – Chaos In Chinatown: An eight-minute piece that explores the creation of the city through meticulous production design to represent different portions of the city.

• The Exodus – Against The Tide: A nearly seven-minute look at the sequence in which hordes of people attempt to flee the city at the same time and how it was created through production design, practical effects, visual effects, tons of extras, and more.

• The Long Walk – Monsters In Midtown: An eight-minute featurette that gives a moderately in-depth look at the presence of Frodo the cat and the real-life talented kitties used to bring him to life.

• Pizza at the End of the World: A seven-minute overview of the introduction of the creature lair and the quest taken by the lead characters to preserve their humanity.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes: There are five scenes of unused footage provided totaling 15 minutes. There are some good moments in here, but we understand why things were trimmed for pacing.

Final Thoughts

A Quiet Place: Day One expands the lore of the franchise a bit more by taking us back to the beginning, but there is a familiarity to the proceedings that feels like diminishing returns. The tense sequences are variations of what we have seen before, only with a bit more chaos due to the characters knowing less about the creatures and the density of the setting. What helps this one is the direction of Michael Sarnoski, who brings a real humanity to the scenario which lands pretty well. Lupita Nyong’o has much to manifest while keeping things reserved, and she threads the needle beautifully. When you have a franchise such as this, you want to see it continually evolve, but there seems to be a lack of creativity which would indicate there maybe should not be further stories in this world. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that sports an excellent A/V presentation and a decent selection of supplemental features. If you enjoyed the first two films, you will likely enjoy this one just as much. Recommended

A Quiet Place: Day One is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.