Our Verdict Between Simmonds’ superb lead, the suspense, the slivers of hope, A Quiet Place Part II is worth making a noise for. Just pipe down in the cinema. In 2018, A Quiet Place arrived with surprise on its side. Arguably, Hereditary generated more pre-release noise that year. Few viewers suspected that Dunder Mifflin’s Jim had a kick-ass alien thriller in him, let alone one with such a strong, silent(-ish) conceptual hook. And who thought John Krasinski would dare deliver that pulverizing prologue, with its "Oh my god, you killed Beau" gut-puncher? With expectations heightened by a COVID-enforced delay, the sequel lands with its work cut out. Yet against the odds, Part II manages to expand its predecessor’s world, realign its POV and develop its themes in controlled, satisfying ways, largely without losing its forerunner’s lean pitch and capacity to jolt. Tight (97 minutes) and often cruelly tense, it cuts as close to the original’s equal as might be expected, one or two stumbles aside.