Rebecca A Withey: Review of A Quiet Place: Part II

If you’ve not already seen the sequel to A Quiet Place, don’t worry, I won’t reveal too many spoilers here. But I will say this first – you really should watch it.

I don’t normally endorse the viewing of any sort of horror, thriller or spooky movie. I’m a bit of a scaredy cat, to be honest.

But as A Quiet Place: Part II features the immensely talented Millicent Simmonds, I knew I had to steady my nerves, grab a cushion to hide behind, and watch it.

If you’ve seen the first instalment of A Quiet Place you will know that the storyline centres around the Abbott family who are living in a post apocalyptic world after aliens have landed and wrought havoc on Earth.

The aliens are blind with an acute sense of hearing that enables them to hunt and kill. One small sound and the aliens can find you!

The Abbott family, however, have a unique advantage compared to most of the human survivors as they are able to communicate with each other in silence.

The family use American Sign Language because they have a deaf daughter, Regan, who is played by Millicent Simmonds.

The sequel shows how the family are continuing their quest for survival after (SPOILER ALERT!) the Father has been killed (in the first film) and we see them travelling silently, walking barefoot, to find safety.

As the movie flashes back to how the aliens first landed on earth I love how the film portrays ASL as a lifesaving tool and we see here how the Abbott family can convey urgent information to each other without making a sound and revealing to the aliens where they are. Bet those other hearing folks all wished they learnt sign language now, eh?

Without revealing too much of the plot, throughout A Quiet Place: Part II we see Simmonds character, Regan, take the lead in several scenes.

Her character has matured so much that her deafness isn’t as much of a focus here as in the first film, but instead we see more of her steel resolve and determination to think outside the box which allows her family to find help and – potentially – start a new life.

There is one scene in particular where we meet Cillian Murphy’s character –  Emmett- and he finds himself fiercely frustrated and unable to communicate with Regan because ‘she can’t hear.’

They are in danger and need to be able to converse urgently. Calm and focused, Regan proceeds to grab Emmett’s face, look into his eyes and tell him sternly and in exaggerated tones ‘en-un-ciate remember?!’

Emmett then remembers to slow down his speech and communicates clearly. They are then able to work together to get themselves out of trouble.

We also later see Emmett remember a sign that Regan taught him years ago at a gathering with friends and by using that sign at the right moment, he’s able to save her life and his own.

Simmonds’ acting throughout the film is incredibly sensitive, subtle and believable. She communicates so well with just her face at times, and her characters bond with the rest of the family is really evident.

In A Quiet Place: Part II we see Simmonds showcase much more of her acting range with anger, rage and despair all being played out and I was impressed to see her handle it all with great ease.

It’s incredibly enjoyable to watch a deaf character really take the lead throughout the film and to see how sign language comes to the family’s rescue so many times.

It is also Regan who deciphers a very important clue to get the family to safety and its her courage and decisive action that drives the plot forward. Far from being the typical ‘poor deaf character’ storyline, I hugely admire the writers decision for Regan to be an assertive, confident deaf person.

Throughout the film Regan is calm and resolute, yet we do see one moment where she wakes and mistakenly believes her cochlear implant has been taken from her. She panics here, and it’s interesting to note that this isn’t because she needs the implant to hear sound, but rather it’s the cochlear implant that is part of a tool that kills the aliens. I know, I’m hanging on to my hearing aids in case I ever need them for that reason too, ha!

With its unusual sci-fi plot, A Quiet Place: Part II allows sign language users to be seen as having a huge advantage over non-signers. This is a really fun and interesting role reversal, as we are commonly used to sign language users so often being seen as being at a disadvantage.

The movie also shows how in an ideal world a hearing family and their friends would use fluent sign language to communicate with a profoundly deaf family member. Regan isn’t treated any differently here because shes deaf, and we see fluent, fluid, sensitive conversations between her, her brother and her Mum. Regan is fully involved and included the whole time.

On the whole, A Quiet Place II is just as gripping as the first film. With great acting all round, fluid signing, a confident deaf character and a family we are really rooting for – it’s an absolute must watch!

In particular, I must applaud the refreshing portrayal of a deaf character who leads the drama with grit and determination, and the ingenuity of using sign language as a life saving tool. Clever, entertaining and impressive, it’s a 10/10 for me.

Images courtesy of Paramount Pics

Rebecca Anne Withey is a freelance writer with a background in Performing Arts & Holistic health. She is also profoundly deaf, a sign language user and pretty great lipreader. www.rawithey.com https://www.facebook.com/Rebecca-A-Withey-198730846959276