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The world is still normal for everyone but Sam (Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o), a young poet stuck in hospice care because she will soon die of cancer. Sam is angry about this, bitter even, but Reuben (Alex Wolff), one of the aides eager to break through that anger, convinces Sam to join a field trip into the city. She agrees, but only if they can stop for pizza … in the city. Sam wants a New York City pizza.

And then the merciless aliens arrive and create a world where only the quiet survive.

Day One is exactly as advertised, a prequel to the wildly successful Quiet Place franchise that takes us back to the day of the original invasion, which Part II did in a short prologue. But that prologue took place in a small town. Day One unfolds in the heart of Manhattan and into Harlem.

Directed and written by Michael Samoski (based on a story co-written by franchise creator John Krasinski), Day One delivers some tense moments, but fails where the first movie truly succeeded: in creating an unbearable tension through the entire runtime. Most of the blame has to do with our familiarity with the aliens. The unknown is always scarier than the known.

As he did with his outstanding 2021 feature debut Pig (which I recently reviewed here), Samoski’s Day One delivers a mournful tone driven by Sam’s knowledge of her soon coming death mixed with the sudden and irreversible loss of a city that held all of her memories and identity.

The story then turns with the arrival of Eric (Joseph Quinn), a terrified law student with no idea what to do. Something in Sam’s strength and confidence draws Eric. Against her protests, he follows her. What follows is a poignant friendship.

Day One does a lot right. It’s only 99 minutes long. Sam is not an insufferable girlboss, Best of all, Eric is not as weak as he seems at first. They take turns becoming one another’s hero. As far as the racial issue — she’s physically and culturally black, he’s physically and culturally all white guy—this thankfully remains unspoken. But it’s right there in the subtext, only not in the way we expect in these woke times.

Samoski brings these black and white characters together through their humanity—that thing we all share that is so much deeper than skin color. And in that way, Day One is pretty bold. There’s no woke messaging, no gay crap. These are relatable characters, a welcome rarity.

The problem is still that glaring lack of tension. The prologue in Part II is not only the best part of that sequel, it’s more riveting and tense than anything in Day One. Also, the overall Day One story is nowhere near as engrossing as its characters.

Nyong’o is superb as Sam, all movie star, and totally believable. Even in her “toughest” moments, you sense all her vulnerability and pain and fear beneath. You want to protect her, and watching Eric save her and make her smile is what the movies are supposed to be about—wish fulfillment. Who wouldn’t want to be a hero to such a beautiful and sad woman?

Day One is a slight improvement over a forgettable Part II, but nothing will ever top the sweet and scary surprise that was the original.

John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.