Cat lovers, I promise it's safe to see A Quiet Place: Day One
By Mads Lennon
Mild spoilers ahead for A Quiet Place: Day One.
I hate when cats are killed in horror movies. I could go on a whole tangent about how so often, when cats die on screen, it's played for laughs or just a cheap way to raise the stakes without killing a human yet. So when I saw Frodo the cat popping up in all the promotional material for A Quiet Place: Day One, I expected him to die or get injured at some point in the film.
But I'm happy to say that nothing bad happens to Frodo. In fact, he is arguably one of the movie's biggest scene-stealers. Everything about him is totally charming, and he's featured in some of the movie's most lighthearted moments.
Apart from being mean-spirited, the fact so many animals get killed in horror movies is just a lazy trope at this point. If you see a dog or cat appear, you know it's probably dying. Thankfully, that trend seems to be disappearing in modern horror movies. Lately, I've seen more films subvert that expectation by keeping the animals alive. Thanksgiving comes to mind, which had a great scene featuring the murderer pausing to feed and pet the cat after killing off his victim.
Why does it bother people so much when animals die in movies and shows? It's pretty simple. I think most of us feel empathetic for animals and children who are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and have no say in what's happening around them.
Not only that, but one can't help but think of the child actor or animal actor being manipulated for the scene. Are they in a safe environment? Maybe it's uncommon to think about things like that, but I can't help it!
Anyway, in A Quiet Place: Day One, Frodo gets to shine as one of the film's main stars. He deserves top billing right alongside Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn. Also, how sweet is it that his name is Frodo and Nyong'o's character is Sam?
As for the real-life cats behind the cat, Frodo was played by twin kitties Nico and Schnitzel.
A Quiet Place: Day One is now playing in theaters. To stay up to date on thrillers, sci-fi, and horror, bookmark 1428 Elm and follow our Facebook page and Twitter account!