How scary is A Quiet Place: Day One, really?

The latest entry in the A Quiet Place franchise is now playing in theaters. Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff lead this poignant horror movie that stands out from the trilogy as one of the best. Mild spoilers ahead.

Rated PG-13 for terror and violent content/bloody images, A Quiet Place: Day One is not a super gory or disturbing film. Not like, say, the rumored intensity of the upcoming serial killer film Longlegs. But even though A Quiet Place: Day One isn't a hard R-rated horror movie, it's still intense and packs quite the emotional wallop.

What to know about the gore and scary content in A Quiet Place: Day One

Hostile and aggressive Death Angels kill and antagonize many unnamed characters. Monsters scale buildings, jump on cars, crush things, lift people off the ground, etc. However, like A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place: Part II, the actual violence and blood is minimal.

Tension and suspense are paramount. Anxiety runs amok as everyone attempts to remain silent to avoid detection by the monsters. One man accidentally kills a panicked person while trying to keep him quiet by covering his mouth and nose and then bashing his head too hard into the wall to shut him up.

The scariest scenes in the movie are sequences involving chases and trying to hide from the monsters, like one particularly harrowing scene that features the two main characters swimming through a dark subway tunnel to escape from a prowling Death Angel. There are also a few genuinely startling jump scares. Viewers might feel increased anxiety due to the presence of Sam's cat, Frodo, but nothing bad happens to him, so you don't need to worry about any animal deaths.

Even when the Death Angels kill people, it's not depicted graphically on-screen. Apart from some military helicopters and vehicles, no guns or weaponry are shown or used. Since the story takes place on the first day of the invasion, the characters are only focused on survival and escape, not trying to fight back.

Other adult themes and content

Apart from the frightening moments and the sheer creepiness of the Death Angel design, A Quiet Place: Day One is an emotionally resonant film that prioritizes its characters over plot. The film starts by introducing us to several characters in hospice care. You find out one of the main characters is sick and likely going to die soon. It's easy to get attached to the leads, which makes their arcs gripping and impactful. This might not be a gruesome film, but the themes of death, hope, and perseverance are complex.

There are no recreational drugs, sexuality, or nudity in the movie, but a couple of characters are shown drinking alcohol during one scene.

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