Bigger than its masterful predecessor, and less subtle in its intensity but never missing a step. Writer/director John Krasinski, clearly filled with ideas born out of the first film, and armed with a bigger budget, takes the set pieces up a notch, each of them making you wince, squirm, and jump out of your seat (or jump so far out of your own skin that you get friction burn from the seat). Krasinski proves here that he can do the grandest of scale as well as the unique subtlety he brought to the first film and now this excellent add-on. However, as big as this instalment feels, it manages not to lose what made the first one such a revelation, its atmosphere. So carefully crafted, it’s the immersive-ness of the world created on screen that will leave you in a panic every time you reach for popcorn, take a drink, and eventually tip-toe out of the cinema after 90 pulsating minutes. This is never more evident than its opening. A flashback to day one, minutes before the chaos descended. Everything here is designed to set you on edge, a car door slam, a dog bark, talking, music, all winding you up, tying you in knots waiting for the inevitable…and when the hammer falls, it brings a feast for the senses, the blind monsters from the first film look even meaner this time round (courtesy of a big budget facelift), and even with their massive frames, their skulking, creeping movements in these opening moments invoke big slasher film vibes, almost making you watch through your fingers. How Krasinski handles the duality of storylines is also a massive achievement, managing to inject tension into multiple scenarios at once, cutting back effortlessly from frame to frame, proving his directing metal once again. I can’t imagine I’ll be alone in hoping he’ll return to this genre sooner rather than later, and in hoping this film kickstarts box-offices all over the globe. Definitely see this on the biggest screen you can. As much as Krasinski will take those plaudits (and rightly so) for bringing such an immersive world back to life, and while Emily Blunt and Noah Jupe carry over their terrific performances from AQP1, the film no doubt belongs to Millicent Simmonds. In a film in which dialogue is light and picture is everything, she absolutely shines as the hearing-impaired Regan. Emotive enough to carry the human drama that is the beating heart of the film, and powerful and confident enough to go toe to toe with the always on point Cillian Murphy. A triumphant performance. Tense, immersive, dramatic, escapism, emotive, panic-inducing. Say what you want about this superb thriller, just make sure you say it quietly… SCORE: A Contribute Hire me
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