Overview: When New York City comes under attack from an alien invasion, a woman and other survivors try to find a way to safety. They soon learn that they must remain absolutely silent as the mysterious creatures are drawn to the slightest sound.

Verdict: When you live in a big city or metro area like Chicago or New York, you learn to tune out the noise. But it’s almost impossible to imagine the eeriness of a silent Michigan Avenue or Times Square. A Quiet Place: Day One asks us if familiarity really does breed contempt when humans are forced to rely on each other in a world where our primary form of communication could get us killed.

The John Krasinski–directed postapocalyptic A Quiet Place franchise explores to great effect what human connection looks like in the aftermath of blind extraterrestrial creatures attacking the earth. Now, in the third installment—a prequel directed by Michael Sarnoski—we learn how everything unfolded on day one (kind of).

Lupita Nyong’o stars as Sam, a terminally ill cancer patient who, understandably, is pretty pessimistic about life. However, as vicious creatures wreak havoc on NYC without care, rhyme, or reason, a few fellow survivors (with heartwarming performances from Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Djimon Hounsou) help her realize that maybe other people aren’t so bad after all. In fact, maybe the only thing that will save us is each other.

The performances are naturally limited by the film’s design (no talking means little dialogue), yet Nyong’o brings the same magnetism and fluidity that should’ve earned her a second Oscar nomination in Jordan Peele’s Us. She evokes more emotion in her eyes alone than half of Hollywood can with an entire monologue. Where Day One falters is in the same manner as its predecessor: the world-building is haphazard at best, and the monsters, while scary, get less so as each jump scare wears thin.