Many of the most effective horror movies work because of a single, clever gimmick. The 2018 hit A Quiet Place used sound as its biggest threat. In this post-apocalyptic monster movie, terrifying but blind alien creatures have invaded the planet and use sound to find their prey. Director and star John Krasinski delivered a tense and scary film focused on a family's attempts to stay alive by being as quiet as possible--which is not easy when you need to find supplies, give birth, and avoid large nails jutting out from wooden steps.

The sequel, which finally arrives this month after a 14-month delay, is once again directed by Krasinski, who is also the sole screenwriter this time around. Krasinski's character, Lee Abbott, didn't make it out of the first movie alive, but he does appear in the opening sequence, which takes us back to the first day of the alien apocalypse. It's a savage, intense scene that sets the tone for the rest of the movie, as Lee, his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), and children Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe) race for safety as their small town is invaded by the huge, multi-limbed creatures.

From there the story picks up moments after the end of the first movie, 18 months after the world ended. Evelyn, Regan, Marcus, and the newborn baby escape their now burning farmhouse and head out into the deserted and dangerous wider world. They soon encounter another local man, Emmett (Cillian Murphy), who lost his family and is now surviving as best he can. At first, Emmett doesn't want them to stay in the derelict building he is sheltering in, but when Regan leaves the group to go find help alone, Evelyn persuades him to head out into the wilderness to find her.