WARNING: The following contains spoilers for A Quiet Place II, now in theatres
A Quiet Place II splits its storyline across multiple members of the Abbott family as they try to survive in a desolate world ravaged by monsters. The chief plotline centers on Regan (Millicent Simmonds) as she tries to find a potentially vital radio tower alongside the gruff widower Emmett (Cillian Murphey). While the specifics of the plots are largely different, this actually gives A Quiet Place II many similarities with The Last Of Us, the smash-hit Naughty Dog video game series receiving an HBO adaptation. There are actually a lot of lessons — both good and bad — that The Last Of Us could learn from A Quiet Place II.
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At their core, The Last of Us and A Quiet Place II are similar in structure. Both narratives largely focus on a grown man and a young woman working together to survive a post-apocalyptic setting. Defined by its grim tone but the consistent undercurrent of hope, both stories also feature bands of humans who’ve become bloodthirsty scavengers in the chaos. Notably, they also introduce a singular chaotic and terrifying element. In A Quiet Place II, it’s the alien monsters who landed on Earth and have proven immune to most forms of combat. Meanwhile, The Last Of Us features the Clickers, a zombie-like appendage that grows on the infected and forces them to become ravenous, murderous creatures.
A Quiet Place II accomplishes many of the elements The Last Of Us will likely be striving for. As such, it could be seen as a useful blueprint for the video game adaptation. The grim setting and tone still utilize color and the beauty of nature to contrast from the non-stop horror. Some of the most famous sequences from The Last Of Us — such as Joel and Ellie discovering animals that have begun populating the ruins of humanity — lent the largely grim video game some moments of humanity and heart.
Joel also shares many qualities with Emmett from A Quiet Place II, both being despondent fathers who struggle to move past their losses to help others. In many ways, Emmett is a perfect (if brief) idea of how Joel should operate in the upcoming show.
However, there are some elements of A Quiet Place II that don’t work nearly as well and should serve as warnings for the video game adaptation. At times, A Quiet Place II over-relies on the monsters and the threat they pose, losing plenty of smaller moments that had been either effective in terms of character development (such as the abrupt ending to Emmett and Regan’s time on the island) or raising stakes (the scavagers that capture the pair) by having a monster rush in. Clickers should be played with more restraint, keeping them and their effect on the show from becoming more predictable. While the cast of A Quiet Place II are strong, they could benefit from some expanded attention and depth, which ideally the lengthened format of the HBO series should easily allow.
The Scavengers are a tremendous idea, but one that feels underbaked in A Quiet Place II. The Last Of Us should be careful in how they approach their own version of a band of Scavengers, who are a far more impactful part of The Last Of Us. The Scavengers of The Last Of Us present Ellie with a uniquely human threat to overcome, making it into a serious coming-of-age conflict for her. Meanwhile, A Quiet Place II sets up such a conflict and threat, only for the monsters to rush onto the scene and introduce typical bedlam.
If The Last Of Us can have the time and space to fully explore the world around them and the people in it instead of just using them for cannon-fodder, then they can use the lessons — both positive and negative — from A Quiet Place II on their own show.
Written and directed by John Krasinski, A Quiet Place: Part II stars Emily Blunt, Djimon Hounsou, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Cillian Murphy. The film arrives in theaters May 28