Solace in Death
How A Quiet Place approaches the fear of dying
The Quiet Place franchise revitalized the alien invasion genre in horror, following survivors forced into silence by the ultrasensitive hearing of the Death Angels. While the first two installments of the franchise followed the Abbott family, the latest prequel offers insight on how the aliens came to Earth in the first place.
A Quiet Place: Day One is significantly different from the original installments, as instead of being about a family unit, it focuses on one Samira and Eric. Two people from completely different living situations, thrown together in the disaster of the alien invasion.
Thus, the underlying meaning of the film is also significantly different.
Opposite… yet Similar
We’re introduced to Samira while she’s in hospice. She’s a terminally ill cancer patient, and unsurprisingly, she’s not exactly happy with her circumstances. She finds hospice to be miserable and uninspired, evidential by her poem she so dearly named “Shit.”
On the other hand, Eric comes into the picture after the aliens attack, escaping a flooded subway entrance. He’s met by Samira’s service cat, Frodo, who leads him back to Samira in an alleyway.
The two are practically attached by the hip through the rest of the movie, but it’s not until they go to Samira’s old apartment that they learn more about each other. Samira is a poet, Eric is an English law student.
It’s then that the audience understands why Eric is following Samira. He’s scared, yes, but he’s also completely alone. His family is back in England, and he has no idea if they’re okay or not. Samira, essentially, is all he has to help him get through the invasion.
Later, we find out that Samira’s want of pizza isn’t just from cravings, but rather sentimental value. As a child, Sam would watch her late father play jazz at a local Harlem club, and the two would get pizza at Patsy’s afterward.
Samira and Eric share a trauma bond. Not only are they both experiencing an intense alien invasion, but they also understand what it means to be alone. Neither of them have family in their situation, nor do neither of them know the exact future.
The only difference between the two? Samira is already prepared for death, Eric isn’t.
Being terminally ill, Sam accepted her fate a long time ago. She knows she’s going to die either way, so fulfilling her dying wish is the most important thing for her.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
As the film progresses, the two act as a harmonious partnership, helping one another in their goals.
More specifically, Sam helps Eric overcome his fear and anxiety, whereas Eric helps Sam find peace in her last moments.
At one point, Eric is tasked with getting more medicine for Samira, which forces him to venture out into the city alone. He’s clearly anxious, as most people would be, but he pushes through for Samira’s well-being. Eventually, he’s able to locate her medicine, but Frodo follows him..
And, as cats do, Frodo ends up somewhere he shouldn’t: a construction site. Actually, it’s a construction site that the Death Angels decided to use as one of their home bases, and Frodo is on the top of beam for the show.
Not only does Eric have to climb up a construction beam and save Frodo, he also has to face his paralyzing fear of the Death Angels. Even when one of them comes face-to-face with him, Eric is able to remain calm in the moment.
Here, we see that Eric has pushed through the fear that held him back in the first place. Sure, he’s still afraid of what may happen, but he has better chances of surviving with his new found courage.
And with that courage, he’s able to not only help Samira with her health, but also her inner peace. Although she accepted her fate a long time ago, she wasn’t at peace with it. There’s clearly a difference with knowing you are going to die and can do nothing about it vs. being at peace with your fate.
It isn’t until Eric brings her to the jazz club in Harlem that she’s finally able to have joy again. He brings her pizza, does card tricks for her, and does everything he can to show he appreciates her for what she did for him.
The connection the two share is a special one, found only in times of distress. Not only does it show the compassion that humans have during disasters, it also shows that most humans are inherently good. It’s human nature to want to help someone in need, especially in a dire situation like that of A Quiet Place.
To Lose One is to Gain Another
The resolution of the film shows Samira attempting to sacrifice herself for Eric’s escape.
Eric must escape to the evacuation ship that’s taking people away from the city, but the only way to do that is to draw the Death Angels away from the water.
Samira, knowing what’s to become of her, gives Frodo to Eric. She runs away to set off car alarms and draw the Death Angels her way so Eric can make it to the ship. Of course, this all works out in the end, with Eric and Frodo making it out safely.
Meanwhile, after all the commotion is over, Samira makes her way to Patsy’s. There’s a scene of her holding a framed picture of her and her late father in the restaurant, smiling as she reminisces over better times. Her dying wish was achieved, and she was able to save a life before letting go of her own.
The end of the film shows Samira going out to the street, her iPod playing "Feeling Good” by Nina Simone on a speaker. Her smile is wide and a Death Angel stands behind her, ready to attack, before the screen cuts to black.
Samira’s character development throughout the film is one of power, even in facing death. It’s in our nature to fear death. When facing our own demise, we must choose to try and fight or accept our fate. Some people don’t even have that choice given to them.
Samira teaches us that, at some point, we have to accept death as a natural part of our life. Once we find peace with ourselves and our future, we can release the anxiety we keep about things out of our control. While it’s completely normal for us to be a little anxious of the unknown, we also shouldn’t stress over it every minute of the day.
We can’t let our fear of death control us. After all, if Samira had, Eric would have never escaped. If Eric had, he would have never helped Samira find her inner peace.
To Face Death
You could argue that A Quiet Place: Day One doesn’t have a happy ending. The invasion of aliens only continue, innocents more die, and the world we once knew crumbles. Looking deeper, you realize it’s quite the opposite.
Samira’s death was one of virtue and peace. She faced death with a smile on her face. She died on her own terms. She felt accomplished with what she had done with her life.
Samira did get a happy ending. Death isn’t always bad. In fact, death should be seen as our friend. I think Alan Watts said it best:
“We live in a culture where it has been rubbed into us in every conceivable way that to die is a terrible thing.”
To be immortal would be to live without purpose. Why do anything, if nothing matters? If there’s no clock to tick, no sand to run out, then why achieve anything?
Death reminds us of how precious life is. It reminds us of the memories of the past, the reality of the future, what may or may not be. It motivates us. It gives us purpose to go and try new things. To be uncomfortable. To be human.