The horror genre has been thriving for years now, to the joy of fans. While some of the best horror movies returned to theaters with new sequels, filmmakers also brought wholly original concepts to life. Chief among them is John Krasinski's growing franchise A Quiet Place, which is back in theaters with the prequel Day One. A Fans have a nickname for the sound-driven creatures, but director Michael Sarnoski told us what they are called on set. And it’s not what I expected.
A Quiet Place: Day One was one of the most highly anticipated upcoming horror movies of the year, offering a new take on the sensory franchise. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with the cast and director about the prequel, and Sarnoski told me what the aliens are refered to on set. In his words:
'Happy.' That's kind of the name that ILM gave them in designing them very early on. So often 'Happy', otherwise we just call them 'the creature' usually. I know online a lot of people call them 'Death Angels,' but we never really call them that. But yeah, 'Happy' is usually the term.
Pretty twisted, right? Considering how horrifying the aliens are throughout all three Quiet Place movies so far, a cheery name like "Happy" is definitely surprising. This is especially true since there are so many other, more terrifying names being thrown around online.
Sarnoski's comments reveal the origin of "Happy" which started getting tossed around when the creates were being designed by ILM. That name doesn't seem to be officially used in-universe, but it's the closest thing to an official title that we've got.
CinemaBlend's A Quiet Place: Day One review praised the movie's scares, but thought that it wasn't quite as effective as John Krasinski's previous two installments. But with the new chapter in theaters, now is the time for audiences to judge for themselves.
By comparison, Day One delivers way more aliens or "Happy" than its predecessors in the Quiet Place franchise. In the first two, The Abbott family is trying to avoid a handful of creatures, as they're in a more remote area. But New York City is loud, so there are countless aliens throughout the prequel's 99-minute runtime.
A Quiet Place Part II showed a clip of what it was like when the aliens first arrived, including Emily Blunt's wild bus stunt. But Day One live entirely in that chaos, with Lupita Nyong'o's protagonist Sam having to depend on stranger Eric (Joseph Quinn) to survive.
A Quiet Place: Day One is in theaters now. Be sure to check out the 2025 movie release dates to plan your trips back to the theater next year.
