BELTRAMI,MARCO
A QUIET PLACE PT II OST (ECO-MIX COLORED VINYL) - LP

Hypersensitive horrors from outer space are back in John Krasinski’s A QUIET PLACE PART II. Returning from the first picture is Emily Blunt (SICARIO), with Cillian Murphy (28 DAYS LATER) and Djimon Hounsou (GLADIATOR) now along for the ride as the Abbott family look for further survivors in their post-apocalyptic nightmare, only to face a further ordeal as they band together with a survivalist desperate to avoid the gruesome fate that befell his family. Returning to score the second film is Marco Beltrami (SCREAM), who creates a similarly terrifying yet beautiful soundscape for the nightmarish experiences of the Abbotts. Beltrami elects to retain the same themes and material from A QUIET PLACE, using it as a device to remind listeners of that world while new music comes in to extend that.

One trick the composer tries is detuning a number of piano keys to help play with the idea of fading memories, as well as toeing the line between subtle and intense tones for a film that has a very specific aural landscape. What results from that is a soundtrack that is dynamic as can be while not sounding exhausting; A QUIET PLACE PART II is not only satisfyingly scary but emotionally cathartic. Just don’t make any sound while listening to it.

- Charlie Bridgen