COVER FEATURE
A Quiet Place Part II026 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
the time, then as a character you’ve betrayed
him or her or it because you’re basically
asking that character to do more work than it
should. And so we still are very protective of
showing it as sparsely as we can.”
The creatures have been created with
CGI, which can be notoriously tricky to act
alongside, but Krasinski made sure the
sets were real and the actors weren’t always
working with both a green screen and
CGI creatures, as Murphy says: “The way
John runs the set, it never feels like you’re
working with a green screen. All of the
locations were real. There was very little
studio work, certainly for me. We shot in
Buffalo in New York. On extraordinary sets.
We didn’t have to ‘pretend act’ like we would
on a green screen.
“Sometimes John would even act out the
creatures while on set so we would know
where the creatures would be,” Murphy
laughs. “John is incredibly energetic; he
transmits this enthusiasm. He’s one of the
most committed directors I’ve ever worked
with. I just felt we were in an extension of
that world. Also because I’d seen the first
film I knew what [the creatures] looked like,
how they moved. The way their bodies work
and the way their hearing works. I was well
aware of that, so it was never an issue!”
One of the people that the Abbott family
meet now they’re away from the farmhouse
is Murphy’s character, a mysterious man
who’s been navigating this tough new world.
Murphy is a welcome addition to the movie
and has his fair share of genre credits,
similarly navigating a post-apocalyptic world
as Jim in Danny Boyle’s fantastic 28 Days
Later. In fact, the introduction of Murphy
in the sequel seems to almost be written in
the stars: “I was so impressed with the first
movie that I wrote an email to John to tellhim that but I chickened out in the end and
didn’t send it!” Murphy laughs. “Luckily
he was aware of my work and a year later
he sent me an email asking me to be in the
sequel, so luckily it worked out!” When we
asked Murphy whether he thought this was
some kind of psychic connection he laughs:
“I like to think so!”
Blunt is quick to agree that this part
seems to be made for Murphy. “John and
I are probably the biggest Peaky Blinders
fans in the world and so we were watching
Peaky one night a while back and he went
‘oh my god’; he had written this part and
he went ‘that’s him!’. He just has the right
kind of charisma and gravitas, and mystery,
you know. I mean, it’s a morally ambiguous
character and so you need someone who
knows how to do that with great nuance. We
were thrilled he wanted to do it.”
“It’s an enigmatic character, which is my
favourite type, but only a few people can do
it as well as he does,” Krasinski agrees. “And
secretly what I was most looking forward to
were the scenes between Cillian and Emily
and I was not disappointed. In the first
[movie] my favourite thing was waiting forSurviving an
apocalypse
So, you’ve found yourself in an
apocalypse, tough luck. But not to
worry! Here are some handy tips to
help you survive (probably)RAID A VENDING MACHINE
Look, no-one’s going to care if you take some
goodies from a vending machine. Everybody
else is a zombie. Don’t go too heavy on those
sweets though, watch out for that sugar high!FIND REFUGE IN A PUB AND
WAIT FOR IT ALL TO BLOW OVER
Think about it: you have a source of liquid
sustenance and bar snacks for days. Besides,
that old gun behind the bar definitely works.GET A BADASS CAR
Even though the world is running out of oil
and your Nissan Leaf may be the responsible
choice, surviving an apocalypse is far more
fun with a V8.FIND YOURSELF A BAND
OF MISFITS
You may not have been friends with them
before, but this is an apocalypse man and you
have to align yourself with people who are
going to help you survive.AVOID SHOPPING MALLS
This may seem like a good option but it isn’t.
Trust us. Others have tried and failed. A lot.Krasinski knew Murphy would
be perfect for this role.