A Quiet Place: Day One Director Explains Ending

A Quiet Place: Day One SPOILERS

A Quiet Place: Day One ends with Nyong’o’s Sam, a cancer patient living the last months of her life, removing the plug from her music player and blasting a song to the entire street, causing a wave of aliens - or ‘death angels’ - to descend upon her.

“That was an essential part of the film,” Sarnoski tells Discussing Film. “I mean, you know that in order to do justice to the character and what she’s going through, [the movie] has to somehow end like that. I think the biggest task for me with this project was to find a way to have that ending but not make it feel the way [it appears in the script]. On paper, it feels bleak and sad, just like the end of the world is, but in practice and in how you experience it, I wanted [the ending] to feel somehow triumphant and life-affirming.”

Moments before Sam’s death, she helps Eric (Joseph Quinn) reach the safety of a boat in the harbour by smashing windows to distract the aliens. Eric finds a note from Sam in the pocket of a sweater thanking him for reminding her how to live.

“Sam takes back her agency and her joy,” continues Sarnoski, “and I think trying to feel that way while you’re seeing [her choose to die on her own terms] was kind of the fun challenge of it. I was excited by what many people would think is a risky ending, and hopefully, we pulled it off. I’m happy with it. I feel that way when I watch it. But it’s a tricky one, it’s definitely risky.”

A Quiet Place: Day One released June 28, 2024, and is now playing in theaters. In other news, the A Quiet Place video game gets a frightening new trailer.