PHOTO BY GARETH GATRELL / PARAMOUNT PICTURES

The first two “Quiet Place” films were suspenseful exercises in science fiction, simultaneously exploring a particular variety of dystopia and the cinematic potential of silence. Effective though they are, however, those films are more entertainment than art.

The prequel, “A Quiet Place: Day One,” is art. At times, it’s profound.

That’s not to say it’s not entertaining; it certainly is, and it makes deft use of the armrest-gripping tension the series loves. “Day One” rises above its predecessors in its artful explorations of mortality and trauma — subjects that are essential to its narrative yet handled so gently that the film avoids any scrap of pretension.

I thought “Day One” might be good; I didn’t expect it to be moving.

We start not in the soundless wasteland of the prior films, but in a hospice facility outside New York City. Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), dying of cancer at an early age and comforted only by her service cat, Frodo, reluctantly agrees to accompany a well-meaning nurse (Alex Wolff) into the city for a matinee. Not long after they arrive at the performance — a marionette show that quickly prompts more emotions than Sam is willing to feel — the monsters arrive.

There are inevitable echoes of 9/11 in the scenes that follow, as confused spectators peer up at fire in the sky and survivors stumble, dust-covered, through the streets. Director and screenwriter Michael Sarnoski isn’t merely interested in recalling tragedy; he’s reminding us that trauma lingers after impact, in ways far more insidious than the flashbacks and nightmares typical of big-screen thrillers.

Those feelings are embodied by Eric (Joseph Quinn), a terrified law student who quickly attaches to Sam. Having narrowly survived the initial onslaught by hiding underwater in a flooded subway station — nearly drowning in the process — he finds himself unable to continue, timidly following the confident Sam as she travels against the stream of humanity quietly searching for salvation.

Sarnoski, who mined similar depth out of a high-concept premise in “Pig,” is remarkably assured and deft, drawing soulful performances out of his cast and inescapable beauty out of an uncanny setting. As with “Pig,” part of the joy of “Day One” is how surprising its merits are. I expected a degree of cinematic suspense; I was blown away by beauty and tragedy. It’s a remarkable achievement.

My Rating: 10/10

“A Quiet Place: Day One” is now playing in theaters.