Plot
A university professor and a team of students conduct an experiment on a young woman, uncovering terrifyingly dark, unexpected forces in the process.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 5.8/10 (702 voted)
Critic's Score: 46/100
Director: John Pogue
Stars: Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke
Storyline
A university professor and a team of students conduct an experiment on a young woman, uncovering terrifyingly dark, unexpected forces in the process.
Writers: Craig Rosenberg, Oren Moverman
Cast: Jared Harris -
Professor Joseph Coupland
Sam Claflin -
Brian McNeil
Erin Richards -
Krissi Dalton
Rory Fleck-Byrne -
Harry Abrams
Olivia Cooke -
Jane Harper
Laurie Calvert -
Phillip
Aldo Maland -
David Q
Max Pirkis -
David Q (older)
Tracy Ray -
David Q's Mother
Richard Cunningham -
Provost
Eileen Nicholas -
Angry Neighbor
Rebecca Scott -
Student #1
Aretha Ayeh -
Student #2
Max Mackintosh -
Student #3
Harman Singh -
Student #4
Filming Locations: Bodleian Library, Broad Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
The Quiet Ones is a new British horror movie from the makers of The
Woman in Black. Produced by the classic crafters of horror, Hammer
Productions, the film follows an Oxford professor (Jared Harris), his
tutees and a student cameraman (Sam Claflin) as they attempt to both
prove and document the theory that supernatural powers are simply a
manifestation of psychological trauma. They begin studying a young girl
who believes she is possessed by an evil entity, and a strange
relationship begins to develop between her and cameraman Brian as the
professor's attempts to create a poltergeist take their toll.
In an era where endless Paranormal Activity sequels, squeezing every
buck out of the found-footage genre and reliance purely on cattle-prod
jump scares, it's refreshing to see a horror film that seems to have
been made by people who understand how suspense works. In the same way
that Woman in Black tricked you into thinking that it's going to be a
run-of-the-mill horror flick set in a creaky old house but did
something interesting, The Quiet Ones uses the 'house in the middle of
nowhere' setting in a way that doesn't just turn the lights off and
throw furniture around when things go wrong.
While rare (but noticeable), there are still uses of very loud noises
out of absolutely nowhere to accentuate the scares, but asides from
that, they are achieved through realistic and unobtrusive special
effects, a sparing but effective use of a rumbling, mechanical musical
score (there is something to be said for music that can make a scene of
occult research feel intense) and an unflinching refusal by the camera
to shy away from the horror. The camera-work is an interesting mix of
live-action and old celluloid stock filmed from the perspective of the
cameraman as he observes the increasing number of bizarre and
terrifying events unfolding before the investigators.
As far as performances go, Jared Harris is well cast as the physics
professor slowly declining into madness in a knowing manner very
reminiscent of classic Hammer-horror and Sam Claflin builds a lot on
his brief performance in Catching Fire, creating a very believable
character struggling with his own beliefs as the absolute horror of the
experiment becomes increasingly harder to deal with. Olivia Cooke is
also very good as Jane, the tortured subject of the experiment, taking
a very over-used character (the silent, unblinking possessed girl) and
doing something interesting with it, alternating between an almost
comatose recluse and a young woman dealing with adolescence and
emerging emotions.
The running time of just less than 100 minutes means that some of the
character development feels a little rushed, but it means that the film
has adequate time to set up scares, deliver on the suspense, and create
an intriguing story without feeling repetitive. Taking unexpected
turns, featuring good performances and inciting real fear in the
audience, The Quiet Ones is a very welcome breath of fresh air in
mainstream horror movies, proving once again that constant scenes of
exorcisms and annoying families with camcorders have become tired old
tropes and that the best thing to do is wipe that all away and focus on
believable characters and more interesting methods to create a
genuinely tense atmosphere.
0