Starring: Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke, Erin Richards, and Rory Fleck-Byrne
I've said that I'm tired of found footage horror films, but I have to say that I'm tired of supernatural horror flicks in general. Poltergeists have simply been overdone in recent years. Paranormal Activity, Insidious, & The Conjuring have all flooded our theaters. I'm more of a slasher fan of Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street, exactly the types of old school horror flicks we're not getting anymore. As it stands this weekend, we're getting another supernatural horror flick in The Quiet Ones.
It's the 1970s. Professor Coupland (Jared Harris) of Oxford firmly believes that there is no such thing as the supernatural. What others see as possession by an evil or demonic spirit Coupland sees as a disease that can be cured. One of his students by the name of Brian McNeil (Sam Claflin) wants to know more about his research. Happy to educate this eager student, Coupland invites him to take part in an experiment to cure a depressed young girl named Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke). Along with Coupland's assistants Krissi (Erin Richards) and Harry (Rory Flck-Byrne), Brian gets to see Coupland conduct what he considers to be groundbreaking research. When the group begins interacting with Jane's manifestation in something akin to a possessed doll known as Evey, Brian realizes that he's gotten himself involved in some serious stuff.
When Oxford opts to stop funding Coupland's rather unique research, the group takes Jane to an isolated home by the countryside. There, the real fun begins. Jane and her manifestation Evey begin conjuring strange phenomena that would appear to be the supernatural to the average individual. To Coupland, however, it's grounds for further research and an excuse to push Jane to the brink to "cure her". As Coupland pushes the poor girl farther and farther, stranger and stranger things begin happening. Meanwhile, Brian begins developing feelings for Jane, which could complicate his involvement with this highly interactive research.
If you're not asleep after the first half of The Quiet Ones, the second half is a halfway decent thriller. John Pogue crafts a very, very slow horror flick that doesn't really offer any genuine thrills until we arrive at the film's climax. This approach doesn't pay big dividends for moviegoers, and can be best described by its limitations. The film is limited by Pogue's annoying and pointless use of a camera to create some semblance of a found footage film. It's limited by Pogue's bland, uninteresting vision of Oxford in the 1970s. Worst of all, it's limited by this persistent concept that the supernatural doesn't exist. Because of these limitations and many others, I wouldn't be surprised if plenty of moviegoers use this movie as a chance to get some shuteye.
As expected, the acting is sub-par. Jared Harris is just cashing a paycheck here. He's a much more talented actor than what he gives us here, and it's a real shame. His supporting cast members don't exactly give impressive performances either. They're just a bunch of horny college students looking for some thrills. All in all, it's safe to say that the cast of The Quiet Ones offers nothing but disappointing performances.
This one is a snoozer, and I'm sure the theater will be pretty quiet (pun intended). The Quiet Ones gets a 0.09% rating. Have an Old Fashioned with this one.
