DVD REVIEW: THE QUIET ONES / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JOHN POGUE / SCREENPLAY: CRAIG ROSENBERG, JOHN POGUE, OREN MOVERMAN, TOM DE VILLE / STARRING: JARED HARRIS, SAM CLAFLIN, OLIVIA COOKE, ERIN RICHARDS, RORY FLECK-BYRNE / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 19TH
The resurgence of the Hammer Film brand continues with The Quiet Ones, a very British horror movie. In 1970s Oxford, Professor Coupland (Harris) attempts to disprove the supernatural by experimenting on a young woman called Jane (Cooke) with alleged telekinetic powers.
Coupland is assisted by students Krissi (Richards) and Harry (Fleck-Byrne). He hires a third, Brian (Claflin), to film the experiments. After being kicked off campus, they all relocate to an isolated house. As the experiments get more intense, so do the relationships between the five. Meanwhile Jane’s energy starts to manifest herself in ‘Evey’, someone only she can see.
The Quiet Ones uses a lot of old tricks, building tension with jerky POV shots, dark corners, strange sounds and doors mysteriously creAking open. While it sometimes works, it’s not very original. The acting is good all-round, particularly from a whimsical Harris, but it takes a while before the film gets interesting. The Quiet Ones is a mix of classic horror from the film’s time period and more modern fare like Paranormal Activity.
It has a few decent scenes but is a bit disappointing until the end, when a bit of much-needed action and a satanic cult subplot are thrown in for good measure, and we see what could have been. Not Hammer’s finest hour but a decent attempt at some postmodern nostalgia.
Extras: Audio commentary with director/co-writer John Pogue and producer Tobin Armbrust / Making of / Deleted scenes / Featurette on making the title sequence / Gag reel
