The Quiet Ones Review
For 4 years Hammer Horror films have failed to provide a quality horror picture that compares to 2010's Let Me In, The Quiet Ones most certainly does not buck that trend. The film is based on a 'true story', one set in England's Oxford University. A lecturer and his group of students carry out an experiment in the name of science, the experiment is designed to prove that paranormal occurrences are created by the force of human fear. The test subject in question is Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke), a disturbed individual who has a knack for creating supernatural energy and whose past is blurred and forgotten. Jane, played brilliantly by Olivia Cooke, is an interesting character from the offset, managing to single handedly carry the film through its unbearably slow start. Director John Pogue attempts to give each character a sense of background and standing in the world, aiming to make the audience care, an exercise that ends up slightly overdrawn. Once things get going, the film's mystery is ignited, and the narrative briefly holds its own. After a surprisingly enjoyable middle section, complete with a battering of jump scares, the film's plot begins to lose its sense of mystery and follows the well trodden path into mediocrity.
The Quiet Ones makes up somewhat for the lack of innovation with a solid cast, all of whom provide good performances which bring the stale character archetypes to life. The well established and much loved Jared Harris plays the slowly maddening professor, and does so with considerable clout, delivering a character that is sufficiently creepy and ever so slightly insane. British newbies Sam Clafin and Erin Richards make up the rest of the cast, both performing to an admirable degree, particularly Clafin as Janes' love interest Brian. As is standard with Hammer films, the cinematography is moody and colourless, even in the films vibrant 1970's setting. While the sounds of T Rex are never a few minutes away, the lifeless and dreary settings never evoke the same passion. To make matters worse, the film attempts to switch between a regular filming style and a found footage/video camera style, with Brian's role as the documenter of the experiment as the excuse. The problem lies with the jarring cuts between standard film and home video, taking place at crucial moments within the film. Not only does the cutting between the styles not work, but the handheld camera is thrown about and ran with like an iPhone, something that would simply not be possible with clunky 1970's technology.
In terms of horror, the film manages a few jolts in the middle half, using the handheld camera to full effect. A darkened room with only a circle of torch light illuminating the surroundings has of course been done many times before in found footage films, however Pouge plays with expectations, leading into some decent and genuine frights, as well as tension that leads to nothing. Unusually, the film shys away from the use of CGI during most of the film, a decision that really helps keep the mood and atmosphere in tact, unlike the recent Marked Ones or Devil's Due.
For now at least, the horror genre appears to be undergoing a creative drought, with few releases being more than re-runs of the same formula. Perhaps Hammer will return to its former glory, but for now the production company survives on it's legacy. The Quiet Ones is an average horror film, popcorn entertainment that serves only as a night out with friends or for a night in with a partner, horror fans looking for the next game changer will have to carry on waiting it seems.
6/10
