The Quiet Ones (2014)

A university professor and a team of students conduct an experiment on a young woman, uncovering terrifyingly dark, unexpected forces in the process.

Director:

John Pogue

Writers:

Craig Rosenberg (screenplay by), Oren Moverman (screenplay by)

Stars:

Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jared Harris	...	Professor Joseph Coupland
Sam Claflin	...	Brian McNeil
Erin Richards	...	Krissi Dalton
Rory Fleck Byrne	...	Harry Abrams (as Rory Fleck-Byrne)
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 Macintosh	...	Student #3 (as Max Mackintosh)
Harman Singh	...	Student #4

Storyline

In 1974, Oxford professor Joseph Coupland invites introspective lad Brian McNeil to film his experimental treatment of subject Jane Harper, aided by student assistants Krissi Dalton and Harry Abrams. Jane, a young woman with no memory of the past and repeatedly abandoned by foster families, believes herself possessed by a doll named Evey that gives her telekinetic power. Keeping her awake in an isolated house, Prof. Coupland intends that she puts her evil energy into an actual doll, thereafter destroying it to heal Jane. Amidst strange things happening in the house, Brian feels sorry for Jane and, researching her tattoo, learns an evil secret about Jane's past, and of Prof. Coupland's motivation.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | 1970s | poltergeist | student | doll | 

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Taglines:

Something unspeakable is happening to Jane Harper.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Script was heavily rewritten for budget reasons.

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Goofs

When they put the candle under Jane's arm, the 'flame' can be seen to clearly be one of the plastic 'flameless' battery operated candles - the flame is a stiff piece of paper that doesn't bend.

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Quotes

Krissi Dalton: We can't have non-believers in this house, Brian. It's a destructive energy in a constructive space.

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Connections

References The Shining (1980)

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Soundtracks

Radio Caroline
[Jingle provided by Radio Caroline]

User Reviews

Not too many scares here

If you could cure all mankind by killing just one person, would it be justifiable to do so? This is the moral conundrum that Professor Joseph Coupland (Jared Harris) likes to present to his Class of 1975 at Oxford University. Coupland himself has enlisted help from a group of students to run an ethically dubious experiment on Jane (Olivia Cooke), a girl who has apparently caused strange phenomena to occur at the various foster homes she has been placed in. She appears to be possessed by Evey, a malevolent spirit. The Professor rejects supernatural explanations, but thinks she has some negative energy within her that can be drawn out and trapped. In order to do this the Professor subjects her to a series of increasingly intense provocations, resulting in alarming responses from "Evey" that cause harm to Jane, and then begin to put the Professor and his students at risk.

With its storyline of a rationalist professor battling supernatural forces, The Quiet Ones hearkens back to earlier Gothic classics Night of the Demon and Night of the Eagle. However, whereas those films involved a gradual build up of tension before the final climax, The Quiet Ones quickly reaches into the horror movie grab-bag of false alarm scares, loud bangs and thumps, and shaky camera work (one of the characters is filming events, so we get a lot of through-the-viewfinder footage, too). Jared Harris is excellent as the rather ambiguous Professor Coupland, but you'd have to be of a particularly nervous disposition to be frightened by the events shown here, and anyone who's reasonably familiar with the horror genre will see the ending coming a mile away.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2014 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Les âmes silencieuses

Filming Locations:

Bodleian Library, Broad Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,880,053, 27 April 2014

Gross USA:

$8,509,867

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,835,162

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caffeination, Exclusive Media Group, Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1