The Quiet Ones

The Quiet Ones (2014)

36% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 69 reviews)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: John Pogue

Starring: Jared Harris, Sam Clafin, Olivia Cooke, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne

From: Exclusive Media Group/Traveling Show Picture Company/Hammer

Even though the general buzz on this film has been bad since it was released last spring I was still interested in it so I decided to give it a shot and while it's not a must-see I am glad I did.

They claim it's based on a true story but what is here and what actually happened... very different. Instead of a controversial experiment in Canada where they try to manifest an entity-a fictional character-they created themselves, the movie is set in the swinging 70's of Britain (w/ groovy clothing and songs from such artists as Slade, T. Rex and The Jimmy Castor Bunch, which I did approve of); a tweedy Oxford professor (Jared Harris), two students (male and female and they were a couple) and a male cameraman are attempting to draw out an evil entity known as Evey from a young troubled lady (Olivia Cooke) and of course complications happen.

I know many thought this was “too slow” or “boring” but I personally did not really feel that way. Maybe it was the British 70's-ness of it that I found interesting or maybe it was me being amused at how the randiness of most of the characters was a key part of the plot. The story itself is pretty ridiculous and they go the jump scare route too often, but at least I was entertained by this story where part of it is found footage from a giant 70's camera and the rest is more traditional.

What does help is that everyone in the small cast does well, especially Harris as the eccentric professor you can't quite trust and Cooke as the poor troubled girl who said a lot just by her posture and expressions without saying a word. Maybe it was the lowered expectations but I thought this was at least acceptable and not a waste of time.