MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from his debut in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, hunk actor Sam Claflin returns in the The Quiet Ones as an average guy participating in an ethically horrific scientific experiment into the depths of demonic possession.
The terrifying true story: May 1974, Oxford. Local lad and video recording enthusiast Brian McNeil (Claflin), who works in the university’s audiovisual unit, is projecting archival research material to accompany a lecture delivered by paranormal psychology expert Joseph Coupland (Jared Harris). Would the young man be willing to film the professor’s potentially groundbreaking work with a profoundly disturbed woman named Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke of Bates Motel)? The treatment seems less than academically rigorous — for some reason Jane is subjected to au courant hits such as Slade’s Cum on Feel the Noize at deafening volumes — but a horrified-but-intrigued Brian agrees.
“Cure one patient, we cure mankind,†declares a messianic Coupland.
Everyone’s attention is pulled toward the highly arresting Jane and her malignant demon, Evey, who resides in a child’s doll. An easy diagnosis for Jane would be demonic possession, but just how far can Jane’s demonic energy go? Professor Coupland resists any supernatural explanations, stubbornly clinging to his own scientific hypothesis.
Opening today in theaters, The Quiet Ones promises a soul-shatteringly film that is tense and, at moments, truly terrifying. The film boasts both chilling visual effects, unnerving build-ups, effective jump scares, and best of all a disturbing narrative enhanced by its basis in real life. The Quiet Ones is a spooky horror offering that tenderly unspools its tension while offering a narrative that is enthralling. It’s a brilliant concoction of The Conjuring, Insidious and Carrie combined.