The Quiet Ones (2014)

"What if you could prove that the supernatural was merely a manifestation of what already exists in the mind, the subconscious?"
            Hello again fiends!  It's been entirely too long since I reviewed anything, and I've decided it's time to start regularly updating this and my other blog.  Sorry that I've been away for so long, I was invested in two jobs for awhile and now I'm back to just one, so I have the time I need to sit and watch a film for review.  So without further adieu, I bring you my newest review of Hammer films' The Quiet Ones, for our Spooky Saturday feature.
            Any movie that starts out declaring that it's 'inspired by actual events,' generally gains more credibility in the creep factor area for me, however loosely inspired.  The Quiet Ones begins by asking the question "What is the supernatural?"  Quickly viewers come to understand that there is a professor (Coupland, portrayed by Jared Harris) working with a group of students to try to prove that the supernatural exists in what they each are calling "The Experiment." The professor leading this experiment keeps referring to a previous patient he had, 12 year old David Q (Aldo Maland), who had made up a supernatural entity named Mr. Gregor to explain away his telekinetic capabilities.
           We meet young Brian (portrayed by Sam Claflin), who likes cameras and is apparently going to be the filmographer of the "experiment." He is a nerdy and very quiet fellow and he enters the compound eager to meet and film the subject of the experiment, Jane.  Jane is fresh out of the asylum after being abandoned and going from family to family.  Each time she would get taken in, 'things' would happen that couldn't be explained, and she would get moved again.  They run Twisted Sister's "Come On Feel the Noise" to keep Jane awake, and the professor apparently wants her to manifest telekinetic abilities so that they can extract it from her mind. Only after a while some of the 'experiments' done on Jane are not exactly moral concerning human rights.  For example, he asks if her 'supernatural entity' (Evey) is afraid of fire, and then proceeds to hold the girls arm over an open flame to observe if she flinches or not. 

           The lighting was done decently, but I wasn't hugely into the sound.  Anytime the EMF activity was happening the sound was so loud it was obnoxious to listen to.  It could have been sufficiently creepy without the volume. The cinematography was well done, not a whole lot of what I like to call 'shaky' camera, all the motions seem very fluid in this film from one scene to the next.  I can't say the acting was the best I've ever seen, though I'm not sure if that is because of the way they were written or due to the actors choices.  Maybe it was a combination of both...because with lines like "Even God rested on the seventh day," this movie doesn't have anything very deep to say, even though it seemed promisingly profound at first (for a supernatural story, that is).
          Needless to say, I can't totally cast it aside as a decent spooky story, as it has plenty of cheap thrills coupled with charming English accents and if anything the way that the character Jane is treated is horrific all on its own. Body Count? Four.  Number of killers? One. This film actually brought forth quite a few cheap thrills (6 total, in my opinion), some interesting and some just plain cheesy.  As far as actual spooks endured, unfortunately it didn't really give me the hebie jebies... but since it was based on a true story it does get two points for this category.  The other point being when the tub begins to boil!  Boob count? Two. Raven's Scream Meter says: 2.5 of 5 screams.  It's worth a watch, especially if you really dig supernatural stories, but don't expect a miracle.


**I just now realized I missed a day, and posted my Spooky Saturday on Freaky Friday.  My bad!  I'll do a Freaky Friday review next week! lol**