Here we go with another low-cost, poorly lit, flimsily shot horror movie that substitutes loud, jarring noises and cheap parlor tricks for genuine scares.
Jared Harris (Mad Men) plays Professor Joseph Coupland, a snobby chain smoker who is conducting an inexplicable experiment on mental-patient Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke). I say inexplicable, because I never did figure out what in the hell was going on. I can tell you that the experiment is being filmed by an amateur filmmaker (Sam Claflin), which allows for some of that “found footage” horror-movie feel that has gotten old. As far as I could gather, Jane is possessed, and the professor is trying to prove that she is just sick, although he seems to believe there are dark forces at hand, or something like that. It’s all very confusing and, ultimately, very stupid.
Director John Pogue provides what he would like to think are shock moments, but they are just irritating. He favors sudden, loud noises, and there’s something about the timing that renders his scare attempts impotent.
It was a true task to sit through this thing.
The Quiet Ones is playing at theaters across the valley.