The Quiet Ones [Blu-Ray]
Director: John Pogue
Cast: Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-Ray & DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 9/10
Plot Summary:
A university professor and a team of students conduct an experiment on a young woman, uncovering terrifyingly dark, unexpected forces in the process.
‘The Quiet Ones’ takes place in the 1970’s and tells the story of an offbeat scientist and three of his students who are conducting a questionable experiment on a young girl claiming possession in the hopes of proving that paranormal activity doesn’t truly exist and is merely a creation from a person’s subconscious. Soon their investigation will begin to take them places they never expected, make them question everything they thought they knew and even start to turn against each other, still with no clear knowledge of just what is truly responsible for everything going on with this young woman. Soon the answers will begin to present themselves to the group, whether they want them or not.
John Pogue makes his second outing as director with ‘The Quiet Ones’ following the straight to video follow up ‘Quarantine 2: Terminal’ although he is likely better known more for his writing efforts, penning ‘U.S. Marshalls’ ‘The Skulls’ and more and he does a pretty capable job at the helm of this Hammer jump fest, beautifully capturing the scenery and vibe of the films 70’s era. Jared Harris is wonderful as usual and properly creepy in the role of our esteemed professor and the rest of cast, including (but certainly not limited to) Sam Claflin (Hunger Games 2-4) and Olivia Cooke (TV’s Bates Motel) all give decent performances that help put ‘The Quiet Ones’ a step above many other similar horror outings.
While ‘The Quiet Ones’ is in no way a masterpiece of horror, it’s far better than so many of the similar creep (or jump) fests hitting nowadays. The 70’s pieces and accuracy regarding the era help give it that Hammer Films feel. While it doesn’t impress nearly as much as many of their films, it does deliver a number of effective jump scares and some creepy moments, boosted by solid performances, but not a whole lot more than that. One element I found very impressive is that they opted to not go with the found footage method when so many others do, instead having the majority of the film look like a film, while also cutting to footage from one of the characters’ point of view who is filming, yet never afraid to jump out of it in a moment’s notice which really helps benefit the overall film. If you are looking for a fun and creepy film to make you jump and just enjoy, then this would definitely be one worth checking out.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Quiet Ones’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty solid overall with no noticeable faults to be found within on my end, aside from where purposefully intended, such as the shots from the camera’s point of view which properly implement the pops and grain you would surely see when filming during the 70’s.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack which contributes a surprising amount to the experience of the film as a whole, intensely amplifying plenty of added jumps and creepiness; likely the most impressive part of this release. The majority of the jumps are hugely benefitted from the soundtrack never being afraid to go from utter silence, to incredibly loud noises out of nowhere, often times utilizing the bass to its fullest potential as well. Those just looking for a fun, creepy experience, as well as the fellow audiophiles should have a lot of fun with this DTS-HD MA soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Quiet Ones’ includes a pretty solid quantity of worthwhile bonus content as well. Included on the release is a number of deleted scenes, an audio commentary track with Director/Co-Writer John Pogue and Producer Tobin Armbrust, outtakes and two featurettes: ‘Welcome To The Experiment: Making The Quiet Ones Documentary’ with is an impressively in depth look at the making of the film, and ‘An Ominous Opening’ which takes a look at the creative process and decisions made in order to find the best opening sequence possible for the movie.
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