The Quiet Ones is fucking quality!

Late last night, I actually went to a movie theater. How about that? And what was I there to see? The Quiet Ones.

Written and Directed by John Pogue. John Pogue also wrote what I consider to be a criminally underrated movie Ghost Ship.

I'm not sure what it was exactly that grabbed me about the trailer for this. Maybe it was the fact that the only other option at the theater was Oculus which for whatever reason looks awful to me. But, I went and I saw.

The plot, which is familiar territory consists of a student who attends the class of college professor, Coupland, who wishes to prove that there is no supernatural. He shows a video of a boy obsessively drawing the portrait of a man, seemingly possessed. Coupland then explains that more research shall be done to find a cure for this kind of disease, and that if they can heal one person, they would be able to heal the entire world.

One of his students, Brian McNeil, decides to learn more about the experiment he wishes to undertake and is ultimately invited to film the experiment process. He discovers the strange universe of Coupland, his two assistants Krissi and Harry as well as their experiment subject Jane Harper played by Olivia Cooke "Bates Motel anyone?", a depressed young woman who has forgotten nearly all of her past. It is revealed later that she generates strange phenomenon around her and has been abandoned, sent from one foster family to the other. She believes that Coupland saved her and could cure her. Jane is usually locked in a room with rock music playing very loudly during the daytime. After a disturbing first encounter with her, Brian is left scared but intrigued.

When the experiment funding is cut, Coupland and his now three assistants leave Oxford to settle into an isolated house in the countryside to keep experimenting on Jane's case. They discover a name: Evey, an infant only Jane sees. Jane is then given a doll to put the specter , or her negative energy, in order to destroy it for good.

Like I said, this kind of movie has been done before but the subtleties of this film are what make it. Professor Coupland has a smooth and condescending way to him throughout the film which is just terrific.

I found myself laughing when no one else was mainly because his humor was so dry and quick I don't believe it was caught by most.

The character development is smooth and nothing is forced. You are naturally and intentionally led down a path that you feel you've already been down and its this formula that they use to their advantage. I left feeling surprised by the ending. Some of the jump scares actually made me jump. That hasnt happened in a long time. And while it could be just me, there is an unusual amount of sexual tension for a film like this. And that's not a bad thing. It works really well here.

Anyway, this is one to catch in the theaters while you can. If the attendance in my showing was any appraisal of how financially successful this film will be, it won't be in theaters much longer which is a shame. The Quiet Ones is fresh and original and brings new life to the exorcism genre. If it even fits completely into that.