View source for The Quiet Ones (2014 film)



{{Infobox film
| name           = The Quiet Ones
| image          = The Quiet Ones 2014 theatrical poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[John Pogue]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* Ben Holden
* [[James Gay-Rees]]
* [[Simon Oakes (executive)|Simon Oakes]]
* Steven Chester Prince
* [[Tobin Armbrust]]
}}
| screenplay     = {{plainlist|
* John Pogue
* [[Craig Rosenberg]]
* [[Oren Moverman]]
}}
| story          = Tom de Ville
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Jared Harris]]
* [[Sam Claflin]]
* [[Erin Richards]]
* [[Rory Fleck Byrne]]
* [[Olivia Cooke]]
}}
| music          = [[Lucas Vidal]]
| cinematography = [[Mátyás Erdély]]
| editing        = Glenn Garland
| studio         = [[Hammer Film Productions]]
| distributor    = [[Lionsgate UK|Lionsgate]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|2014|04|10}}
| runtime        = 98 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 97:50--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/quiet-ones-film | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024171447/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/quiet-ones-film | url-status=dead | archive-date=24 October 2014 | title=''The Quiet Ones'' (15) | publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=21 February 2014 | access-date=4 November 2014}}</ref>
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English
| budget         = $200,000
| gross          = $17.8 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=quietones.htm|title=The Quiet Ones|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=28 May 2015}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Quiet Ones''''' is a 2014 British [[supernatural horror film]] directed by [[John Pogue]], loosely based on the [[Philip experiment]], a 1972 [[parapsychology]] experiment conducted in [[Toronto]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Quiet Ones: behind the scenes of Hammer's new supernatural film|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/10724733/The-Quiet-Ones-behind-the-scenes-of-Hammers-new-supernatural-film.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328005224/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/10724733/The-Quiet-Ones-behind-the-scenes-of-Hammers-new-supernatural-film.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 March 2014|publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group]]|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=1 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2014/04/25/filmmaker-john-pogue-hopes-the-quiet-ones-upholds-hammer-horror-legacy/|work=Comic Book Resources|title=Filmmaker John Pogue Hopes 'The Quiet Ones' Upholds Hammer Horror Legacy|date=25 April 2014|access-date=25 April 2014|last=Huver|first=Scott|archive-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503063744/http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2014/04/25/filmmaker-john-pogue-hopes-the-quiet-ones-upholds-hammer-horror-legacy/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/75544/quiet-ones-witness-films-true-events|work=[[Dread Central]]|publisher=Dread Central Media|title=The Quiet Ones - Witness the Film's True Events|last=Barton |first=Steve|date=24 April 2014|access-date=25 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426232440/http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/75544/quiet-ones-witness-films-true-events/|archive-date=26 April 2014}}</ref> It stars [[Jared Harris]] as a university professor attempting to prove [[poltergeist]]s are manifestations of the human psyche and not supernatural beings. The film was released on 10 April 2014 in the United Kingdom and 25 April 2014 in the United States.

==Plot==
In 1974, a student attends the class of [[Oxford University]]’s Professor Joseph Coupland, who wishes to prove that the [[supernatural]] does not exist. Coupland shows a video of a possessed boy and explains that research will be done to find a cure for this kind of disorder. One of his students, Brian McNeil, is invited to film the experiment process and joins Coupland, his two assistants Krissi Dalton and Harry Abrams, and their subject Jane Harper, a young woman who generates strange phenomena and has been abandoned. Jane is generally kept locked in a room with loud [[rock music]] playing during the daytime to prevent her from sleeping in the hopes that the regimen of [[sleep deprivation]] will result in increased activity.

Once his funding is taken away by an exasperated College Board that is both annoyed about the disturbances he makes and his lack of results, Coupland and his assistants settle in an isolated house in the countryside to keep experimenting on Jane. Her negative energy takes the form of "Evey", an infant doll-like creature that only Jane sees. Coupland instructs Jane to transfer her negative energy into a physical doll so they can destroy it. The further the researchers drive Jane to [[insanity]] with their methods, the stranger things get around the house. Brian is upset by the way Jane is treated and the lack of ethics in the experiment. Evey's [[Ghost|apparitions]] become increasingly aggressive, and Jane begins to [[Self-harm|harm herself]]. There are also indicators that any attempt to harm Evey harms Jane.

Coupland refuses to stop the inhumane experimentation. He is irrevocably convinced that "Evey" is merely a conventionally treatable, psychological disorder in Jane's head, but the others become convinced over time that Evey is a real, malevolent, supernatural force. Brian and Jane become closer and share a kiss. When the group experience another attack by Evey, Brian goes to Oxford, where he discovers that a symbol that was marked into Jane is from a cult who worshiped a Sumerian demon. They performed experiments on a young girl a few years ago; their leader believed that Evey Dwyer, a girl with [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]] abilities, was the one to bring their "idol" into the physical world. Everybody in the cult died in a house fire that Evey set, including Evey herself. Brian returns and tells them about the cult, certain that Evey is a [[Demon|demonic presence]] who is [[Demonic possession|possessing]] Jane. He convinces Harry and Krissi, but Coupland denies his theory and responds that Evey must be a figment from Jane's past rather than a demonic force.

Later that night, the group learns that the boy from the earlier experiments footage was Coupland's own son. After a heated argument, they are all marked with the same symbol Jane has. An unknown force murders Krissi and Harry. Jane realizes that she was the little girl that supposedly died in the house fire; she was born with clairvoyant powers and had set the house on fire to kill everyone. The authorities changed her name to Jane to give her a normal life, which is why negative energy is manifesting; Evey is not a demon, she is Jane's real identity (one who can't escape the trauma of her past life). Evey then attacks Brian, only for them both to be knocked out by Coupland. When Brian wakes up, he sees Coupland give Jane a [[lethal injection]], as he thinks stopping her heart long enough for the negative energy to dissipate will permanently cure her. However, before Coupland can prove his theory, Brian subdues Coupland and brings Jane back to life. Once revived, Jane locks him out of the room and commits suicide by setting herself on fire.

The screen cuts to film footage, apparently from several months later, showing Brian sitting in a chair and holding a camera. An unseen speaker asks him about the deaths, to which Brian replies that everything was captured on film. The speaker replies that there is nothing on the film, and that everything in the house, including the films, were destroyed by the fire. When the speaker asks if Brian is responsible, Brian laughs manically and his hand starts to smoke, just as Jane's did.

==Cast==
<!--- [[WP:NOTDATABASE]], [[WP:CASTLIST]] --->
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jared Harris]] as Professor Joseph Coupland
* [[Sam Claflin]] as Brian McNeil
* [[Olivia Cooke]] as Jane Harper/Evey Dwyer
* [[Erin Richards]] as Kristina 'Krissi' Dalton
* [[Rory Fleck Byrne]] as Harry Abrams
* Laurie Calvert as Phillip
* [[Max Pirkis]] as David Q
* Tracy Ray as David Q's Mother
* [[Richard Cunningham (actor)|Richard Cunningham]] as Provost
}}

In addition, [[Daisy Ridley]] appears in a still mock photograph (meant to represent the 'real' people the movie's based on) during the film's end credits as Jane Harper.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1242254269144858624|user=CutieRidley|title=So in the movie "The Quiet Ones" (2014) during the credits they do a mock "Characters in real life" slideshow and D…|date=24 March 2020}}</ref>

==Production==
In June 2008, it was reported that the recently revived [[Hammer Film Productions]] would begin production on ''The Quiet Ones'' inspired by the allegedly [[Philip experiment|true story]] of [[Canada|Canadian]] scientists in the 1970s who attempted to create a ghost.<ref name="HammerQuietOnesVar">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/features/u-k-audiences-surf-horror-wave-1117987843/|title=  U.K.audiences surf horror wave |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=July 31, 2025|archive-date= August 2, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250802163522/https://variety.com/2008/film/features/u-k-audiences-surf-horror-wave-1117987843/|url-status=live}}</ref> The original script by Tom de Ville was previously featured on the 2007 "Brit List", the [[United Kingdom]] equivalent of [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood's]] annual [[The Black List (survey)|The Black List]] of the best unproduced screenplays.<ref name="UKUnproducedVar">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2007/scene/columns/u-k-s-best-unproduced-movies-on-list-1117975282/|title=  U.K.’s best unproduced movies on list |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=August 2, 2025|archive-date= February 22, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222074509/https://variety.com/2007/scene/columns/u-k-s-best-unproduced-movies-on-list-1117975282/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hammer began principal photography of the film on 12 June 2012 in [[England]].<ref name="shockya" /> Filming started in July in [[Oxfordshire]].<ref name="begins" /> The film's director is [[John Pogue]] and it was first written by Tom DeVille and then revised by Craig Rosenberg, [[Oren Moverman]], and Pogue. Ben Holden and [[James Gay-Rees]] produced the film, while Glenn Garland was the editor and Matyas Erdely was the cinematographer. Camille Brenda was the costume designer of the film.<ref name="shockya" />

[[Principal photography]] began on 12 June 2012 by Hammer Film Productions.<ref name=shockya>{{cite news|title=Supernatural Thriller The Quiet Ones Stirs Up Scares in Principal Photography|url=http://www.shockya.com/news/2012/06/12/supernatural-thriller-the-quiet-ones-stirs-up-scares-in-principal-photography/|access-date=19 July 2013|newspaper=Shockya|publisher=Anakando Productions|first=Karen|last=Bernardello|date=12 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Production begins on The Quiet Ones|url=http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/production-begins-on-the-quiet-ones/|publisher=[[Curtis Brown (literary agents)|Curtis Brown]]|date=12 June 2012|access-date=19 July 2013}}</ref> Later in July filming began in [[Oxfordshire]] and [[Hertfordshire]].<ref name=begins>{{cite news|title=Hammer Horror's 'The Quiet Ones' begins filming|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a390999/hammer-horrors-the-quiet-ones-begins-filming.html|access-date=19 July 2013|newspaper=[[Digital Spy]]|publisher=[[Nat Mags|Hearst Magazines UK]]|first=Emma|last=Dibdin|date=2 July 2013}}</ref> Filming took place at [[Merton College, Oxford|Merton College]] and the [[Bodleian Library]] in Oxford.<ref name="begins" /> Hammer Films wrapped the filming on 16 July 2012.<ref name=wraps>{{cite news|title=Hammer horror The Quiet Ones wraps in Oxford|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-18871710|access-date=19 July 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=17 July 2013}}</ref>

==Release==
[[Lionsgate Films]] acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United Kingdom and United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cannes Market: Lionsgate Acquires Thriller 'The Quiet Ones,' Sets 2014 Release Date|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/cannes-market-lionsgate-acquires-thriller-the-quiet-ones-sets-2014-release-date|access-date=19 July 2013|newspaper=[[IndieWire]]|first=Anne|last=Thompson|publisher=[[Penske Business Media]]|date=14 May 2013}}</ref> It released the film on 11 April 2014 in the UK and 25 April in the US.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lionsgate wakes up The Quiet Ones with a release date|url=https://joblo.com/horror-movies/news/lionsgate-wakes-up-the-quiet-ones-with-a-release-date|publisher=Joblo Media|work=[[JoBlo.com]]|access-date=19 July 2013|first=Ryan|last=Miller|date=14 May 2013}}</ref> It was released on [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] on 19 August 2014.

==Reception==

===Box office===
The film grossed $3,880,053 in its opening weekend. The film grossed $8,509,867 in the US and $9,325,000 internationally; the worldwide total is $17,834,867.<ref name="mojo"/>

===Critical reception===
The film holds a rating of 37% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's critical consensus states: "While it definitely sports a few palpable scares, ''The Quiet Ones'' finds Hammer Films trading too heavily on old glories."<ref>{{cite web|title=The Quiet Ones (2014)|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/the_quiet_ones_2013/|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref> The film has a 41/100 on [[Metacritic]] based on 24 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Quiet Ones Reviews|url=https://metacritic.com/movie/the-quiet-ones|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|work=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|2235779}}
* {{mojo title|quietones}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|the_quiet_ones_2013}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* ''[https://comingsoon.net/films.php?id=86858 The Quiet Ones]'' at [[ComingSoon.net]]
* ''[http://www.hammerfilms.com/project/the-quiet-ones/ The Quiet Ones]'' at [[Hammer Film Productions]]

{{John Pogue}}
{{Oren Moverman}}
{{Hammer Horror}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiet Ones (2014 film), The}}
[[Category:2014 films]]
[[Category:2014 horror films]]
[[Category:2010s ghost films]]
[[Category:2014 independent films]]
[[Category:2010s supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:British films based on actual events]]
[[Category:British ghost films]]
[[Category:British independent films]]
[[Category:British supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:2014 English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about spirit possession]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Pogue]]
[[Category:Films scored by Lucas Vidal]]
[[Category:Films set in 1974]]
[[Category:Films shot in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Films shot in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Oren Moverman]]
[[Category:Hammer Film Productions horror films]]
[[Category:Horror films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Lionsgate films]]
[[Category:2014 British films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Quiet Ones (2014 film)|access_date=2026-03-07}}