Based on the true events of the scientific experiments taken out in the mid 1970’s, ‘The Quiet Ones’ is the latest instalment from the reimbursed house of horror, Hammer. Professor Joseph Coupland (Jared Harris) along with aids Krissi (Erin Richards), Harry (Rory Fleck-Byrne) and documenter Brian (Sam Claflin) to ‘cure’ mental patient Jane (Olivia Cooke) of her possession.

 

In the process they discover that between them, they cannot rid whatever lies inside Jane and soon their lives will be at jeopardy with not only Jane but the secrets and lies that hold them together.

 

Giving a star turn, Harris is superb as the menacing lead so famous from Hammer studios that it’s not only in the set design and costumes that take us back to the 70’s. Never showing a clean cut to whether he is good or bad, his inner demons and reasons for the experimentation are more personal than his colleagues believe. In support, Cooke and Claflin hold their own balancing the morals of human experimentation with the inevitable scares to come. Even troubled lovers Harry and Krissi manage to create some warmth to their characters.

 

And scares come thick and fast once the action kicks in, the only issue is that it’s all just a little predictable. Every time the sound is cranked to mute you know that something loud is coming and for a film titled ‘The Quiet Ones’, there’s a hell of a lot of big bangs.

 

With its rich story and great casting its hard to see what is not to like with ‘The Quiet Ones’. Standing tall as one of the best crafted stories since Hammer’s own ‘The Woman In Black’ it somehow lacks the oomph that made that such a memorable scare fest. So, it may overuse the scare tactics to keep the action flowing but it’s the perfect embodiment of what makes a Hammer horror classic.