The Quiet Ones is a 2014 British Hammer horror film directed by John Pogue. The film was released on April 10, 2014 in the United Kingdom and April 25, 2014 in the United States. It stars Jared Harris as a college professor attempting to create a poltergeist. The film is loosely based on the Philip experiment, a 1972 parapsychology experiment conducted in Toronto.
Oxford, 1970s. A student attends the class of college professor, Coupland, who wishes to prove there is no Supernatural. He shows a video of a boy obsessively drawing the portrait of a man, seemingly possessed. Coupland postulates that supernatural phenomena, such as ghosts, possessions, and telekinesis, are manifestations of a form of mental illness resulting from an excess of negative energy, 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 of the "supernatural."
One of his students, Brian McNeil (Sam Claflin), 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 (Erin Richards) and Harry (Rory Fleck-Byrne) as well as their experiment subject Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke), a young woman who generates strange phenomena 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 generally kept locked in a room with rock music playing very loudly during the daytime to prevent her from sleeping, in the hopes that the psychological agitation this causes will result in increased activity. After a disturbing first encounter with her, Brian is left scared but intrigued.
Oxford, 1970s. A student attends the class of college professor, Coupland, who wishes to prove there is no Supernatural. He shows a video of a boy obsessively drawing the portrait of a man, seemingly possessed. Coupland postulates that supernatural phenomena, such as ghosts, possessions, and telekinesis, are manifestations of a form of mental illness resulting from an excess of negative energy, 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 of the "supernatural."
One of his students, Brian McNeil (Sam Claflin), 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 (Erin Richards) and Harry (Rory Fleck-Byrne) as well as their experiment subject Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke), a young woman who generates strange phenomena 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 generally kept locked in a room with rock music playing very loudly during the daytime to prevent her from sleeping, in the hopes that the psychological agitation this causes will result in increased activity. 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 in an isolated house in the countryside to keep experimenting on Jane's case. They hope to help Jane manifest supernatural activity, document it scientifically as real and the result of negative energy, and then help Jane eradicate it, thus curing her. Jane's negative energy takes the form of "Evey," an infant or doll-like creature only Jane sees. Jane is then given a physical doll to put the poltergeist, or her negative energy, in in order to destroy it for good.
Each evening, the group tries to learn more about "Evey" through what looks like spiritualism. Jane complains every time about the heat, describing fire without further precision. 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 of the experiment in itself. He starts to rethink whether he wants to continue filming the experiment, while Krissi seems to be sexually involved with both Coupland and Harry. Meanwhile, Evey's apparitions become increasingly aggressive and Jane begins to self-harm.
To the researcher's worry, Jane becomes attached to Evey, and contrary to their goal of eradicating Evey in order to cure Jane, expresses a desire to keep Evey. There are also worrying indicators that any attempt to harm Evey, harms Jane as well.
Things spiral drastically out of the researcher's control. In the face of damning revelations, Coupland refuses to give up his hypothesis and stop the inhumane experimentation, while the others become increasingly convinced that Evey is a true, supernatural and malevolent force attempting to possess Jane for its own ends.
Each evening, the group tries to learn more about "Evey" through what looks like spiritualism. Jane complains every time about the heat, describing fire without further precision. 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 of the experiment in itself. He starts to rethink whether he wants to continue filming the experiment, while Krissi seems to be sexually involved with both Coupland and Harry. Meanwhile, Evey's apparitions become increasingly aggressive and Jane begins to self-harm.
To the researcher's worry, Jane becomes attached to Evey, and contrary to their goal of eradicating Evey in order to cure Jane, expresses a desire to keep Evey. There are also worrying indicators that any attempt to harm Evey, harms Jane as well.
Things spiral drastically out of the researcher's control. In the face of damning revelations, Coupland refuses to give up his hypothesis and stop the inhumane experimentation, while the others become increasingly convinced that Evey is a true, supernatural and malevolent force attempting to possess Jane for its own ends.
Meanwhile, Brian and Jane become closer, sharing a kiss. Coupland warns Brian that she may become a danger for him, with Evey becoming more frequent and hostile. Brian cuts Jane off, saying that when she gets better they can try again to form a closer bond. As the researchers fight about letting Jane see a doctor and professional help, they experience another hostile attack by Evey.
As Harry and Krissi leave to return back to Oxford, having convinced themselves to leave the experiment, Krissi experiences being attacked and locked in the bathroom from an unknown force, only to be rescued by Harry as he kicks down the door. Meanwhile, Brian tells Jane that he has to leave, but he will be back for her, leaving her and Coupland at the house. As Brian does research in Oxford, he meets a student from the lecture from the start of the movie, who tells him that killing a innocent girl is wrong and describing "The Quiet Ones". Brian finds a symbol that was marked into Jane, and discovers that it was a symbol from a Cult that worshiped the devil and did experiments on a young girl a few years back. It says that everybody in the Cult died in a fire in a house, which later is revealed to be the one that Coupland and the researchers had moved into.
Brian rushes back to the house, seeing that Harry and Krissi have returned. He tries to explain that something demonic has attached itself to Jane, using her as a vessel. Brian tells them about the Cult, but Coupland says that he wants to continue doing research to get rid of Evey for good. Brian then explains that the little girl the Cult experimented on and died in the fire was named Evey.
As Brian goes to get Jane so he can get her out of the house to get help, he finds a rolling film. He watches as he sees the young boy that Coupland had described at the start of the movie, who Coupland said that when he had gotten rid of whatever poltergeist was attached to him, he had continued to live a normal life. The film explains that he never got rid of the demonic presence, that he was at an asylum where he committed suicide by banging his head against a wall. It also reveals that it was Coupland's son, which caused him to dedicate his life to researching what had happened to his son and to get rid of whatever demonic presence it was from other people.
As Harry and Krissi leave to return back to Oxford, having convinced themselves to leave the experiment, Krissi experiences being attacked and locked in the bathroom from an unknown force, only to be rescued by Harry as he kicks down the door. Meanwhile, Brian tells Jane that he has to leave, but he will be back for her, leaving her and Coupland at the house. As Brian does research in Oxford, he meets a student from the lecture from the start of the movie, who tells him that killing a innocent girl is wrong and describing "The Quiet Ones". Brian finds a symbol that was marked into Jane, and discovers that it was a symbol from a Cult that worshiped the devil and did experiments on a young girl a few years back. It says that everybody in the Cult died in a fire in a house, which later is revealed to be the one that Coupland and the researchers had moved into.
Brian rushes back to the house, seeing that Harry and Krissi have returned. He tries to explain that something demonic has attached itself to Jane, using her as a vessel. Brian tells them about the Cult, but Coupland says that he wants to continue doing research to get rid of Evey for good. Brian then explains that the little girl the Cult experimented on and died in the fire was named Evey.
As Brian goes to get Jane so he can get her out of the house to get help, he finds a rolling film. He watches as he sees the young boy that Coupland had described at the start of the movie, who Coupland said that when he had gotten rid of whatever poltergeist was attached to him, he had continued to live a normal life. The film explains that he never got rid of the demonic presence, that he was at an asylum where he committed suicide by banging his head against a wall. It also reveals that it was Coupland's son, which caused him to dedicate his life to researching what had happened to his son and to get rid of whatever demonic presence it was from other people.
Coupland says that Jane can't leave, but the group breaks out into a fight. They are all then marked with the same symbol that Jane had being carved into a random part on their skin. Krissi freaks and tries to leave, only to be stopped as she exits the house, be pulled up by a invisible force, and dragged upstairs and locked into the room that Jane was kept in. Harry rushes upstairs, finding blood splattering the walls, trying to open the door through the small latch. He is dragged by the invisible force by his arm, smacking him against the door, breaking his neck and killing him. Brian opens the door, finding Krissi dead inside with her head smashed in, and nobody else in the room. Jane explains that she was the little girl Evey that was from the Cult that died in the house fire, saying that she was born with demonic powers, that she set the house on fire that killed all those people. Jane then attacks Brain, only for them both to be knocked out by Coupland.
Brian wakes up, finding that Coupland had twisted his mind to think that killing Jane would get rid of Evey. Brian tied to a chair watches as Coupland kills Jane with a lethal injection, Brian screaming for him to give her adrenaline to make her come back to life. Brian breaks free and fights Coupland, knocking him out. Brian gives Jane multiple, injections saving her life. Jane then says that she's sorry, they share a kiss and Jane locks Brian out of the room. Brian bangs against the door, begging for Jane to just listen to him, but Jane uses her powers, setting herself on fire and killing herself. The screen then cuts off as it shows a demonic face burst from the flames, going straight for the camera where it cuts off.
Brian wakes up, finding that Coupland had twisted his mind to think that killing Jane would get rid of Evey. Brian tied to a chair watches as Coupland kills Jane with a lethal injection, Brian screaming for him to give her adrenaline to make her come back to life. Brian breaks free and fights Coupland, knocking him out. Brian gives Jane multiple, injections saving her life. Jane then says that she's sorry, they share a kiss and Jane locks Brian out of the room. Brian bangs against the door, begging for Jane to just listen to him, but Jane uses her powers, setting herself on fire and killing herself. The screen then cuts off as it shows a demonic face burst from the flames, going straight for the camera where it cuts off.
The screen cuts to a film footage, it showing Brian sitting in a chair, holding a camera. Somebody asks him off screen what had happened. Brian explains everything, saying that everything that happened was on his film footage, stroking his camera maniacally. Someone off screen says that there is nothing on the film, that everything in the house, including the films, was destroyed. Brian laughs manically, lifting his hand like he does so many times in the film as he uses them to label his scenes and films while recording. His hand starts to smoke, just as Jane's did when she explained the fire and feeling an intense heat. The scene ends with the people in the room screaming, Brian's hands on fire and clapping for the last time before it cuts to black.
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