Hammer Films is still alive and kicking after more than thirty years of hibernation, thanks to the considerable success of its Chloe Moretz-starring vampire remake Let Me In and, more recently, the early 1900s ghost story The Woman in Black, which starred Daniel Radcliffe and surprised at the box office with a massive $127 million haul (Hammer’s largest ever). Now, the studio is gearing up for its next act with another period frightfest, titled The Quiet Ones.
Starring Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne and Olivia Cooke, The Quiet Ones revolves a group of university students who follow their charismatic professor (Harris) off the map to perform a series of psychological experiments in hopes of creating a poltergeist. Working from the theory that such paranormal beings are created from negative human energy, they begin to manipulate the mind of a troubled young girl (Cooke), only to realize that they may be on the threshold of unleashing something far more dangerous and powerful than they could ever hope to control.
Check out the first full trailer below:
It looks like Hammer’s got that 1974 setting down cold, and the film’s talented cast should bring some dramatic pathos to an unfortunately familiar story (a 2012 dud called The Apparition hopelessly squandered the same premise). While I wouldn’t expect anything with the spooky atmosphere of The Woman in Black or the dazzling brilliance of Let Me In, The Quiet Ones looks like a perfectly serviceable horror flick in a year sure to be filled with some awful ones.
One interesting note about the film is that Oren Moverman has a co-writing credit. Moverman, whose previous films have included brilliant Woody Harrelson dramas The Messenger and Rampart, will hopefully play it smart with his first major horror effort, but his background is exceptionally strong for writers working in this genre. Craig Rosenberg (The Uninvited) and director John Pogue, known best for writing Ghost Ship, also had a hand in penning the script.
Are you interested in checking out The Quiet Ones, or does its premise seem too been-there-jumped-at-that for you to bite again? Sound off in the comments section!
The Quiet Ones opens April 25th.