The Quiet Ones (3 Stars)

Sometimes people can spoil the enjoyment of a film in the cinema. When I went tonight there was a group of girls a few rows behind me who were laughing and giggling from the beginning. A man in the row behind me shouted at them a few times to be quiet. When the film was over he remarked to me that they must have thought they were in a comedy. I disagree. I doubt they were laughing at the film. It's more likely they were bored with the film and spent the 90 minutes chatting about something completely different.

In 1974 a professor at Oxford University is lecturing on the supernatural. He is a quasi-sceptic. He says that there are explanations for all supernatural phenomena, but science has not yet advanced far enough to explain everything. He invites three of his students to a remote house to examine Jane Harper, a 20-year-old girl who is seemingly haunted by a ghost. The professor denies the existence of ghosts and wants to prove that the strange occurrences around her are the results of her own negative energy. He thinks that the ghost, which Jane calls Evey, is something that Jane herself has unconsciously created. The professor, who obviously considers scientific advance more important than human life, uses physical and mental torture to provoke Jane's subconscious into action.

This is one of the new wave of Hammer Horror films, so I went to see it in the cinema with high expectations. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Of the recent Hammer films only the remakes, "Let me in" and "The Woman in Black", have been satisfactory. It seems that the company has problems finding new ideas that live up to the films they made in the 1960's and 1970's. Overall "The Quiet Ones" has little suspense and just relies on random loud noises and flying objects to scare the audience. So what do I suggest? Easy! The new films shouldn't attempt to be artistic or modern. They should copy the styles of the old Hammer Horror films. Castles, monsters and occasional gratuitous nudity set in 18th Century Germany and Transylvania. It might seem like a cheap trick to reboot the Frankenstein and Dracula franchises, but why not? The formula worked 50 years ago, so why shouldn't it work today? If done well. Both franchises are open-ended. After Baron von Frankenstein dies in one film his son can continue his work in the next film. Every time Count Dracula is killed he can be brought back to life 30 years later. The dates don't have to be explicitly stated, so there's no need for either franchise to catch up with the modern day.

Let's hope that someone who is able to make decisions reads my recommendations.