The Quiet Ones

Sam Claflin, Jared Harris, Olivia Cooke, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne
Directed by John Pogue
Rating: A

An Oxford professor attempts to cure a troubled girl of an evil within herself by helping her manifest it into a physical form.

Brian (Claflin) is hired as a cameraman to record events during an experiment involving an orphaned girl named Jane (Cooke). He first encounters her locked in an empty room with a blanket around her shoulders. Professor Coupland (Harris) explains that he saved her from an asylum and that she was an orphan who was rejected from multiple homes. Each family abandoned her after an abnormal occurrence, which the professor and his team of two students have witnessed.

Part of this experiment involves keeping Jane awake by blasting music, which often leads to complaints from the neighbors. Professor Coupland is forced to move on to another location in an isolated neighborhood. Brian grows attached to Jane as he sees how helpless she is, and he tries to prevent the professor from pushing her too far in his experiments. It isn’t until they start to make a breakthrough that they discover the horrors from her past and how the supernatural is all too real.

In this documentary-styled horror film, the thrills of suspense slowly build up to a highly terrifying ending. The Quiet Ones teases the audience with bursts of adrenaline-packed scenes as the professor pokes and teases out negative energy from Jane. Brian has trouble understanding what is going on and tries to rationalize what he is seeing, from Jane conjuring burn marks on her hands to heavy thuds from the floors above. All these little moments add to a grand finale of breaking forth a secret locked up in Jane’s subconscious that shouldn’t have been revealed.

There’s a relationship between the characters, as Brian observes during his filming of the experiment. He captures vulnerable moments which show biases and maybe some unethical treatments. He can’t help but get sucked in as he disobeys the rules and interacts with Jane.

This was a fantastic movie based on its suspense, storytelling, and visual elements. The Quiet Ones keeps the viewer intrigued and the ending does not disappoint. It’s also based on true events which are another reason why people would watch because everyone loves to see something scary that “supposedly” happened. The ending has left me truly terrified which is a mark of a great horror film.

 

Photo credit: http://filmeye.se/wordpress/?p=3942

What We Do in the Shadows

Jemaine Clement, Taiki Waititi, Jonathan Brugh
Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taiki Waititi
Rating: B

In a modern New Zealand flat, four vampires share living quarters. Each were born in different centuries and get along with a shared set of rules. Unfortunately, Deacon (the newest vampire at 183-years-old) isn’t following the chore chart like he’s supposed to and the other roommates aren’t happy. Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav allow a film crew to follow their nightly lives as they try to get a fresh supply of blood delivered to their house and try to get into the hottest nightclub.

When one of their dinner parties goes wrong and a would-be victim turns vampire, the group reluctantly accept him. They teach Nick (the new guy) the general rules of being a vampire (like don’t go telling everyone what you are) and he shows them the usefulness of modern technology (like computers). Nick can’t keep his new secret and tells everyone he meets, even his best human friend. Without thinking about consequences Nick brings his friend to an undead party, where zombies and vampires are eager to eat him. Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav re-think if being friends with Nick is going to work out.

What We Do in the Shadows is a comedy in the style of a mockumentary. Audiences who enjoy television shows like The Office (U.S.) or Flight of the Conchords would most likely get the humor these vampires unintentionally show off. The undead life isn’t easy when you have five years worth of dishes to clean or like trying not to get blood on the vintage couch. These vampires who have never seen a sunrise since they were turned are now able to do so through the Internet.

It may be facing a tough audience but for those of us who have had roommates or siblings, some of the material is funny. What We Do in the Shadows is worth a try for an 86-minute movie.

Insidious

Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye
Directed by James Wan
Rating: B

Since I’ve seen these out of order, I would recommend to first-time viewers to watch the sequel first. It would take away some of the shock factors like knowing how the movie will end, and just what happens to young Dalton. However the suspense throughout Insidious can still make your skin crawl.

Insidious is the story of a boy fallen into a coma-like state. Doctors can’t explain what it is and the mother, Renai Lambert (Byrne), notices a haunting in her home once they move Dalton (Simpkins) into his room on life-support. She can’t explain the ghosts she’s seen to her husband, who is skeptical and thinks she is under a lot of stress. He agrees to move into a new home, but even the ghosts still follow along.

Josh Lambert (Wilson) has passed on a forgotten trait to his son: astral projection. As a kid, Josh had been suffering from his travels into the Further (the place where his spiritual body went during projection and that which his son has entered). Elise (Shaye), an expert in dealing with the supernatural, had been called to help and in the present is called again to guide Josh in re-entering the Further to save his son.

I found Insidious to be a little less intense than the sequel. I expected to be scared out of my wits or to have another thriller like the second turned out to be. The supernatural elements portrayed in this film were chilling enough, but it lacked a storyline as interesting as the sequel. The trudge to the climax felt slow-paced.

One thing I loved about this movie is how it felt reminiscent to the style of older films. For example, the screeching of string instruments like in the shower scene of Psycho, and the ominous piano music where the heavier chords are struck during tense moments in the movie. Besides the spiritual beings and hauntings they do (opening doors, objects seeming to move by themselves) there are no extra effects to make it feel unbelievable.

Insidious is the type of horror movie I’d like to see made more often. I see trailers for scary movies that are superficial in their intent to scare. I want a good plot as well as suspense like the Insidious movies have. I have yet to delve into the horror genre mainly because if it’s too scary, I will be afraid to sleep in the dark but if anyone can recommend to me a good thriller like Insidious, please do.

The Shining (1980)

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duval, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Based on the novel: The Shining by Stephen King
Rating: A

Every winter the Overlook Hotel in Colorado is closed due to the heavy snow that blocks the roads. The hotel hires a caretaker to keep the place in shape during the long months from October to May. Jack Torrance (Nicholson), a recovering alcoholic and aspiring writer, takes the job as caretaker and moves his family into the hotel. The manager warns Jack that past caretakers have cracked under the intense isolation and admits that it once led to a gruesome murder. Not bothered by the news, Jack heartily accepts the position, saying that the peace and quiet is what he needs to write his novel.

The head chef, Dick Hallorann (Scatman), notices something special in the Torrance’s young son, Danny. In a private conversation, he asks Danny about his psychic ability. He calls it “the shining”. Danny reluctantly explains that his invisible friend, Tony, shows him things that have and haven’t happened yet. Over the period of time when a brutal snowstorm cuts the Torrance’s off from communication, they begin to feel suffocated by the emptiness of the hotel. Strange phenomenon’s start to occur and Jack becomes taken over by insanity.

The Shining was just creepy enough without going overboard to induce nightmares. Kubrick chose the right moments to zoom the camera on things in the movie. It wasn’t overdone which was perfect for creating tension. The director plays on a few types of fear: the supernatural, the familial, and the isolation. There are elements of the strange, like Danny’s ability and the brief encounters that haunt the hotel rooms. Then there is the fear of Danny’s own father, who is driven crazy and is on a murdering rampage. The isolation plays into fear because of how alone the family is. The only connection they have to the outside world is through the radio. The police can do little but comfort them over the airwaves.

The music played a vital role in manipulating the viewer’s emotion. There was some disturbing compositions, like in the opening of the movie with the car driving along the mountain. The music was ominous here and then a strange birdcall-like sound puts the viewer on edge. Another example is when a scene cut, the next one began with a  black screen telling the time (one month later/Tuesday/Thursday/etc) and it was dead quiet for two seconds. It was perfect because at the end of one scene, the sudden quiet makes the viewer tense and ready to jump a few times.

There’s no wonder why The Shining is a classic. It’s a terrifying but enjoyable movie.