Godzilla

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Gareth Edwards, Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Brian Cranston, Juliette Binoche and Sally Hawkins

Gareth Edwards' Monsters was a strange, creepy aliens-invading-earth film that managed to make a political statement about illegal immigration and execute it with more nuance and drama than Godzilla, his sophomore film feature. Godzilla is more of what summer movie-fare has become: incoherent, thrill-free, CGI-drenched destruction and noise that you wish would end sooner than it does. What is more peculiar than the creatures plodding across the screen is the presence of Juliette Binoche and Sally Hawkins; two fine actresses more accustomed to more demanding characters and scripts. It's a real head-scratcher but actors have to make a living too and both Binoche and Hawkins are probably unaccustomed to earning salaries like those they earned here.

(Brian Cranston) and his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) are engineers for a nuclear facility in Japan (the initial shot of three nuclear silos I'm sure are meant to evoke an uncomfortable image of the Fukushima Plant) when he notices strange seismic readings that go unnoticed by everyone else. Before he can bring this data to anyone's attention, the nuclear plant suffers a major catastrophe; the three silos collapse into the earth. But Joe suffers a greater loss; the loss of his wife to radiation during the accident.

The story leaps ahead 15 years. Brody's son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has returned to his home in San Francisco after serving in the Army, where he is greeted by his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and child enthusiastically. He isn't home long before he receives a call from his father, who has been arrested for trespassing on the premises of the former nuclear plant--now off-limits to the public. As Joe awaits bail, Ford flies to Japan to see his father, still haunted by the loss of his wife and still obsessed with the seismic anomaly he discovered years before. Ford, impatient with his father's inability to move on, asks Joe to accompany him back to San Francisco. The father insists he stay to unravel the mystery behind the nuclear plant. Donning protective suits, Joe and son wander through the former plant grounds. Joe then discovers the place isn't the radioactive site the Japanese government would have everyone believe after removing his headgear.

The two are eventually caught and incarcerated near where the government guards something top-secret: a "thing" not of this world, thrusting above the surface. The object begins to move and what it is connected to emerges from beneath the ground; a hulking, multi-storied creature that crawls on all fours (and sometimes flies), which embarks on a destructive ramble through the plant and beyond. In the carnage and chaos, Joe and Ford escape. Once the world learns of the rampage, the American Navy is alerted and assigned the task of confronting the creatures.

We learn the creature is a primordial, dinosaur-like beast who once lived deep in the earth but has surfaced in a figurative response to man's rapacious need for minerals and environmental plundering. We also learn the creature has a mate, who carries unhatched offspring in her glowing womb. The creatures feed on radiation and in their hunger for more, they turn to west-coast America, specifically San Fransisco (allowing Elizabeth Olsen to remain connected to the narrative). Why the creatures don't attack a nuclear energy-rich country like France is, I guess, beside the point. (It probably goes without saying that film-goers in this country need to see their own shores menaced; Parisians being crushed by monsters probably wouldn't elicit much sympathy from American audiences).

As the creatures arrive on the west coast, they begin their savage tour of destruction; the U.S. military powerless to stop them.

Meanwhile, the American navy tracks another large creature moving slowly under the ocean; its vertebrae riding ominously above the surface. The creature heads for San Francisco Bay and in due course it is revealed the creature is called Godzilla and has emerged to re-set the balance of nature and more to the point; kick some monster butt in San Francisco.

The characters all become part of the drama, save for those who perish along the way. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the movie-stud who becomes implausibly involved with the military in their various missions while Elizabeth Olsen is given little to do but stare with mouth agape at the gargantuan terrors kicking buildings around. Sally Hawkins seems lost in all commotion while Cranston often seems a little-over-the-top.

The battle commences, carnage becomes rife and what the hell it all means beyond mankind upsetting the balance of the planet not even Ken Watanabe's Dr. Ichiro Serizawa can answer. What it does mean for Hollywood is a franchise opportunity and employment for the legions of special effects crew hired to make San Francisco architecture look expendible and rubble-sexy.

I actually had to fight off the drowsies several times during the movie. I've noticed this has become a ritual for me during Hollywood blockbusters. That so much mega-decible racket could cause drowsiness means Hollywood may have developed an antidote to insomnia. Can't sleep? Godzilla just might challenge NyQuil for sleep-inducing supremacy.

Neighbors

**Spoiler Alert*

Director: Nicholas Stoller, Starring; Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, and Lisa Kudrow

Nicholas Stoller, director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, now has the comedy Neighbors under his directorial belt.

Seth Rogen plays Mac Radner, a thirty-something father of a new baby who lives in a quiet neighborhood with his wife Kelly (Rose Byrne). Settling down but with collegiate frolics not far behind them, the Radners find themselves parents with adult priorities thrust upon them. Kelly's friend begs her to step out for an evening at a club concert, which involves marital negotiations with Mac. Not wanting to be homebound himself, Mac and Kelly decide to bring the baby along for their evening out. Mac and Kelly can't completely embrace the demands of adulthood; sometimes stumbling with their responsibilities as parents.

One day, while standing in their front yard, they become intrigued with the prospective home buyers next door. Anxious about possible noise, their fears are allayed when they see the buyers are gay. Days later, their hopes for a quiet neighborhood are dashed when they see a legion of young college students moving in next door rather than the hoped-for gay couple. In the clutches of one student' arms are greek letters to adorn the facade of a frathouse, which realizes the Radner's worst fears.

Summoning their diplomatic instincts, the Radners approach the frat's leader in their home in hopes of securing low-noise living. Mac and Kelly have an amusing discussion about how they will approach the frat leader, which of course doesn't go exactly as confidently planned. Frat president Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) is every married man's nightmare; a sexually-threatening stud with an obscenely-defined torso and a young man's love for living in cacophanous chaos. The movie plays up the amusing contrast between the shlubby Rogen and Efron's renaissance, marble physique.

Not wanting to appear too grown-up and square, the Radner's offer Teddy some rolled joints in a gesture of good-will. Teddy and the frat vice-president Pete (Dave Franco; brother to James) welcome the couple and subsequently the Radners end up partying with the frat. In acceding to the Radner's noise-reduction request, Teddy makes an ominous, counter-request that the couple never call the police but instead approach him, to which they agree.

Of course it is absurd to ask a frat to "keep it down," which subsequent nights at the frat bear out. Mac and Kelly find their infant daughter can't sleep with the mayhem and racket next door, which prompts them to reluctantly call the police. They ask that the complaint remain anonymous but when they watch the officer confront Teddy and Pete on the lawn, the cop points specifically to their home. In a funny scene at their doorstep moments later, the officer, Teddy and Pete stand on the Radner's doorstep, inquiring about the complaint which the Radner's deny but the cop confirms when he mentions Mac's caller ID. Needless to say the neighborly detente quickly deteriorates, which leads to war between the frat and the Radner home.

The frat resorts to humiliation as a retaliatory tactic; trimming the Radner's hedge to resemble a sexually suggestive person bent over. In another scene, the Radner's ill-advisedly leave their curtains open to allow their love-making a frat audience. The Radner's don't remain passive. They damage the frat's water-pipe, which floods their basement--an act intended to tax the frat's budget and stimulate a shut-down, which is effective but ultimately fails.

The Radner's are forced to appeal to the unsympathetic, University Dean Carol Gladstone (a funny Lisa Kudrow) who refuses to penalize the organization for what she feels isn't a headline-grabbing infraction. The frat is eventually placed on probation, which paves the way for the Radner's elaborate plan to get the frat to resume its partying--an act that will get it shut-down--by faking a school letter with a bogus, probation-lifting message.

The film has its funny moments but they prove to be too few to really make Neighbors an enjoyable romp. Nevertheless, it manages to be very watchable. It certainly is a nice change of pace for Efron; on leave from seemingly endless teen-crush flicks. Here he plays the not-very bright leader whose sole objective is to earn a place of honor in frat lore by throwing a seismic party rather than plan for his post-college future. Though his dumbness is alarming, Efron is able to also make it funny. Rogen is an old pro at comedy but it's Byrne who distinguishes herself; having shown in Bridesmaids that being funny comes natural to her.

The theme of shedding one's youthful, carefree past and embracing the adult world not only applies to the Radner's but to Teddy and Pete. While Pete interviews with companies visiting the university, planning for the transition to the real world, Teddy is stuck in a college party holding pattern. When he approaches a representative from a company at a job fair, his mediocre grades fail to impress, thereby earning him an insulting, curt dismissal. The Radner's eventually realize that parenting and the grown-up world is where they want to be.

Neighbors has so much that I wanted to like more but its humor is infrequent and not always inspired. Another promising comedy threatens to spring to life then limps, then springs to life again...but mostly limps.

Belle

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Amma Asante, Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Miranda Richardson

Amma Assante's Belle re-creates the 18th century British political and social climate but also addresses the issue of slavery and those who sought its destruction.
The film tells the story of real-life Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw); a woman whose father was white and mother an enslaved African. An Admiral in the British Navy, Dido's father's duty called him to the West Indies, which meant placing his illegitimate daughter in the care of his uncle; Lord Chief Justice William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his aunt; Lady Mansfield (Emily Watson) on a rural estate known as Kenwood.

The Earl and his wife are naturally reluctant to raise Dido; though they are bound to duty as relatives. The Earl decides to raise her along with his other niece; Lady Elizabeth Murray (Sarah Gadon), who also lost her mother. Dido's suitability as a companion to Elizabeth is a factor in the Earl's decision to raise them together. Dido's color is a social complication to the Earl and his wife. It even becomes house-etiquette that Dido not dine with the family when guests are present but is permitted to mingle after formal dinners, where the restrictions of social decorum become more less-constricting.

Social life at Kenwood is complicated when Lady Elizabeth Murray is presented into society while Dido is denied the same by the Earl and Lady Murray. While Elizabeth is courted by a young man named James Ashford (Tom Felton), his older brother Oliver (James Norton) is smitten with Dido; which sickens James. The Ashford family hopes an Ashford/Murray union will bring wealth to the family but become furious when they learn Elizabeth is penniless. Meanwhile, Dido's financial future is secured when it is revealed her Admiral father left her with a substantial income; making her a more attractive catch to the Ashford clan. Though Dido responds to Oliver's wooing, her heart belongs to John Davinier (Sam Reid); a clergyman's son who hopes to rise in the legal ranks where he might effect change and more importantly; end slavery. The Earl opposes Davinier's attentions for reasons involving the young man's feeble social rank but also complicating the relationship between them is a case known to history as the Zong Massacre.

In 1781, a British naval vessel named Zong, owned by a slave-trading syndicate, sailed from Africa to Jamaica with its human and non-human cargoes. The overcrowded ship, ill-provided with water and ravaged by disease, decimated both crew and slaves alike. It comes to light later that the captain deliberately missed several ports to restock its dwindling supplies. Fearful that the diseased crew would contaminate the cargo (as was claimed later), slaves were thrown overboard to their watery deaths. The company who owned the slaves made an insurance claim; demanding compensation for the value of human cargo lost. The incident created a uproar back in England, with accusations of fraud by those hoping to seek justice for the murdered slaves and by abolitionists who wanted Britain to end the ignominious slave trade. In the center of this controversy and scandal was the Lord Chief Justice himself, who was pressured by various parties who believed the company deserved financial restitution, those who were convinced of the company's heinous, fraudulent practices and by abolitionists.

In the film, Dido learns of the incident (much to the Earl's annoyance), which draws her closer to John Davinier, whose indefatigable efforts to persuade the Lord Chief Justice to deny the slave-trading company its claims and his romantic interest in Dido, make him persona non grata at Kenwood.

Dido becomes engaged to Oliver Ashford then breaks it when she is mistreated viciously one day by Oliver's younger brother. The Ashford family's aggressive pursuit of wealth and status also contributes to her decision. Defying the Earl's disdain for Davinier, Dido becomes involved in the efforts to bring the slave traders to justice by providing documents of the Zong's ship log to the young lawyer.
The climax of the film involves Dido's love for Davinier and the crucial judgement by the Lord Chief Justice on the Zong Case. The rest is history, to use an over-summoned and overworked cliche.

From the previews, I expected Belle to be a dry, sterile costume drama in the tradition of Merchant-Ivory productions. I was impressed with how it handles the complicated Zong case and Dido's life at Kenwood. It is difficult to follow the developments in the case (make sure you don't doze) but it is fascinating. Kudos to the screenwriter Misan Sagay for crafting a screenplay that addresses both Zong and Dido's life, which are inter-related and speak to the issue of servitude. The film recognizes slavery in all its isidious guises: the African slave trade, Dido's near servile position in British society and John Davinier's diminished social ranking; a class distinction that leaves him in a position not unlike Dido's.

Fine performances all around, particularly from Mbatha-Raw and Reid. Reid also delivers a terrific performance in The Railway Man and here he offers the same square-jawed charisma and fine acting. Mbatha-Raw plays her character with dignity and intelligence.

I enjoyed the dialogue, which resurrects the eloquence of a vanished age, where education, diction and englightenment were once highly-regarded.

I don't know that Belle is a brilliant film but it has much on its mind and it is an effective drama. Its statement about slavery and inequality--the latter still sadly evident today--is very relevant and its triumphant conclusion demonstrates society's potential for eradicating a persistent, global problem. Assante handles the material deftly, showing directorial promise. Belle isn't just one more costume drama with striking scenery and comely finery; it has plenty of brains to match its beauty.

Al's Omniflick Spotlight: Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr is one of those unsung talents in film history who had her share of accolades but whose career is now sadly eclipsed by the Hollywood glamour of yesteryear. If a critic or cinephile recalls actors and actresses of the 40s' or 50s', Kerr's name never or rarely rates a mention but one only need scan a list of her films and the brilliant directors she collaborated with to know how astonishing her career really was. Six Oscar nominations yielded no statuettes for Kerr but awards are seldom a true assessment of one's greatness.

Born in Scotland in 1921 and reared in England, Kerr cut her thespian teeth on London stages before landing her first screen role (actually her second; her scenes were deleted in her first film) in the 1941 production of Major Barbara; an adaptation of a George Bernard Shaw play. She performed in several more films before being cast in the now classic Black Narcissus, Michael Powell's haunting story of a monastery in the Himalayas. Denied her full femininity in a Nun's habit, Kerr manages to be luminous and lovely while offering a searing performance as a Nun whose desperate attempts to run a monastery in the dizzy Himalayan heights leads to the madness of isolation among some of her colleagues.

Kerr earned her first Oscar nomination for her role in George Cukor's Edward, My Son, sharing top billing with Spencer Tracy. The 1950s' saw Kerr merit 5 more Oscar nominations, including iconic roles in From Here to Eternity and The King and I. Her beach interlude with Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity has become one of the most enduring images in cinematic history, while Yul Brynner specifically requested Kerr for the role of the governess in The King And I. Kerr's last Oscar nomination came in 1960 for The Sundowners, which re-teamed her with Robert Mitchum; the two shared the screen only three years before for Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison for which she received another Oscar nomination.

My favorite Deborah Kerr performance and my favorite of her films is the 1961 adaptation of Henry James' Turn of the Screw; re-christened The Innocents for the screen. Truman Capote's brilliant script, Jack Clayton's inspired direction and Freddie Francis' superb, spookily moody cinematography all contribute to the film's enduring magnificence but it is the sum of Kerr's masterful performance as the governess that makes the whole. Her character, Miss Giddens, begins a seemingly innocent position as a governess to two children, only to find the spirits of lovers who once worked on the estate are using the children as conduits for their diabolical trysts. As the creepy happenings accumulate, Miss Giddens is driven to near madness and despair as she tries to save the children. Kerr's performance captures Miss Giddens' naivete, her fear and finally her manic obsessiveness, which is tinged with a touch of subtle malignance.

Her film roles continued on through the 60s' though her career came to a halt in the 70s'. She acted in T.V. roles in the 80s' before retiring from acting but received received an Honorary Oscar for her screen work in 1994. She passed away in 2007.

Mentioning an actor's Oscar nominations really says nothing and means nothing in terms of talent and work. That Oscars have been awarded to many undeserving recipients attests to the statement's validity. Oscars don't really matter; enduring, solid, imaginative work does and Kerr's legacy reflects that notion. A luminous, delicate face with expressive, lovely eyes, an unerring taste for roles with dimension and shadows; a bend-but-doesn't-break fragility and a presence like that of a Black Narcissus flower with its colorful yet dark shades, define Kerr's onscreen personae and career. Kerr left many stirring characters for us to explore. And re-explore.


THE DEBORAH SIX: A few films from Kerr's singular career

1. Black Narcissus (1947) Kerr plays Sister Clodagh who is assigned to run a Himalayan monastery. Michael Powell's direction is excellent as is Kerr's performance. Kerr's performance is notable for being "face-only," as she wears a nun's habit the film entire, leaving her face to carry the emotive load. Luckily Kerr's talent and superlative eyes manage quite nicely.

2. From Here to Eternity (1953) Kerr's rollick on the beach with Burt Lancaster is a sexy, iconic scene. Her role as Karen Holmes allowed Kerr a rare opportunity to be a siren and she makes it pay dividends. Terrific performance. Kerr held her own against Lancaster's Adonis-charisma.

3. The King and I (1956) One of Kerr's most famous roles as a governess hired by the King of Siam (now Thailand) to instruct his children. Kerr's singing voice was dubbed but she still sparkles and again, more than holds her own against a very charismatic male lead.

4. Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957) Kerr plays a nun who finds herself alone on a Pacific island during WWII. She meets a marine who paddles his boat to the beach after the submarine he was on is sunk by the Japanese. The two unite to survive the enemy occupation of the island and form a bond in the process. Again Kerr dons a nun's habit for a film but Sister Angela is no Sister Clodagh; she is less angst-ridden and more life-loving but no less interesting. Mitchum and Kerr's chemistry makes the film though John Huston provides some lovely images. Kerr again shows her ability to act within sartorial limits.

5. The Sundowners (1960) Kerr plays Ida Carmody, wife to Robert Mitchum's Paddy as the couple and their child brave the Australian outback as sheep drovers. Again Kerr and Mitchum are teamed up and again, both scintillate. Kerr shows some wonderful moxy as she and Mitchum pull the family in different directions.

6. The Innocents (1961) Kerr shines as a governess hired to care for two children on a large, rural estate. The house is full of dark secrets and even darker shadows. Kerr demonstrates that her best work was wasn't all behind her. Her role as Miss Giddens is one for the ages.


To read an extended, more comprehensive bio on Deborah Kerr, click here: Deborah Kerr

Only Lovers Left Alive

**Spoiler Alert**

Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Starring: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, John Hurt and Mia Wasikowska

Jim Jarmusch's vampire film is stylish, moody, atmospheric and anything but horrorifying or thrilling but it is terrifically cast and acted. It's also other than something Bela Lugosi or Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart might have found themselves in.

Jarmusch in never one to slavishly cling to genre conventions, like his western Dead Man or martial arts film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. His are more contemplative, cerebral affairs and so it is again in Only Lovers Left Alive.

We find ourselves in two settings: the labyrinthine medina of Tangier and a room awash in instruments in a shabby room in a shabbier building in Detroit. A vampiress named Eve (Tilda Swinton) lives in a room hidden from the world in the medina while her vampire husband Adam (Tom Hiddleston) lives hermetically in said room in the Motor City.

The two live their days (nights really) trying to stay supplied with healthy blood, which grows increasingly difficult to find in this world of tainted hemoglobin. While Eve relies on a fellow vampire Marlowe (John Hurt) for her precious supply, Adam visits a hospital to pay off a doctor named Watson (small role for Jeffrey Wright) for his. From conversation between the vampires, we learn each has been alive for centuries. Adam is an accomplished musician who once provided Schubert with music the famous composer claimed as his creation. Marlowe is actually the Christopher Marlowe; once Shakespeare's rival and in the film, tha acknowledged author of the Immortal Bard's great plays. Adam still records music though his current instruments of choice are mostly relegated to electric guitars and drums. While Marlowe still writes and Adam composes, its never clear what Eve's pursues in her spare time.

Jarmusch's film isn't plot-driven; it relies heavily on mood and the characters' backstories to create what little drama and tension are sprinkled among scenes of vampire angst and dark, ill-lit interiors. Only Lovers Left Alive still manages to be watchable. Tilda Swinton's unique, not-of-this-world looks and Tom Hiddleston's broody impatience with what the vampires call the "zombie world;" the human species, keep us watching when the film's temperature seems to be set at almost absolute zero.

After Eve flies (on an airline, not on bat-wings) to Detroit to be with Adam, her sister Ava comes to stay and in doing so, inadvertantly kills Adam's friend Ian (Anton Yelchin) after a night of clubbing. His death forces Adam and Eve to flee Detroit for the safer, more remote environs of Tangier, only to find Marlowe dying, which threatens their supply of life-giving blood. The loss of Marlowe brings about soul-searching and the unavoidable but crucial hunt for blood via the direct source; in this case; two lovers out at night for a stroll.

The vampire culture presented in Jarmusch's film is nothing new; immortality, historic contributions to art, existential doubt, etc, but he brings his brand of humor to the proceedings, and characters who seem more like artists than vampires. He also makes subtle, political statements about man's physical self-contamination and in setting half the story in Detroit, manages to comment on the decay of American cities brought on by real blood-suckers: corporate America and the depredations it has visited on workers and families as the population of a once-thriving factory town dwindles.

Only Lovers Left Alive isn't an ambitious film, but it has the offbeat stamp of an unpredictable auteur; one that manages to show us something that doesn't have product tie-ins or needless, gimmicky 2D and 3D options. We can always count on Jarmusch to lead us off and away from the assembly-line cinema of Hollywood. I'm sure he intends to keep it that way.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Director: Marc Webb, Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti

I won't bother with a spoiler alert because what could I possible spoil in summarizing a story one could easily discern from the preview. I also won't be verbose (I'll try not to be anyway) because it just plain bored me--my typical reaction to Marvel Comic adaptations.

Peter Parker's problems from the first Spider-Man continue though I couldn't remember what they were exactly and I couldn't tell if I were recalling the Tobey Maguire Spidey movies or the rebooted franchise. Does it all matter? Peter's girlfriend, cash-flow, and Aunt May troubles are the same though the villains are slightly different; this time an electrically-charged bad guy named Electro (Jamie Foxx) threatens the city, Spiderman and the power-grid.

The story involves many things at Oscorp; one CEO dies, the next assumes control, while the company develops or hopes to develop serums and high-tech gadgetry; which all threaten to fall into the wrong hands. All the villains seen in the movie are all connected to Oscorp. If you're like me, you grow sick of hearing the word Oscorp.

Electro is born, develops a destructive contempt for Spider-Man, fights him and blah ad infinitum. In Marvel adaptations, suspense is never really created because we know the hero is indestructible, which leaves him intact for sequels. The villians never really develop an edgy menace because they never have any agenda other than a single-minded hatred for the hero.

And what a weepy hero he is! Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man tears so often I thought the movie was financed by the Oxygen network. I realize he was trying to breath vulnerability into the hero to make him more empathetic but it became a bit much. Even Gwen Stacy didn't deluge us with the water-works. Maybe the radioactive spider should have bitten her instead of Peter Parker.

Aside from one significant twist at the end, nothing in the story is left to the unanticipated or unheralded. One knows where the story and characters are all headed and of course the movie lays the groudwork for the next film. The first Spider-Man series began auspiciously then gassed out quickly. The current franchise has gassed out quickly but the movie studio must sell merchandise and Taco-Bell must sell Spider-Man mugs and there must be a movie tie-in to the U.S. Postal Service and everything else, which leaves solid storytelling and thrills sadly beside the point.

The Quiet Ones

Director: John Pogue, Starring: Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, and Olivia Cooke

What does Based on a true story mean in cinema these days? When attached to historical or dramatic films, we know the phrase is vague and fluid but how does it apply to horror flicks; stories that already stretch plausibility and our capacity to believe? If a horror film delivers the scares and administers them in an effective manner, what does it really matter if the movie is based on fact or something purported to be true? Unfortunately for The Quiet Ones it only bears a vapor-like resemblance to the "real story" and it doesn't really frighten at all. What it does do is take up screen time with the cliches most horror films can't shake and a story that doesn't bear much logical scrutiny or sense.

An Oxford University psychology Professor named Joseph Coupland (Jared Harris) is convinced supernatural claims can be explained as mental projections and is determined to prove his theory. When we see him in his Oxford classroom, his students become agitated over an argument on the supernatural. The students seem less Oxford material than suburban community college enrollees with British accents. One can't imagine a university of international renown like Oxford allowing a professor or class to waste time discussing the supernatural but there it is onscreen.

Coupland recruits three students to help him in his research. We learn that the subjects Coupland has filmed have had strange, frightening experiences with the supernatural and one of them; a young woman named Jane Harper (Olivia Cooke), has had her share of disturbing, unexplained brushes with the weird which Coupland insists can be readily explained by his theory. The woman has been in and out of asylums and shows no signs of improving. Coupland believes that if he can prompt Jane to project what is tormenting her, he can capture the "energy" and expel it, thus ridding her of her psychic torments.

Documenting the experiment on film is a young, naive student named Brian McNeil (Sam Claflin) who has a yen for camera work. His camera allows the movie to shift point-of-view from first person to third, mimicking the Paranormal Activity hand-held perspective horror fans have come to know.

As the experiment begins, Brian learns Jane must be locked up to protect Coupland and his staff from her violent episodes. How a professor and three students could allow their subject to be locked up in spartan coditions, sans bed, proper clothes and comforts is disturbing. Jane is treated very much like a wild animal then coerced into summoning someone she calls Evie, a sinister entity she believes lives inside of her.

Before long, Coupland's experiment comes to the attention of the Oxford administration, who inform the professor his work can't continue on school property, thereby making the experiment's relocation an imperative.

Coupland, students and Jane find themselves in a large, house in a rural area. How they can afford the place wasn't clear to me but it is abandoned, cold, creepy-looking and shabby inside. It isn't long before the weird and frightening "thing" inside Jane begins to emerge through a series of experiments that look strangely like those employed in The Exorcist II; one of them involves a strobe-like device similiar to the one Richard Burton sat before in the silly Exorcist sequel. A homage?

Coupland remains doggedly determined to explain Jane's problems with rational, scientific arguments--kudos to the professor--but he adheres stubbornly to reason even when it becomes abundantly clear something just might be inside Jane. One such proof is an ectoplasmic "thing" that is discharged from her mouth. As the students become frustrated with the professor's methods and his obsession to cure Jane, it comes to light that a little boy, also suffering mental torments and seen earlier in films in Coupland's class, was the Professor's son; one he couldn't save from a condition similiar to Jane's.

As the days pass, Brian begins to fall in love with Jane and realizes she should be receiving professional care in an institution. While investigating strange, self-inflicted markings Jane has made on her legs with a bobby-pin, Brian discovers said markings are actually a symbol representing a 5000-year-old Sumerian demon whose name we never learn. Brian's sleuthing also uncovers Jane's story. We learn she came to the attention of a cult who worshipped said demon and who believe her to be a conduit for the evil entity.

All comes to a head the night Brian decides to rescue Jane from Coupland's experiment. The demon comes home to roost, unleashing mayhem and death; thereby ruining the professor and student's semester.

How does Coupland have ample time and funds for the experiment, which seems to devour all his time? Doesn't an Oxford University professor have to grade papers, write books, read academic journals, or pursue other areas of his professional and private life? At least the students mention walking away from the experiment and salvaging the semester.

The film never fully creates the dread and visceral fear we want from a horror story. Pogue confuses loud, startling sounds for a sustained atmosphere of gut-churning fear. The demon never truly threatens; instead he acts more like a disgruntled teenager hoping to incur his parent's wrath by making a racket. And do we need to see one more horror film where the protagonist discovers a symbol seen on a body or wall is that of a demon from some ancient, mythical lore?

Over the final credits, we see what are supposed to be photos of those who participated in the real-life experiment but they looked suspiciously phony. I learned the photos are indeed fake at a website called History vs Hollywood. The people are supposed to represent the characters in the film though I can't figure the filmmaker's reason for including them.

Too bad the Sumerian demon didn't demand script revisions or make an appearance himself; the movie could have used alot of both.