After the death of her father, Charlotte (Kelsey Cooke) faces a mountain of debt and the prospect of losing the fabulous holiday villa she currently resides in. Via social media, she hooks up with Danni (Sophie Ablett) who joins her in sunny Spain and the two concoct a plan to stream – and charge for – camgirl content which will hopefully generate the necessary cash to pay off the house, keep the wolves from the door and give Charlotte a happy ever after. However, they can’t do this alone and soon they’re joined by three very different online personalities in order to satiate online demand and generate a whole pile of money. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, as you’ve probably guessed.
The tagline for The Quiet Ones is “They went viral. Then things got violent.” These two things both happen, but not in the way you might be expecting. Writer/director Nicholas Winter’s thriller, complete with an all-female cast, steers well away from the kind of material that a similarly-themed 1990s straight to video erotic thriller would have charged headlong into. If Greg Dark had taken the same story structure but focused on a bespoke VHS tape venture featuring tailored content provided by Shannon Whirry and Delia Sheppard, the BBFC would have chopped several minutes out of it before it even hit the shelves (even then, all of the rental copies would have probably been knackered after a couple of months). Here, there’s no nudity, very little bloodshed and it’s all resolutely unexploitative.
So, if you’re still with me after I’ve revealed that, does the distinct lack of sleaze make for an odd viewing experience? Actually, it doesn’t. The story is more concerned with the gradual breakdown in communication between the five women involved as the stakes are upped and an element of genuine danger comes into play. The escalating competition between Danni and first draftee Brylee (Isadora Leiva) in terms of who’s going to make the most money by the end of the month is never going to end well, with Brylee posing a serious threat to Danni’s territory and an increasingly nervous Charlotte just along for the ride.
Rounding out the five is sweet, innocent Violet (Sofia Shallai) and jet-setting Fabienne (Alina Tamara), pairing off with Danni and Brylee respectively, playing into different kinks of audience, both online and in the cinema. The fact that these archetypes are likely to annoy each other is hardly downplayed but the flashpoints don’t always lead to the expected explosion – there’s a final act for that kind of thing. That said, there’s a decent build of tension and the performances are fun, particularly Ablett and Shallai’s mismatch of a double act. Cooke is good, too, in a guarded, grounded role which means she doesn’t get to cut loose as much as her generally wilder housemates, but essays a convincing line in standing on the sidelines looking more and more concerned as things slide out of control.
The look of The Quiet Ones is impressive. The cinematography is glossy and the visual effects conjure not just the technology of this decade, but also the spirits of video games past, with fun, 8-bit style character introductions and selections. Often, there’s plenty happening on screen which mirrors the world of the influencer, but the general vibe isn’t shoved down the viewer’s throat and there’s no rush to either condone or condemn, more that this is how “reality” is now and it’s how we all deal with it.
Arguably, the payoff isn’t as strong as it could have been. The tip over into ultimately lethal behaviour is almost instant, which doesn’t allow enough time to fully take in the sudden shift. However, the final, chaotic confrontations are still fine for a few chills and the rather cold, almost throwaway ending is a nice touch. If you’re looking for unfiltered sex and violence, The Quiet Ones is going to leave you hanging, but its surprisingly chaste approach may prove a paradoxically provocative one for some. If you’re asking where all of the nudity is, it’s in those Greg Dark films. This is still an adult thriller, but not quite as we’ve previously seen the genre.
The Quiet Ones screened as part of this year’s Spirit of Independence Festival in Sheffield, UK.