The Quiet Ones
A professor and his students perform a dangerous experiment that causes a young woman to lose her sanity.
Despite its extremely modest budget of $200K, The Quiet Ones became a commercial juggernaut, earning $17.8M worldwide—a remarkable 8817% return. The film's distinctive approach connected with viewers, demonstrating that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Quiet Ones (2014) exemplifies meticulously timed narrative design, characteristic of John Pogue's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 14-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 38 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Brian McNeil, a young Oxford student and cameraman, lives an ordinary academic life filming university events. He's idealistic and believes in scientific progress.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Oxford University pulls funding and shuts down Coupland's experiment, deeming it too dangerous and unethical. The project appears dead, forcing everyone to confront whether to abandon Jane or continue.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Brian actively chooses to join the experiment at the isolated manor house, signing on to document everything. He crosses from the academic world into a darker realm of obsessive experimentation, leaving safety behind., moving from reaction to action.
At 49 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat A violent supernatural episode nearly kills Jane during an experiment. Brian realizes Coupland is willing to sacrifice Jane to prove his theory. False defeat: what seemed like scientific progress is revealed as dangerous obsession., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 72 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The truth is revealed: Jane Harper IS Evey, a cult member who killed a family and has been possessed all along. Harry is killed by supernatural forces. The experiment has unleashed something truly evil, not psychological but demonic., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 78 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Brian accepts the supernatural is real and chooses to fight back. He synthesizes his documentary evidence with newfound understanding of occult forces. He must save Krissi and stop Jane/Evey, abandoning scientific detachment for survival., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Quiet Ones's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 14 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping The Quiet Ones against these established plot points, we can identify how John Pogue utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Quiet Ones within the horror genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional horror films include Lake Placid, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Cat's Eye.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Brian McNeil, a young Oxford student and cameraman, lives an ordinary academic life filming university events. He's idealistic and believes in scientific progress.
Theme
Professor Coupland states the experiment's purpose: to prove that supernatural manifestations are simply manifestations of negative human energy, that we can cure the seemingly possessed through science rather than faith.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Professor Coupland's unorthodox experiment with Jane Harper, a young woman exhibiting supernatural phenomena. The team includes students Harry and Krissi. The university setting and scientific method are established, along with Jane's disturbing episodes.
Disruption
Oxford University pulls funding and shuts down Coupland's experiment, deeming it too dangerous and unethical. The project appears dead, forcing everyone to confront whether to abandon Jane or continue.
Resistance
Coupland refuses to give up and relocates the experiment to a remote estate using his own funding. Brian debates whether to continue, concerned about ethics and Jane's wellbeing, but is drawn to both the mystery and Jane herself.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Brian actively chooses to join the experiment at the isolated manor house, signing on to document everything. He crosses from the academic world into a darker realm of obsessive experimentation, leaving safety behind.
Premise
The team conducts increasingly intense experiments to provoke Jane's manifestations. Disturbing phenomena escalate: objects move, fires start spontaneously, and the entity "Evey" grows stronger. Brian documents everything while growing more protective of Jane.
Midpoint
A violent supernatural episode nearly kills Jane during an experiment. Brian realizes Coupland is willing to sacrifice Jane to prove his theory. False defeat: what seemed like scientific progress is revealed as dangerous obsession.
Opposition
Brian investigates Jane's past and discovers dark secrets about a cult and a girl named Evey who died. The supernatural activity intensifies. Coupland becomes more tyrannical. Team members are injured. Brian's feelings for Jane deepen as he uncovers the truth.
Collapse
The truth is revealed: Jane Harper IS Evey, a cult member who killed a family and has been possessed all along. Harry is killed by supernatural forces. The experiment has unleashed something truly evil, not psychological but demonic.
Crisis
Brian grapples with the horrifying revelation and the death of his friend. He must accept that Coupland's rationalist approach was dangerously wrong. Everything he believed about science conquering superstition is shattered.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Brian accepts the supernatural is real and chooses to fight back. He synthesizes his documentary evidence with newfound understanding of occult forces. He must save Krissi and stop Jane/Evey, abandoning scientific detachment for survival.
Synthesis
Brian confronts the possessed Jane in a final battle. Coupland is killed by his own hubris. Brian attempts to perform an exorcism using methods he once would have scorned. The house burns as supernatural and human forces collide.
Transformation
Brian escapes the burning house alone, traumatized and forever changed. The idealistic student who believed in rational explanations now knows true evil exists. His innocence and faith in science as supreme authority are destroyed.