The phrase is meaningless other than a line of dialogue that comes out of nowhere toward the end, but if only “the quiet ones” had spoken up! They could have warned me away from this turd. A movie that’s supposed to keep us guessing, it’s also one that we don’t give a shit about either way. Poor Jared Harris. He scowls; he smokes like a movie Nazi; he forces his laughable posse of… scientists? researchers? bad actors? it’s unclear just who the people are who work for him — oh wait, they’re the quiet ones! — to continue mistreating a “patient” who, whether she is truly demonically possessed or mentally ill, is medically, legally, and ethically in need of hospitalization. But so what? Who cares? There’s a red herring involving the young cameraman hired to document the case (In 1974. On film. Which seems to magically develop itself almost instantly sans darkroom) that would have been a lot more interesting than the actual twist. Stay away from this or you’re an idiot. — Jeff Schultz