The Quiet has been billed as an “erotic and suspenseful tale of sex, lies, and betrayal”  — however, the film betrays viewers. Writers Abdi Nazemian and Micah Scraft combine a deaf girl, a drugged mother, and a disgusting father-daughter relationship for the basis of this eerily discomforting and unmoving motion picture. With that in mind, The Quiet is – at best – unpleasant in direction, weak in script, and worse to watch.

When high school cheerleader Nina Deer (Elisha Cuthbert) “acquires” a new deaf sister named Dot (Camilla Bell), Nina’s world gets turned upside down. The Deer family welcomes Dot into their home because she recently lost her only living parent. Nonetheless, how welcoming is a household that consists of a “prescriptoholic” (Edie Falco), a monster who has sex with his offspring (Martin Donovan), and a bitch of a teenager?

While residing within the walls of the Deer home, Dot discovers a few daunting secrets. On the flip side, Nina also unearths a well-kept secret of Dot’s. With lies and secrets swirling like a whirlpool, the “family” is poised to feel pain, power, and truth. In the end, a bond develops and a life is lost.

Without question, Elisha Cuthbert is hot; but why did she choose to serve as a lead in such a cold feature? After 24 and The Girl Next Door, Cuthbert established herself as a rousing sex symbol. Even so, The Quiet drops her down in sex appeal significantly; the incest alone is repulsive and her character is just plain unlikable. If you’re a Cuthbert fan, put The Girl Next Door back into your DVD player instead of inserting The Quiet.

And now, for more reasons to avoid The Quiet... First, let’s start with the unnecessary. Who eats their father’s ashes? Who walks home through a creek? Why is Edie Falco featured topless? Second, let’s continue with the pathetic. What is with the constant Beethoven mentions? Is it to help convince us that a deaf girl could play classical piano? Does the director assume we don’t realize that the father is sinister from the get-go? Instead of toying with lesbianism and familial murder, why not follow through? Come the closing, how can Dot act like nothing is different for Connor (Shawn Ashmore)? Third, let’s conclude with the inaccurate. Hershey’s Chocolate World does not give free M&M’s at the conclusion of the tour. Hershey’s does not even make M&Ms! In summary, The Quiet deceives, gives up on itself, and lets audiences down.

During its epilogue, The Quiet delves into a narration on “the quiet before/after the storm.” Imagine either case; with both, you arrive at an inert calmness that borders on lifelessness. In this manner, the metaphor works, because The Quiet is a lifeless film that should have died on the drawing table. Ignore it, and find a picture that speaks to you.