'Mad Men' star Jared Harris to get supernatural in 'The Quiet Ones'

Jared Harris walks the red carpet at the "Mad Men" Season 5 premiere.

Credit: AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Jared Harris is preparing to wade into some very dangerous waters.

The "Mad Men" actor, who's played financial officer Lane Pryce on the last three seasons of the hit AMC series, has signed on to star in a new supernatural horror film entitled "The Quiet Ones". Harris will star as Professor Joseph Coupland, who in 1974 attempts to create a poltergeist using negative human energy with the help of his students. The film is scheduled to begin production in June under the direction of John Pogue ("Quarantine 2").

"The Quiet Ones" is the latest production from the recently-revived Hammer Films, which became known as "Hammer Horror" in the middle of the century for producing a string of Gothic horror films through the 1970s. Though the modern incarnation of the label sputtered out of the gate with busts like theatrical flop "Let Me In" and direct-to-DVD Hilary Swank-starrer "The Resident", they finally enjoyed a hit with this year's "The Woman in Black" starring Daniel Radcliffe, which grossed over $120 million worldwide on a $15 million budget.

Harris, no stranger to playing professors who gravitate to the dark side (he portrayed Professor Moriarty in this year's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"), will next be seen as Ulysses S. Grant in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" opposite Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones and David Strathairn.

Does "The Quiet Ones" sound like your cup of tea, horror fans? Have you enjoyed the new Hammer's output so far? Sound off in the comments!

Note: The press release makes the groan-inducing claim that "The Quiet Ones" is "inspired by true events". Why oh why do Tinseltown marketing departments continue to insist on using that tired and ridiculous gimmick?

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Chris Eggertsen
Producer

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A former contributor to sites including Bloody-Disgusting and AfterElton, Eggertsen enjoys rock music, rainy days and smelling the pages of old books. You should read all of his articles and follow him on Twitter because it's the right thing to do.