When alienated teenager Dot (Camilla Belle of “When a Stranger Calls”) is orphaned, she moves in with her godparents, the Deers (Martin Donovan, Edie Falco), much to the chagrin of their own obnoxious daughter, Nina (Elisha Cuthbert of “House of Wax”). An extremely popular cheerleader, vengeful Nina wants no part of sullen Dot, particularly the embarrassment of having a deaf/mute stepsister. But slowly, all three family members begin telling their troubling secrets to Dot, assuming either she cannot hear them or could never repeat them. Even some of Nina’s chums confide in Dot, particularly hunky Connor (Shawn Ashmore of the “X-Men” trilogy).

But the seemingly idyllic Deer family of Connecticut is about as dysfunctional as one could imagine: dad’s a pedophile, mom is into serious substance abuse and their child is being exploited.

Screenwriters Abdi Nazemian and Micah Schraft and director Jamie Babbit (“But I’m a Cheerleader”) channel the far-superior “American Beauty” in this ponderous attempt to deal with sensitive suburban issues like sexual anxiety, betrayal and incest but, ultimately, the concept becomes ludicrous, burdened with stilted dialogue, like “Lies keep us safe from the truth.” Twentysomething Elisha Cuthbert is far too old to play an abused innocent and some of her creepy soft-core scenes cross the lurid line of bad taste.

On the other hand, “The Quiet” marks a groundbreaking collaboration. The unique partnership between Burnt Orange Productions and the University of Texas Film Institute provided students with the opportunity to work with industry professionals, gaining invaluable experience in all aspects of filmmaking.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, The Quiet is a perversely sordid 4. Or as Dot aptly says, “One day, we wake up and realize the world sucks, and we suck for being in it.”