The Innocents (1961)

[lester1/2jr]

                    screenplay by Truman Capote based on "the turning of the screw".  ultra creepy haunted house tale in black and white.  What begins as a wonderful new governess coming to a wonderful estate to take care of two wonderful kids turns not so wonderful very quickly.   There are some undealt with issues just under the surface, issues the new governess is enormously sensitive too,  while everyone else is content to go on pretending they aren't there.  terrifying "Ringu" like apparitions appear or do they?  way recommended


^creepy ass kid standing over governess played by Deborah Kerr

[peter johnson]

One of my favorite films of all time -- I see it every chance I get -- A few years back, the local public library showed it on their big screen.  Took my wife, who'd never seen it -- she loved it too.  Really holds up well . . . "Enter, my Lord!"
peter johnson/denny boo!!

[The Burgomaster]

I bought this DVD a couple of months ago, but I must admit I wasn't blown away by it.  There were a few creepy moments, but not enough of them (and they weren't creepy enough).  Maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch it.  I think THE HAUNTING (original version) is a superior chiller.

[peter johnson]

Give it another chance -- I like The Haunting also, but this is a different species.

The threat of The Haunting is palpably supernatural, while most of the tension in Turn of The Screw (The Innocents) is what part of what's going on is inside Deborah Kerr's head & how much of it is really going on in the house & gardens.  If you let in the possibility that she's guilty of killing the boy at the end due to her paranoid delusions, I think it becomes much more horrible than The Haunting, but for different reasons. 

It's the whole "are the spirits real or hallucinations, or some unknown mixture of both" thing that makes the film for me, aside from the masterful editing, pacing, and sharp black and white cinematography.

peter johnson/denny crane

[Allhallowsday]

I bought this DVD a couple of months ago, but I must admit I wasn't blown away by it.  There were a few creepy moments, but not enough of them (and they weren't creepy enough).  Maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch it.  I think THE HAUNTING (original version) is a superior chiller.

You definitely weren't in the right mood; though I've gone on record criticising THE HAUNTING, a film I love (and I love Shirley Jackson's books, too) it's only because I've seen it too many times.  Yet, I've seen THE INNOCENTS maybe even more, and it holds up remarkably well and better for me.  The more I watch it, the more convinced I am that the governess is mad, but... I am unsure.  I am sure it's a superior chiller. 

[BoyScoutKevin]

Of all the versions of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," this is probably the best. And Martin Stephens, who plays Miles in the film, (IMHO) turns in one of the best child performances I have ever seen in a film. He is equally good in the previous year's "Village of the Damned."