“The Innocents” (1961), directed by Jack Clayton and starring Deborah Kerr just a few years after she filmed “An Affair to Remember” and “The King and I”, is a creepy, dark ghost movie-cum-psychological thriller well worth a peek (during the daytime, with a friend in the room).
Based on Henry James’ iconic ghost story The Turn of the Screw with script help from Truman Capote, “The Innocents” is considered by some to be one of the first, if not the first, serious (English-language) ghost movies for adults. Prior to this film, ghosts were mostly either of the jolly variety (e.g. “Blithe Spirit”) or the Scooby-Doo variety (i.e., not real).
This movie has everything: creepy children, an intense governess who has traveled to an isolated big scary house to care for the creepy children, great sound design and really interesting cinematography, as well as all the gothic horror and Victorian aesthetics you could shake a stick at.
While you may keep asking yourself, Are the ghosts real?, the true joy of this movie lies in just going along for the very atmospheric ride. And while there’s no gore in sight, be warned: the ending is…whew! A lot.
