The Innocents

Name: The Innocents
Genre: Horror
Released: December 15, 1961
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 88
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde

1961

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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The Innocents

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Movie Details & Credits

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 15, 1961 | Approved

Starring: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde

Summary: A young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.

Director: Jack Clayton

Genre(s): Horror

Rating: Approved

Runtime: 100 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Oct 7, 2014

Clayton brilliantly uses slow dissolves to create ghostly superimpositions, and the harmless squeals of bath-time fun, or squeakings of a pencil, suggest uncanny screams. Read full review

100

TV Guide Magazine Michael Scheinfeld

Oct 7, 2014

The Innocents manipulates the viewer's imagination as few films can, with Kerr and Redgrave doing a masterful job of creating a sense of repressed hysteria. Read full review

100

John Hartl

A perfectly balanced adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, with Deborah Kerr in her greatest performance. [05 Dec 1997]

100

Time Out London Cath Clarke

Oct 7, 2014

You can watch The Innocents twice and walk away with different conclusions. Psychological horrors have imitated its ambiguous ending ever since. Few have pulled it off half as creepily. Read full review

Susan King

One of the scariest films ever made. Deborah Kerr gives one of her greatest performances as a rather high-strung governess. [15 Aug 2003, p.18]

Tasha Robinson

Oct 7, 2014

The film’s symbolism is never subtle, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Clayton lacks the Jamesian temper, and his film is finally more indecisive than ambiguous. Too much Freud and too little thought. Read full review

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User Reviews

ahmedaiman1999

Jul 9, 2021

- Miss Giddens, may I ask you a somewhat personal question? Do you have an imagination?
= Oh! Oh, yes, I can answer that. Yes.
- Good. With that Miss Giddens seems to be fitting to take up the position of governess to two orphans. It's like being "imaginative" is the only caveat the kids'- Miss Giddens, may I ask you a somewhat personal question? Do you have an imagination?
= Oh! Oh, yes, I can answer that. Yes.
- Good.

With that Miss Giddens seems to be fitting to take up the position of governess to two orphans. It's like being "imaginative" is the only caveat the kids' uncle has towards Ms. Giddens having the job, even if this is, in fact, her first position. Quite hesitant at first, Giddens agrees to be a governess for his nephew and niece, as she finds him "most persuasive." From the reclusive aristocratic bachelor, to the old mansion that Giddens is flabbergasted by its vastness, to the ominous sense that's been established in the first twenty minutes by the inexplicable occurrences and a sense of foreboding, the film is full to the brim with Gothic elements that just keep heightening as the story proceeds.

Thematic spoilers ahead!

The Innocents has a lot of themes that's inextricably linked to its Gothic style. First, hiding the secret that's fostered by the intentional repression of imagination. Mrs. Grose always tells the children to "pretend" they heard nothing whenever disconcerting noise blare at night, and it's only in a slip of the tongue that she gives away a glimpse of Bly's secretive quality to Miss Giddens. Considering her well intention, we can deduce she's nursing a secret that can entail grave repercussions. As the Uncle says early on, "Truth is very seldom understood by any but imaginative person," and Mrs. Grose tries her best to block even the faintest hint of imaginative thinking to bury the unwelcome truth. Another thing that could also be inferred from the Uncle's quote is that Miss Giddens is set up by him for a task, which is bringing this truth to light. The increasingly claustrophobic interiors of the mansion, and the environment as a whole, asseverate said suppression while contributing to Miss Giddens doubting her sanity. In the house, Giddens also often appears as if confined by light; when outdoors, the incandescent sunlight is depicted as a blinding glint that obstructs Gidden's vision and, thus, making what she aims to see as a blurry unattainable mirage. There's something about omnipresence as well. Flora once mentions to her governess that the idea of someone could be sleeping in different beds at the same time crosses her mind. Later, she asks Giddens if she's in the picture of Giddens' family. That slowly paves the way for the whole 'haunted house' thing story-wise, and makes us ready for some spectres and apparitions that, personally, scared the hell out of me! Speaking of which, Freddie Francis, the cinematographer, utilises the double exposure technique quite to great effect, blinding in superimposed images to create some impressive ghostly shots. That's not to mention that almost every scene-to-scene transition is a dissolving transition that lingers on the screen for more than usual. One more technique that's adeptly implemented is the deep focus, and it's so sharp it could be easily confused for being shot with a split-diopter lens. It keeps both characters in frame, juxtaposing Miss Giddens' bewilderment with the children's baffling indifference. Furthermore, it also suggests something sinister is cooking while lurking beneath the surface.

We also get plenty uses of ingenious foreshadowing throughout that go hand in hand with amping up the tension and feel of unease. For instance, there is a slow-motion scene of a cockroach slithering out of a statue of an angelic baby followed by yet another slow-motion scene of pigeons flying by the tower. Both lend a sense of discomfort, but the former, in particular, emphatically foreshadows there's something not-so-innocent about the children. The 'O, Willow Waly' song is a recurring refrain. Whether it's hummed by Flora or played by a music box, it's as spine-chilling as it's implicitly melancholic, betraying a sense of sadness that has to do with the ambiguity of the film. All of these are quintessentially features of Gothic horror. What keep it away from earning a full-mark rating is that the detective diversion the story took near its denouement seemed a forced detour to get the conflict easily resolved, while also resulting in some exposition moments that are a bit out-of-character for a central character in the story. Putting that aside, The Innocents is the epitome of classic Gothic films that I've been craving for a long time, and I'd be hard-pressed to say there's any other film that had scratched my itch that perfectly.… Expand

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DawdlingPoet

Nov 23, 2021

This is quite a well made period drama of its time. Its a somewhat spooky tale and I liked how the main character slowly started to see what was going on - the plot is slow paced but it works quite well. Its a film in which you may imagine yourself being the protagonist and trying to makeThis is quite a well made period drama of its time. Its a somewhat spooky tale and I liked how the main character slowly started to see what was going on - the plot is slow paced but it works quite well. Its a film in which you may imagine yourself being the protagonist and trying to make sense of what your presented with. Its an interesting and somewhat entertaining watch which I'd recommend.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

OlivierPiel

Nov 2, 2020

All the -modern- critics seem to love this film, but to me it felt not ambiguous enough to work. The director clearly wants us to believe a supernatural version of events and not make us question the governess'character which is the intendended purpose of the original book. The FreudianAll the -modern- critics seem to love this film, but to me it felt not ambiguous enough to work. The director clearly wants us to believe a supernatural version of events and not make us question the governess'character which is the intendended purpose of the original book. The Freudian undertones have also not aged well. Good photography though.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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