The Turning
Universal Pictures | Release Date: January 24, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
8
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
IndieWireJude DryJan 23, 2020
The Turning announces Sigismondi as a bold and adept genre filmmaker, with an eye for detail and impeccable casting choices. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJan 23, 2020
It may not work for everyone, but those for whom it works will find much to savor and puzzle over in The Turning. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJan 24, 2020
If The Turning leaves you screaming, it’ll probably be out of frustration over its abrupt, unsatisfying ending and not the actual frights that precede it. Read full review
60
EmpireJames WhiteJan 24, 2020
Unpacking classic fiction that has already been adapted a few times, once to critical acclaim, is no easy task. Yet while it’s not completely up to the challenge, The Turning at least offers up enough moody chills and a lead in Mackenzie Davis it’s not hard to root for as the craziness builds. Read full review
50
Vanity FairK. Austin CollinsJan 24, 2020
Somehow, a James novella whose subtext has been debated for over a century has been rendered almost free of subtext—and it sort of works. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJan 22, 2020
In a movie as utterly lost as The Turning, everything from the performances to the production design to the music cues amount to one big pile of dirty mirrors and doll parts. Read full review
50
VarietyCourtney HowardJan 22, 2020
Lacking spine-tingling dread, taut tension, and the deservingly provocative ending needed to make its modern sentiments land, this re-imagining is less than a classic. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJan 25, 2020
This contemporary adaptation of The Turn of the Screw takes the ornate enigma of Henry James’s gothic novella and whittles it down into something rather more flat and conventional. Read full review
40
Screen RantSandy SchaeferJan 24, 2020
As a whole, The Turning is a triumph of style over substance that might've well made for a perfectly middle of the road horror film, had it not been edited down to the point of becoming incoherent by the end. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 24, 2020
This film makes explicit the implied sexuality in the original, which isn’t necessarily a wrong thing to do at all, but everything is very ham-fisted and crass. Read full review
40
TheWrapDan CallahanJan 23, 2020
The Turning is not a total loss. There are some stylish, nearly giallo-like sequences and sensitive performances from both Wolfhard and Prince, both of whom look like they could go further with their roles if the script didn’t eventually limit them to reactions in the second half. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 24, 2020
But there’s no terror, here. None. Perhaps, before one more version of this novel is committed to the screen, some enterprising film executive with the power to secure financing or “green light” the project should read the bloody book and figure out if it has any currency in the age of “Paranormal Activity” or “Halloween” sequels or reboots. Because damned if I can think of a filmed version of it that works, and I’ve seen a few. Read full review
38
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckJan 24, 2020
It’s really not a good sign when a movie ends with a bold, shocking flourish and much of the audience can be heard muttering through the credits: “Wait, um ... WHAT?” Read full review
38
Slant MagazineRichard Scott LarsonJan 23, 2020
The film casts its source narrative as a delusional fantasy through which to enact the effects of possible traumas that go completely unexplored. Read full review
33
ConsequenceBrett ArnoldJan 23, 2020
The mood and atmosphere is appropriately unsettling, and the stellar cast never stops trying to elevate the material, all of which makes it even more upsetting to watch as it slowly unravels and botches the landing. Read full review
30
Rolling StoneDavid FearJan 25, 2020
Something vital definitely seems to have been lost in the translation, however, and what you’re left with is a retelling that feels deader than anything skulking around the shadows. Read full review
30
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergJan 23, 2020
It’s the movie’s open-endedness and literary vestiges that sit uneasily with its repetitive goosings, which manifest in exceedingly familiar ways. Read full review
30
Screen DailyStephen Whitty Jan 22, 2020
Instead of intriguing ambiguity, this updated version – which had a long and bumpy development – offers only maddening confusion...With false endings within false endings, it’s the sort of movie whose final fade-out will leave audiences groaning in frustration. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJan 22, 2020
The Turning sacrifices narrative and emotional coherence in favor of a series of would-be scary set pieces that seem mainly designed to discourage aspiring nannies from pursuing the vocation. Read full review
20
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoJan 24, 2020
The Turning is a failed ghost story on almost every conceivable level with a third act that's flat-out unforgivable. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 24, 2020
It is truly rare to watch a film implode in the final 20 minutes as completely and gallingly as this retelling by director Floria Sigismondi and screenwriting siblings Chad and Carey Hayes. However, they made an astounding number of errors along the way. Read full review
20
IGNMatthew DoughertyJan 23, 2020
The Turning damns itself with good ideas turned bad and a flat-out ugly execution. Its talented cast can’t save it from cheap scares, poorly edited set-pieces, and a bad twist that leaves a worse taste in your mouth. Read full review
20
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJan 22, 2020
The movie doesn’t quite stop mid-sentence, but it comes as close as any film I’ve seen. That can’t be it. Can it? ... A total waste of time. Read full review
12
ObserverOliver JonesJan 24, 2020
The best thing about reviewing the new PG-13 horror movie The Turning is that you don’t have to worry about spoiling the ending because it doesn’t have one. It just, sort of, stops. Read full review
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