The Innocents (1961) - UK
The Innocents tells the story of an inexperienced governess, and daughter of a country parson (Kerr) who is hired to care for the niece and nephew of a callous socialite (Redgrave) at his country mansion, Bly House, whilst he continues to reside in London. Outwardly the children are little darlings, but the governess begins to feel that there's something unwholesome behind those beatific smiles. After several disturbing examples of the children's evil impulses, Miss Giddens gets information from the housekeeper (Megs Jenkins) that suggests that the children may be possessed by malign spirits -- or are all these events just the products of Miss Giddens's own imagination? The best and most frightening vignette in The Innocents occurs when the governess casually kisses young Miles, then recoils in horror when she realizes that someone other than Miles has kissed her back.
Kerr is on top form here, enacting a role that takes perfect advantage of her respectable facade wrestling with unspeakable turbulence beneath the surface. Wonderful adult horror, stylishly well-made and frightening on a couple of levels.
It's masterly in every way with a great performance from Deborah Kerr as the troubled Victorian governess, superb black-and-white widescreen photography by Freddie Francis and Georges Auric's last, truly distinguished score.
An impressively creepy adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Creates an appropriately spooky tone that builds slowly, incrementally, until it reaches a shattering conclusion.
Overall a good classic horror to watch out for.
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