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The Innocents

Play trailer 2:49 Poster for The Innocents 1961 1h 40m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 56 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Based on the Henry James story "The Turn of the Screw," a psychological thriller about a woman who takes a governess job for two orphans in a Victorian home. She begins to see what she believes are ghosts and suspects the children's bizarre behavior is the result of supernatural powers.
The Innocents

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Critics Consensus

Creepily atmospheric, The Innocents is a stylishly crafted, chilling British ghost tale with Deborah Kerr at her finest.

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Critics Reviews

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Times (UK) Staff The Times (UK) It must be granted at once that no shot, no sequence, approaches James -- but there are moments when the film faithfully reflects that existence of evil in the innocent which is the core of the written word. Jul 14, 2020 Full Review Kate Muir The Times (UK) It creeps slowly up on the viewer: a drip-feed of fear fed by creaks, eerie children and shadowy demonic figures on the periphery of this world and the next. Rated: 4/5 Sep 22, 2015 Full Review Cath Clarke Time Out 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. Oct 6, 2014 Full Review Pauline Kael Film Quarterly The Innocents is not a great movie, but it’s a very good one, and maybe Deborah Kerr’s performance should really be called great. Sep 11, 2023 Full Review Zita Short InSession Film I’m so happy that this fairly strange picture has been so widely embraced and it is heartening to realize that audiences do gravitate towards artistically ambitious fare sometimes. Feb 10, 2023 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Child abuse is at the core of this unsettling shocker. Nightmares may follow. Rated: FIVE STARS Mar 13, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jaime A It is in my list of the best horror films of all time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/17/25 Full Review Lau S I love this horror movie! Damn great! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/29/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/04/25 Full Review Alejandro E From the ghost genre, the plot shines with the use of uncertainty, creating a surprise factor as one waits to see what is going to happen. Not for nothing did it serve as a reference for The Others (2001). Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/25 Full Review Alec B The more the movie digs into the ambiguity around the haunting the more eerie and unsettling it gets. Also, this is probably Kerr's best performance. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/24 Full Review Peter G Perhaps still the best version, IMO, to be based on James THE TURN OF THE SCREW. The ambiguity concerning whether the Governess actually sees Quint & Miss Jessel or whether her perceptions result from her own repressed mind are maintained as James intended except for with one particular instance. At one point the Governess hears crying & then when she finds it coming from the room with a piano she observes a tear on the keyboard. Pauline Kael called this tear ‘a pearl of ambiguity' & it does cause the viewer to, if only momentarily, believe in the actual ghostly presences which the Governess are claiming are real. I have seen quite a bit of Kerr's variety of film characterizations but this, IMO, is her ultimate achievement & the 2 children are splendidly unsettling especially Martin Stephens as young Miles. A year before this he was the leader of the alien children in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED which was an equally fascinating & chilling portrayal as here. Choosing black & white cinematography instead of color adds to the combination of the natural beauty & sinister dread present in the films location. Capote's contribution to the adaptation is also a significant factor in this memorable film. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Innocents

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Cast & Crew

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Jack Clayton

Director

Deborah Kerr

Miss Giddens

Martin Stephens

Miles

Pamela Franklin

Flora

Michael Redgrave

The Uncle

Peter Wyngarde

Peter Quint

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The Innocents

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The Innocents

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Movie Info

Synopsis Based on the Henry James story "The Turn of the Screw," a psychological thriller about a woman who takes a governess job for two orphans in a Victorian home. She begins to see what she believes are ghosts and suspects the children's bizarre behavior is the result of supernatural powers.
Director
Jack Clayton
Producer
Jack Clayton
Screenwriter
Henry James, William Archibald, Truman Capote, John Mortimer
Distributor
Fox
Production Co
Achilles, Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 1961, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 19, 2016
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)