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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 57 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

What to Know

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) 07/14/2020
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. Go to Full Review
Kate Muir The Times (UK) 09/22/2015
4/5
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. Go to Full Review
Cath Clarke Time Out 10/06/2014
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. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Oct 26
3.5/4
Everything works in this classic chiller, from the pungent atmosphere created by director Jack Clayton and director of photography Freddie Francis to the sexually steeped -- and often morbidly amusing -- script by William Archibald and Truman Capote. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael Film Quarterly 09/11/2023
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. Go to Full Review
Zita Short InSession Film 02/10/2023
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Irate T @IrateTyrant Nov 27 BABA-dumb This was a chore to get through. So many movies mix children and horror, and so many are therefore so boring. Children are very rarely scary. They just wander around slowly with sticky hands crying about snacks and random things they consider their toys. That's literally what happens in even this "horror" movie. There are only a couple saving graces; one unforeseen jump scare of an inanimate object, and compelling black & white cinematography. Otherwise, the stakes are nonexistent, and the story just waddles around like an unsupervised toddler. Oh, one thing that was noteworthy that also speaks to how stupid it is to think you can make interesting material without carefully plotted out themes about children: there is a line of dialog in the movie by the lead actress; "I'm at sixes and sevens" (she says when she's very confused). Further proof that children today are ripping off super-old ideas! Nothing unique at all! Just a dumb generation coming up today! See more Jaime A Oct 17 It is in my list of the best horror films of all time. See more Lau S Jul 29 I love this horror movie! Damn great! See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 4 Success in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Alejandro E @Alex970 Jan 24 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). See more Alec B 02/27/2024 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. See more Read all reviews
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)