The Innocents

Criminally Underrated 

(a new series in which I highlight and discuss films, TV, music, games or books worthy of your attention that don't get enough time in the limelight)

2. The Innocents

The Innocents is one the greatest horror films of all time. It contains no blood, no monstrous beast or indestructible serial killer to defeat and no jump scares. Instead, it elects to maintain a constantly creepy atmosphere suggesting a disturbing undercurrent to the proceedings. This is the definition of a film that gets under your skin. In this regard, The Innocents' tone and pace are somewhat the coin flip to another classic British horror film, The Wicker Man. While seemingly having little in common, both films choose to maintain a slower pace building up the atmosphere (in The Wicker Man's case, the tone built gets steadily stranger and stranger) to reach unforgettable climaxes. The Innocents is the kind of the film that will leave you ruminating for days after watching.

The Innocents is based on the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The story follows Miss Giddens, a newly elected governess who has been tasked with looking after two orphaned children in a massive countryside estate. At first, the job seems like a dream. Miss Giddens is instantly taken aback by the younger girl, Flora, but is troubled by news that the eldest boy, Miles, will be returning home due to being expelled from his boarding school. Despite this cloud hanging over him, Miss Giddens is again instantly entranced by Miles. However, there is a dark undercurrent working within the house. Miss Giddens begins to see people that don't belong, perhaps spirits and apparitions? Miss Giddens soon learns that this large house holds many dark and twisted secrets, which seem to centre around the two children. As her own mental psyche begins to unravel the true mysteries of the house begin to reveal themselves.

Martin Scorsese placed The Innocents in a list of the Top Eleven Scariest films of all time. Guillmero Del Toro lovingly referenced sequences and costumes from the film in his celebration of gothic horror, Crimson Peak. While modern, more cynical audiences might call it out on its lack of scares, the film successful builds a tense, entrancing and disturbing atmosphere (with Freudian undertones) which is achieved through several different filmmaking and writing techniques working together. I would call it the film director's horror film. Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, contributes the script to director Jack Clayton, a master craftsman. Should I ever achieve one of my life goals of becoming a film tutor, The Innocents will be part of the module I teach on the Language of Cinema. In terms of technique, it is impeccable in its construction. The film perfectly blends stylish and stately cinematography with cutting-edge sound and editing design. This is no more apparent in the film's most famous sequence - the chilling scene in which Miss Giddens views a spirit in the background with young Flora playing in the foreground by a lake. It actually feels like Clayton captured on film a real ghost on screen, only improved by the graininess of the film, the sound of flies buzzing (more on that later) and, oddly, the decision to shot it in the day time, creating a stark contrast between the living and the dead. 

I also feel that Scorsese used an underrated element of the film in Shutter Island - the intentional continuity errors. This creates a dreamlike atmosphere where nothing is at it seems. Miss Giddens walks into Flora's room, with the wide-shot making it clear that no-one is there, with only the window open (generally this technique is used to establish the geography of the scene - how big is the room, what characters are in it, where they are placed etc). Cut to a close up shot of Flora staring out of the window... As Miss Giddens wanders the house at night the candles appear to grow and shrink from shot-to-shot (no doubt due the nightmare of keeping up the continuity of candles melting!). Now these are probably genuine mistakes but they help to give an extra nightmarish layer to the film. Finally, the last element of technique I wish to discuss is the incredible sound and experimental sound design. A genius move to indicate the arrival of the ghosts is the use of a wasp sound, indicating decay and death and that we have entered another world, which is enhanced by the large amounts of silence in the film and lack of musical accompaniment. The only musical piece in the film is diegetic - the children hum or play a simple melody which will become a key part of Miss Giddens uncovering the plot's secrets. 

Deborah Kerr plays Miss Giddens, an educated governess willing to take on the huge challenge of educating and raising two orphaned children. Immediately, her sense of the world is brought under question as she sinks deeper into the mysteries surrounding the house. The performance is believable (in a classic Victorian way) and Kerr wonderfully plays the character's determination to seek the truth (whilst also being vulnerable as she begins to fall for the charms of the children). Like Howie in The Wicker Man, Miss Giddens' faith is put to the test (interestingly, she is the daughter of a preacher) and her perception of reality is constantly under question. The film is an excellent example of how costume can inform us about character. Miss Giddens begins the film in flowery, white dresses, constantly wearing her hat. However, as the film proceeds she begins to not wear it (one of the children ask where it has gone) and starts to dress in black, in sync with her becoming consumed by the mystery that is engulfing the house and her own impending madness (and moving towards looking like the mysterious spirit by the lake).

Both actors who play Flora and Miles are very good but the latter is the stand out. Uptight and privileged, yet charming and intelligent, Miles is the definition of a privileged brat with darker plans bubbling underneath. However that said, the actress who plays Flora does an almost equally good job and also has to perform for what is probably the film's most disturbing sequence. The purpose of Criminally Underrated is to highlight pieces of media that I think don't get enough time in the limelight; as such I will not be discussing spoilers within this review. I say this because the twist surrounding the house, the children and the dark past imply a disturbing undercurrent that highlights the film's strongest attribute to suggest as opposed to show - to discuss the film further I would need to reveal the big spoiler, which I am not going to do. Let's just say that plot takes some very interesting turns and the secrets revealed are fairly ambitious to suggest on screen even now, never mind in 1960. So I suggest you pick up a copy and go on the journey for yourself...

The Innocents remains one of the classiest and well-paced horror films of all time. Its steady pace, innovative filmmaking techniques, excellent acting and disturbing sub-text make it an unforgettable film. Some modern audiences might scoff at the slower pace, ambiguous story and lack of jump scares but those who stick around will find a gorgeous film that uses every trick in the book (and some new ones) to unsettle the audience. What secrets do children keep? The truth might be more unnerving than we realise...

Rating: 10/10