SciFiNow-August2018

108 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K

horror fi lm, while art house critics felt

it relied too much on Hammer-esque

horror cliches like creeping shadows

and softly billowing curtains for it

to be taken seriously as an art fi lm.

Instead, it was caught in the middle,

being both nothing and its own thing

at the same time. Happily, it’s that

identity that’s caused The Innocents to

survive and thrive for as long as it has.

The ambiguity surrounding The

Innocents’ genre couldn’t have been

more appropriate, given the story’s

nature. Taking place over the best

part of a year, the fi lm follows new

governess Miss Giddens (Deborah

Kerr) as she becomes the ward of two

upperclass orphaned children, Flora

(Pamela Franklin) and Miles (Martin

Stephens), at Bly, a big old manor

in the English countryside. Slowly,

Bly transforms from an idyllic haven

into a place of nightmares as Miss

Giddens begins to see apparitions of

THE INNOCENTS

RETRO CLASSIC

the children’s dead former governess,

Miss Jessel, and her malicious lover

Peter Quint all over the manor and

its vast grounds. Throughout the fi lm,

it’s unclear whether we’re watching

a proper ghost story or the story of a

delusional woman losing her mind to

the point of hysteria, even as the ‘end’

card appears.

It’s not just Miss Giddens who

creates a sense of uncertainty. The

children also leave a lot of questions.

Flora, the youngest, is a sweet child,

for most of the fi lm at least. At eight

years old, she’s polite and courteous,

and possesses a keen sense of

wonder, which she mostly channels

into exploring the outdoors and the

wildlife that it is home to. However,

there’s also something sinister about

Flora under the sunny surface. She

is often caught softly humming a

haunting tune she once heard in a

music box while staring at things that

don’t seem to be there. When Miss

Giddens abruptly questions her about

the ghost of Miss Jessel, Flora denies

any kind of presence and becomes

uncontrollably upset, suddenly

turning on the governess: “I can’t see

anything, I’ve never seen anything,”

she shrieks. “You’re cruel, you’re

wicked, I hate you, I hate you, I hate

you!” She continues to cry and shriek

for the rest of the night, almost as if

possessed. As is of course the case

with The Innocents, we never fi nd out

if she actually was.

Miles, on the other hand, is a

bad seed from the start. As the fi lm

begins, he has just been expelled

from his pricey boarding school with

the reason for his expulsion being

left unconfi rmed. Like Flora, Miles’

personality is well ahead of his

age; when Miss Giddens fi rst meets

him following his return to Bly he’s

a true conversationalist, capable

O WILLOW

WALY

THE TOP 5 CREEPIEST

SONGS SUNG

BY CHILDREN

THE BIRDS

(‘RISSELDY ROSSELDY’)

1

Birds begin to fl ock to

a playground jungle

gym as Melanie smokes

a cigarette and a choir of

children build the tension

with a nursery rhyme in

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic

horror-thriller.

CHILDREN OF

THE CORN

(THE OPENING CREDITS)

2

If there is one thing

even creepier than

children singing, it

is children crudely drawing

devastating scenes in

crayon. This combines

the two...

VILLAGE OF

THE DAMNED

(196 0)

A small English village

is terrorised by hyper-

intelligent children

that suddenly appear

from nowhere.

WATCH FIRST

WATC H N E X T

CRIMSON

PEAK (2 015)

Director Guillermo del Toro

has cited The Innocents

as a huge infl uence on his

fl amboyant gothic horror.

108 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K

horror fi lm, while art house critics felt

it relied too much on Hammer-esque

horror cliches like creeping shadows

and softly billowing curtains for it

to be taken seriously as an art fi lm.

Instead, it was caught in the middle,

being both nothing and its own thing

at the same time. Happily, it’s that

identity that’s caused The Innocents to

survive and thrive for as long as it has.

The ambiguity surrounding The

Innocents’Innocents’Innocents’ genre couldn’t have been genre couldn’t have been

more appropriate, given the story’s

nature. Taking place over the best

part of a year, the fi lm follows new

governess Miss Giddens (Deborah

Kerr) as she becomes the ward of two

upperclass orphaned children, Flora

(Pamela Franklin) and Miles (Martin

Stephens), at Bly, a big old manor

in the English countryside. Slowly,

Bly transforms from an idyllic haven

into a place of nightmares as Miss

Giddens begins to see apparitions of

THE INNOCENTS

RETRO CLASSIC

the children’s dead former governess,

Miss Jessel, and her malicious lover

Peter Quint all over the manor and

its vast grounds. Throughout the fi lm,

it’s unclear whether we’re watching

a proper ghost story or the story of a

delusional woman losing her mind to

the point of hysteria, even as the ‘end’

card appears.

It’s not just Miss Giddens who

creates a sense of uncertainty. The

children also leave a lot of questions.

Flora, the youngest, is a sweet child,

for most of the fi lm at least. At eight

years old, she’s polite and courteous,

and possesses a keen sense of

wonder, which she mostly channels

into exploring the outdoors and the

wildlife that it is home to. However,

there’s also something sinister about

Flora under the sunny surface. She

is often caught softly humming a

haunting tune she once heard in a

music box while staring at things that

don’t seem to be there. When Miss

Giddens abruptly questions her about Giddens abruptly questions her about

the ghost of Miss Jessel, Flora denies the ghost of Miss Jessel, Flora denies

any kind of presence and becomes any kind of presence and becomes

uncontrollably upset, suddenly

turning on the governess: “I can’t see turning on the governess: “I can’t see

anything, I’ve never seen anything,”

she shrieks. “You’re cruel, you’re

wicked, I hate you, I hate you, I hate

you!” She continues to cry and shriek

for the rest of the night, almost as if

possessed. As is of course the case

with The Innocents, we never fi nd out

if she actually was.

Miles, on the other hand, is a

bad seed from the start. As the fi lm

begins, he has just been expelled

from his pricey boarding school with

the reason for his expulsion being

left unconfi rmed. Like Flora, Miles’

personality is well ahead of his

age; when Miss Giddens fi rst meets

him following his return to Bly he’s

a true conversationalist, capable

O WILLOW

WALY

THE TOP 5 CREEPIEST

SONGS SUNG

O WILLOW

WALY

THE TOP 5 CREEPIEST

SONGS SUNG

THE BIRDS

(‘RISSELDY ROSSELDY’)

1

Birds begin to fl ock to

a playground jungle

gym as Melanie smokes

a cigarette and a choir of

children build the tension

with a nursery rhyme in

(THE OPENING CREDITS)

2

If there is one thing

even creepier than

children singing, it

is children crudely drawing

devastating scenes in

VILLAGE OF

THE DAMNED

(196 0)

A small English village

is terrorised by hyper-

intelligent children

that suddenly appear

from nowhere.

WWWATCH FIRSTATCH FIRST

WATC H N E X T

CRIMSON

PEAKPEAKPEAK (2 015) (2 015)

Director Guillermo del Toro

has cited The Innocents

as a huge infl uence on his

fl amboyant gothic horror.fl amboyant gothic horror.

SONGS SUNG

BY CHILDREN

SONGS SUNG

BY CHILDREN

with a nursery rhyme in

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic

horror-thriller.

devastating scenes in

crayon. This combines

the two...

CHILDREN OF

THE CORN

(THE OPENING CREDITS)