SciFiNow-August2018

W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) // THE HAUNTING (1963) // DON’T LOOK NOW (1973) |^109

THE INNOCENTS

RETRO CLASSIC

of impressively charming his way
through any situation. He even comes
off as a fl irt at times, despite being
just 12 years old.
But as the story unravels, it’s clear
that there’s something very wrong
with him. He’s unpredictable and
manipulative, and often cruel. He
takes a dead bird with a broken
neck to bed with him, apparently not
having the heart to leave it outside
(almost defi nitely after he broke its
neck himself). He wraps his arms
around Miss Giddens’ neck until she
begs him to stop as he teases her
during a game of hide and seek,
only fi nally letting go when Flora
reappears. He asks Miss Giddens
for a kiss goodnight, but leaves his
lips on hers for too long as she stares
ahead, eyes wide open in terror.
He’s a classic unreadable villain, in
the body of a 12-year-old. Throughout
the fi lm, Miles’ motives remain
unclear, but Miss Giddens believes
him to be possessed by the ghost of
Quint. Even when she confronts him in
the fi lm’s intense climax, the question
of whether or not her theory was
correct remains unanswered. Even
when she cradles Miles’ lifeless body
in the fi nal shot, the story remains
hazy. It’s this ambiguity that pulls the
fi lm from the world of haunted houses
with cheap laughs and into the realm
of genuine menace.
When William Archibald fi rst
penned the 1950 play the fi lm
was based on (which in turn was
based on Henry James’ 1898 horror
novella The Turn Of The Screw), he
wrote under the assumption that the
ghosts in the story were real, not
fi gments of Miss Giddens’ paranoid
imagination. That then translated
over to the fi lm when Archibald co-
wrote the script with John Mortimer
and Truman Capote. However, not
everyone agrees with Archibald’s
interpretation. Some academics,
most notably literary theorist Edmund
Wilson, insisted that the apparitions
of Miss Jessel and Quint were a
manifestation of Miss Giddens’ own
sexual repression.

Even director Jack Clayton has

his own understanding of the ghosts:

“My original interest in the story

was in the fact that one could tell it

from a completely different point of

view,” he once said (published in the

Manchester University Press in 2000).

“In other words: evil was alive in the

mind of the governess and in fact

she more or less creates the situation.

Now this was long before I read

notes on Henry James and found that

somebody else also imagines that

Henry James wrote it this way – sort

of almost Freudian hallucinations the

governess had.”

Unhappy with how Archibald had

portrayed the ghosts in his original

screenplay, Clayton hired Capote to

rework it to incorporate psychological

themes, and make it more suggestive

that Miss Jessel and Quint were

products of Miss Giddens’ mind. But

no matter what the intentions of the

fi lmmakers were, one thing remains

absolutley certain: The Innocents

remains ambiguous and unsolved,

which is perhaps the reason it has

endured so long, especially after its

disastrous attempt at marketing back

in the Sixties. You have to ask: which

explanation is less tragic?

Hoping to understand her character

better and make her performance

memorable, Deborah Kerr once asked

Clayton if the spooks were real, or if

Miss Giddens was going round the

bend out of frustration. He answered:

“You make up your mind.”

The Innocents is out now on

Blu-ray from BFI DVD.

THE DARK

KNIGHT RISES

(THE NATIONAL

ANTHEM)

3

This kid’s angelic

voice echoing over

the silent stadium

is thrilling and eerie in

equal measures.

A NIGHTMARE

ON ELM

STREET SERIES

(FREDDY’S COMING

FOR YOU)

4

Though the song’s

used to keep the

boogey-man away,

it creeps us out.

THE RING

(SAMARA’S SONG)

5

Samara singing

quietly in the

sunshine becomes

a hell of a lot more

nightmarish once

her mother suffocates

her and pushes her into

a well...

YOUR TAKE

ON THE

CLASSIC

WHAT YOU THOUGHT

@SCIFINOW

“I just

watched this

movie for the

fi rst time recently. Very

good! Creepy and

chilling.” @alice_on_

elm_st

“Great fi lm.

Slow burning,

with a

creeping atmosphere

of dread.”

@chwarwick1

“Got bored

with it.”

@Rai-

graphixs

“IT’S THIS AMBIGUITY THAT PULLS THE FILM

INTO THE REALM OF GENUINE MENACE”

Precocious child or the

spirit of a monster?

W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) // THE HAUNTING (1963) // DON’T LOOK NOW (1973) | 109

THE INNOCENTS

RETRO CLASSIC

of impressively charming his way
through any situation. He even comes
off as a fl irt at times, despite being
just 12 years old.
But as the story unravels, it’s clear
that there’s something very wrong
with him. He’s unpredictable and
manipulative, and often cruel. He
takes a dead bird with a broken
neck to bed with him, apparently not
having the heart to leave it outside
(almost defi nitely after he broke its
neck himself). He wraps his arms
around Miss Giddens’ neck until she
begs him to stop as he teases her
during a game of hide and seek,
only fi nally letting go when Flora
reappears. He asks Miss Giddens
for a kiss goodnight, but leaves his
lips on hers for too long as she stares
ahead, eyes wide open in terror.
He’s a classic unreadable villain, in
the body of a 12-year-old. Throughout
the fi lm, Miles’ motives remain
unclear, but Miss Giddens believes
him to be possessed by the ghost of
Quint. Even when she confronts him in
the fi lm’s intense climax, the question
of whether or not her theory was
correct remains unanswered. Even
when she cradles Miles’ lifeless body
in the fi nal shot, the story remains
hazy. It’s this ambiguity that pulls the
fi lm from the world of haunted houses
with cheap laughs and into the realm
of genuine menace.
When William Archibald fi rst
penned the 1950 play the fi lm
was based on (which in turn was
based on Henry James’ 1898 horror
novella The Turn Of The Screw)The Turn Of The Screw)The Turn Of The Screw), he , he
wrote under the assumption that the
ghosts in the story were real, not
fi gments of Miss Giddens’ paranoid
imagination. That then translated
over to the fi lm when Archibald co-
wrote the script with John Mortimer
and Truman Capote. However, not
everyone agrees with Archibald’s
interpretation. Some academics,
most notably literary theorist Edmund
Wilson, insisted that the apparitions
of Miss Jessel and Quint were a
manifestation of Miss Giddens’ own
sexual repression.

Even director Jack Clayton has

his own understanding of the ghosts:

“My original interest in the story

was in the fact that one could tell it

from a completely different point of

view,” he once said (published in the

Manchester University PressManchester University PressManchester University Press in 2000). in 2000).

“In other words: evil was alive in the

mind of the governess and in fact

she more or less creates the situation.

Now this was long before I read

notes on Henry James and found that

somebody else also imagines that

Henry James wrote it this way – sort

of almost Freudian hallucinations the

governess had.”

Unhappy with how Archibald had

portrayed the ghosts in his original

screenplay, Clayton hired Capote to

rework it to incorporate psychological

themes, and make it more suggestive

that Miss Jessel and Quint were

products of Miss Giddens’ mind. But

no matter what the intentions of the

fi lmmakers were, one thing remains

absolutley certain: The Innocents

remains ambiguous and unsolved,

which is perhaps the reason it has

endured so long, especially after its

disastrous attempt at marketing back

in the Sixties. You have to ask: which

explanation is less tragic?

Hoping to understand her character

better and make her performance

memorable, Deborah Kerr once asked

Clayton if the spooks were real, or if

Miss Giddens was going round the

bend out of frustration. He answered:

“You make up your mind.”

The InnocentsThe InnocentsThe Innocents is out now on is out now on

Blu-ray from BFI DVD.

(THE NATIONAL

ANTHEM)

3

This kid’s angelic

voice echoing over

the silent stadium

is thrilling and eerie in

STREET SERIES

(FREDDY’S COMING

FOR YOU)

4

FOR YOU)

4

FOR YOU)

Though the song’s

used to keep the

boogey-man away,

5

Samara singing

quietly in the

sunshine becomes

a hell of a lot more

nightmarish once

her mother suffocates

is thrilling and eerie in equal measures. 4 boogey-man away, her and pushes her into

it creeps us out.

her and pushes her into

a well...

THE DARK

KNIGHT RISES

(THE NATIONAL

A NIGHTMARE

ON ELM

STREET SERIES

THE RING

(SAMARA’S SONG)

5

Samara singing

YOUR TAKE

ON THE

CLASSIC

WHAT YOU THOUGHT

@SCIFINOW

“I just

watched this

movie for the

fi rst time recently. Very

good! Creepy and

chilling.” @alice_on_

elm_st

“Great fi lm.

Slow burning,

with a

creeping atmosphere

of dread.”

@chwarwick1

“Got bored

with it.”

@Rai-

graphixs

“IT’S THIS AMBIGUITY THAT PULLS THE FILM

INTO THE REALM OF GENUINE MENACE”

Precocious child or the

spirit of a monster?