The Turning

As I look at The Turn Of The Screw and its adaptations, I turn to The Turning, which was released early this year. Directed by Floria Sigismondi, it has excellent Gothic atmosphere, but the script is horribly muddled. Stick with The Innocents.

In this version, set in the U.S., the new governess is played by Mackenzie Davis. The character of the uncle is gone, so we're not sure who hired her. The only other people in the house are the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (Barbara Marten), who is openly antagonistic toward her, and the daughter, Flora. Later the boy Miles will show up, expelled from school. 

Almost immediately Davis sees things and is reduced to constant panic. There is no subtly to this film, and extra things, like disembodied hands, are thrown in for shock effect. The Turning succumbs to the modern problem with horror movies--it relies on the jump scare.

The ghosts are the previous governess, Miss Jessel, who left suddenly (of course she's dead) and Peter Quint. Like The Nightcomers, they had a sexual affair that was sado-masochistic. But the scenes don't add up. The very opening shows Miss Jessel trying to escape, but  we never go back to that scene, instead we are led to believe that Quint strangled her in her bed. Then a whole sequence showing Davis escape with the kids is revealed to be some kind of fantasy, with an ending that is confusing.

The actors playing the kids are terrifc. Finn Wolfhard, of Stranger Things, is Miles, and he is most effective as a creepy kid who Davis can't control. Flora is Brooklyn Prince, so good in The Florida Project. I'm glad to see she's still acting, I hope she gets better films in the future.