June 19
Final Girl On 'The Innocents'
One of my favorite ghost stories, Jack Clayton's "The Innocents" (adapted by Truman Capote from the Henry James novella "The Turn of the Screw") contains both terrific, complex performances by Deboroah Kerr and Michael Redgrave and, even better, two creepy kids. I can never get enough of the creepy kids. It's also powerfully mysterious and open-ended.
"'The Innocents' never lets on as to what's really going on at Bly. Is Miss Giddens really saving the children from corruption, or is she the one corrupting them? Are there sado-masochistic ghosts roaming the halls and grounds of the estate, or is the sexually repressed Miss Giddens simply overtaken by stories of the wild and terrible lovers? That there are no definitive answers to any of these questions, it's up to the viewer to interpret everything that's laid out during the film- an approach that's sure to frustrate folks who want everything tied up in a neat package. I'll admit, when the film was over I had a bit of that 'Wait...what? So is...wait, that's it?' feeling; it's always a shock when horror films make you do some work and make you think. Undoubtedly, The Innocents is a movie that rewards repeat viewing."
--posted by Kim
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