Most importantly, it builds a terrific atmosphere and I was braced for impact the whole time. The use of lighting is very impressive as well.Unfortunately, no shock lived up to the promise and there's a feeling like trying to take the next step which isn't there.

A great use of light (or more acurately, the lack thereof) and a foundation in a timeless James classic lends this limey ghost story its key spooky moments. The fact that it's far classier than most movies of this kind, doesn't hurt either. Kerr spends most of her screentime with the two kids, and as a result adopts that faux-naive lilt to her speech that most people use around kids. It's true to life, but it does get slightly annoying in the long run. Nitpicking aside, it's still a good show.

Remarkably creepy without ever resorting to cheap frights; what begins as a standard haunted house story soon turns into something altogether more disturbing. Beautiful black-and-white cinematography and an eerie musical accompaniment help add to the uneasy feeling you get watching this film. I was particularly freaked out by the use of mirrors and reflections... you constantly find yourself looking for things that aren't there... or are they?! Great acting by the kids, too.

85.250

An old mansion with Ye Olde Dark Secrets. A wonderful buildup of tension. Great sound effects. A creepy (musicbox) melody. And yet it did not manage to deliver the goods in the second half. Maybe it was the somewhat spotty acting of the children or the very sudden ending. Still, the mystery is fun and some of the scenes were rather creepy in its simplicity. Maybe I just have had bad experiences with people standing around my house, looking at me. Always.. looking.. looking!! AIEEE!

Quite an interesting slow-burn chiller that subverts expectations. Having not read the Henry James story, I honestly didn't see where it was going until near the end. The story brings in themes of corruption, domestic abuse, and sexual repression in both overt and subtle ways. The Freddie Francis cinematography is gloriously moody. A satisfyingly ambiguous ghost story.

Great performances, especially (and most impressively) from the two kids. Wondrously atmospheric and well-edited (the dream montage being a particular standout). Gets a bit over to the top though toward the end...the "funhouse" sequence and all of that. Look quickly for prominently billed Redgrave (you'll hardly see him at all).

Part chilling ghost tale, part tragic character study. The creepiness builds nicely. Teasingly deceptive and stylistically accomplished, James' classic is nigh-on impossible to get right - most of the novel consists of the governess' thoughts - but Clayton's adaptation is just about perfect. The ambiguity of the story, so cunningly concealed until the end by James, is present and correct.

#428

Really effective ghost story involving two precocious children and their caretaker. The kiss scene is all kinds of awkward.

It's a quite effective one adaptation of the book. It’s a ghost story, but also somewhat of a psychological thriller, with lots of elements left ambiguous. It’s well-directed and rather creepy at times, especially concerning the children. Deborah Kerr was great in it too.

yetimler, öksüzler, öksüz kardesler, büyük ev, malikhane, dadi, ruhlar, icine ruh girmis, baskasinin bedeninde ruhlar (bir dadi, büyük bir ciftlik malikanesinde göreve baslar fakat dadilik yaptigi kardeskerin davranislari tuhaftir.) Skeleton key, The Others'ın öncüsü...

As usual I find the book much better. In this case because it's more dubious, but this take has its moments. The governess is a very interesting character and can be interpreted in so many ways. This is based on the novel The Turn of The Screw which also inspired The Others with Nicole Kidman, which is a favorite of mine and, in my opinion, much more terrifying than this one.

Personally, the original story of 'The Turning of the Screw' has not dated as well as I feel critics have suggested, especially with 'how' the children are corrupted by the ghosts, which was going to be an issue with a faithful film adaptation too. It is however an admirable supernatural story with an acute ability to unsettle despite its flaws, and the cinematography would be beautiful if it wasn't being used to unnerve me as a viewer.

A prim and proper supernatural thriller that ended up being a little dry and stuffy for my taste.Deborah Kerr gives a great performance as the nanny.The two children give solid performances even if they seem a little stiff at times.The ending turned everything around and had me asking what really happened.

I actually liked this movie most of the time, but the implication that the ghosts were trying to connect through the children, and the weirdness at the end left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Generally very tense, creepy, and mostly thrilling. It ends up as a bit of a letdown, but the first 2/3 are great.

Suspenseful at times for sure, but the plot doesn't offer much. Amazing use of sounds as an effective mean to scare (especially the children laugh), but it doesn't quite creep under your skin as it's supposed to - guess it's an age thing.

Extremely suspenseful, with excellent use of lighting and music cues throughout. I do have to question, however, if the makers back in the early sixties were aware of the heavy pedophilia tones throughout.

Slow and pretty dated, but a whirlwind ending makes the film well worth sticking through.

Some truly masterful black & white photography. The mansion is a wonderful setting, and the use of ghostly lighting schemes lends this movie tons of atmosphere. It's worth at least one watch for the visuals alone. Otherwise the movie is good at building suspense, and goes on a satisfying downward spiral. Deborah Kerr is mostly decent until some of her maniacal ravings later on, and the little boy isn't bad, but the little girl is horrible. Ah well, still a good watch.

Fabulous photography; the use of space gives depth to the already ambiguous mystery; and the movement of the camera offers a kind of floating, dreamlike quality that really heightens the sense of dread. The kids are perfectly cast and the film does a nice job sustaining the creepy vibe through to the end.

Slightly reminiscent of Hitchcock, not necessarily in a good way. The whole visual aspect of it is remarkably calculated and well-planned, and that's what's most effective, but something about the ongoings is all too prim and proper. As a mystery/horror film, it's a bit too tame and 'straight' to really mystify or horrify. I wish this film's slight sexual streak were much more pronounced. A decade later, William Friedkin took a similar script and totally nailed it in The Exorcist.

Very effective, quite eerie . . . but if anything, it's a little _too_ subtle.