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The Innocents (1961)

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PaulThrussell
Easily one of the greatest ghost films of all time.

Terrific B&W Cinemascope cinematography (mumps notwithstanding), wonderful use of sound and music, and some of the creepiest ambiance ever to grace the screen. 11 years 6 months ago
Jumping Elephant
Completely unnerving. It starts slow, but give it time and its haunting atmosphere will creep into your bones, and really scare you. It's been a while since I've seen a horror film this good. 12 years 7 months ago
Siskoid
Deborah Kerr is once again cast as a governess in The Innocents, but this haunted house movie based on James' The Turn of the Screw gives her a very different role to play. As the charming but puritanical daughter of a minister, her finding something sinister in the playful behavior of the children in her charge should seem suspect, and yet, told from her perspective though it may be, there really is something disturbing going on. The ambiguity is merely an extra layer to a creepy tale of possession that works even on that surface level. Director Jack Clayton is on par with Hitchcock and Welles in his image-making. The lighting, the music, the production design, the choice of shots, the acting (even by the juvenile actors), everything works to sell the idea that Kerr would fall in love with these kids, then have reason to fear for their souls. 6 years 5 months ago

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This movie ranks #18 in Time Out's The 100 Best British Films

Time Out's The 100 Best …
18
This movie ranks #25 in IMDb's Horror Top 50

IMDb's Horror Top 50
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This movie ranks #74 in Butler's Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen

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This movie ranks #90 in iCheckMovies's 1960s Top 100

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This movie ranks #153 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time

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This movie ranks #441 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die

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This movie ranks #443 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films

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443
This movie ranks #449 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time

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This movie ranks #458 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life

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This movie ranks #600 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?

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This movie ranks #873 in The Criterion Collection

The Criterion Collection
873