The Turning

I sat through that whole movie and I still can't tell you what happened. It's literally the most forgettable movie ever.

I didnt hate this as much as others have here. No, it wasnt particularly scary. But I liked the actors in it and I felt they were doing their best. And knowing the book its based off of, I felt it followed the plot relatively well with some minor adjustments. I just think the book or even the Netflix miniseries did a better job with atmosphere. For me, the biggest let down of the film is that ends so abruptly. The film really needed like an additional 10 minutes just to try and tie everything up.

Very annoyed by this movie. It had potential but every good plot idea fizzled out into nothing. There were too many cheap jump scares and way too many unanswered questions. The ending left not only me but the entire cinema audience questioning what actually happened...

Such a good location and atmosphere but I feel like there was too much going on. The acting was good but was ruined by the dull and in my opinion, non-existent story line.

I like horror movies and thrillers, I like modern takes on period pieces and classics, and I like the cast and am a fan of the director's music videos and earlier film work (i.e. The Runaways). So I expected to enjoy this update on The Turn of the Screw. I did not enjoy it, I'm sad to report. There was too little story or suspense to hold one's attention throughout, and that's a shame.

The cast certainly did their jobs -- Finn Wolfhard is no longer the nerdy little kid, and Mackenzie Davis was convincing in her role as a driven-to-the-edge tutor -- and it was visually beautiful throughout a lot of the film. But early jump scares suck a lot of the suspense out of it all. And a distinct lack of backstory/characterization leaves way too many questions about what, exactly, there is to be afraid of in the giant, creaky house. The little girl's fears are left unexplained, at least in terms of being satisfactory; the huge personality shift in the boy is sort of waved away; and the many unexplained deaths in the history of the estate are just confusing. I kept wondering if cuts had been made to the script or in the editing room, because things didn't flow at all and it really affected the atmosphere.

The ending will drive a lot of viewers to yell at the screen. Our half-full opening night theatre did a lot of groaning and saying, "You've got to be kidding me!" as the credits suddenly began to roll. Maybe that finale would've worked better had everything leading up to it actually added up to more...but unless we get a Director's Cut we'll never know. I wish I could recommend this movie. I can't. Not scary, nonsensical, and not enough to be worth the price of admission. -HV

"The Innocents" (1961) is an ambiguous ghost story with the magnificent Deborah Kerr in the lead role. "The Nightcomers" (1971), with Marlon Brandon, explains the behavior of Flora and Miles in "The Innocents". Unfortunately, "The Turning" is a poor remake of "The Innocents" without any explanation of the original story. The conclusion is ridiculous (or inexistent) and never provides the ambiguity of the original film to the viewer. The performances are not bad but the screenplay is terrible and forgettable. If the viewer seeks out an explanation for the story, reads the plot and reviews of the original film to understand the plot. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Os Orfãos" ("The Orphans")

Note: On 11 December 2024, I saw this film again.