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This one is based on Henry James' classic tale "Turn of the Screw".

This is a slower burner - it is a drama with bits of subtle spookiness at the beginning but by then end of the film there are several creepy scenes.

I can't give away the film's ending for first time viewers but I can say that Miles (the boy in the film) I wanted to paddle his butt thoughout most of the movie but towards the ending you'll understand why he acted that way - and it's sickening what was going on with him and his sister Flora. Worth watching!

7/10

Just when I thought I had seen every adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," the IMDb algorithm suggested this film to me...

Commissioned by CBS and given to Tom McLoughlin, who was always known for his middling yet distinctive work, the project, while appearing to be a rather loose adaptation of Henry James' work, is actually a rather intriguing and watchable TV movie with a few minor changes.

When it aired, the film was practically buried by ABC's remake of the 1960s musical "Bye Bye Birdie" starring Jason Alexander, which drew 13.6 million viewers, and despite this, it has taken its place among forgotten productions.

Being an American adaptation of a British production, I did experience a bit of a problem with the emotional transition, but this has been mentioned in the comments made about the work since its release... despite CBS and the BBC collaborating on quite a few projects.

In agreement with the other comments, I too was skeptical with Valerie Bertinelli in the part of the governess in basically an all British film. But she was surprisingly very good. I also agree that this was a very scary movie. The effects were great, not overboard. The actor portraying Peter Quint was diabolical looking. Think about how difficult it is to act without being able to speak....very interesting. Diana Rigg, as always was great in her role. The children were okay, the boy had a tendency to squint, but when his eyes were open, he was a very handsome child. The film location was perfect for this type of movie, kind of pseudo-gothic. If you like horror, I would definitely recommend this movie.

Is it just me or is this almost a scene-for-scene remake of The Innocents? I know that they're both based on the same story. But dialog is similar, scenes are similar. Only thing that's not similar is that The Innocents is a high-class, beautifully shot, well-acted production. I found this one to be cheap and poorly played. Valerie Bertinelli doesn't really belong in period pieces. She doesn't have a period look. She doesn't have a period voice. Diana Rigg, however, is pretty great (as usual). She always turns in amazing performances and her Mrs. Gross is no exception. Everyone else though is lackluster and kind of boring. And, adding to the pile, it really drags. It just kind of lays there like a dead fish.

Bit of a yawn I'm afraid, but then Deborah Kerr's, "THE INNOCENTS"is a hard act to follow. That has the advantage of being shot in stunning black and white for starters which I think creates an eerie, unsettling atmosphere throughout which this colour version fails to do. Yes I may have jumped at one point but at no time was there anything to send a real chill down my spine. The subtle, ghostly appearances in "THE INNOCENTS" were much more effective in achieving that in my opinion. I wish I could be more positive in my review of "The Haunting of Helen Walker" as it started well and engaged me. I was really hoping for something a bit special. I cannot fault the acting and overall production, but it just simply looked too glossy and lacked atmosphere for my liking, but at least I saw it through to the end.

My friends have a difficult time stifling their giggles when I mention a quality film version of Henry James's classic "Turn of the Screw" starring Valerie Bertinelli, but she does quite a good job in the title role (a character altered just slightly from the novella to account for her American origins in a British cast and setting) of an altogether excellent film.

Those who have seen the earlier screen treatment of this story, _The Innocents_ (with Deborah Kerr in the Bertinelli role) will enjoy this version for similar reasons, foremost among them the excellent screenplay and eerie atmosphere. The 1995 film adds effective ghostly special effects (chilling but never overdone) to heighten the spookiness, a lush location setting, and increased emphasis on the disturbingly sexual nature of the hauntings. The children may not be as sympathetic as they should be--it's difficult to believe that their natural, unpossessed state is cherubic innocence--but the young actors are convincingly creepy and sly when under the spirits' influence. Altogether the cast is wonderful, with the incomparable Diana Rigg especially effective as the housekeeper who unwillingly comes to recognize that the new governess is _not_ just imagining things. Bertinelli's devotion, fear, and ultimate determination are completely believable, and the final showdown with the evil Peter Quint is haunting indeed--it will take your breath away. This film deserves a place in every ghost story lover's video collection.

This was worse than a Harlequin romance novel: the only good part was the old castle and the surrounding landscape. Hammy, overdone rehash of every 2 bit ghostly/old manse film that's ever been done. It provided rain, lightning, dim corridors, haunting music, candles blowing out, spectral beings, and on and on and on all the way to the 'creepy' finale. Valerie should have stayed home and let Eddie bring home the bacon.

I'm a big fan of Valerie Bertinelli; she's a very lovely and under-rated actress, and she does very well in this movie. The problem is that "A Turn of the Screw" by Henry James has been done too many times with little variations or deviations from the original novel. Done best as "The Innocents" (1961), the plot was only really done differently and interestingly on "Dark Shadows" with David Selby and Terry Crawford. The Bertinelli movie is very scary and has great convincing special effects, but some problem does rest in the direction and execution. She finds all these clues that something is wrong at the estate she works on, but it is hard to tell just how all these clues relate to each other once you realize that the children are under the thrall of two ghosts who hate each other. The movie on its own is a very top-notch ghost story, but you have to be totally unaware of the original novel to appreciate it.

I know, I know. The movie version of a novel doesn't usually meet the expectations of the reader resp. the viewer. Especially if the text is as masterfully written as the Henry James novella "The Turn of the Screw". But shouldn't a good film stick to the main idea of the novel? Which in this case is not only the nature of certain underlying motives for the main characters' actions but also the ambiguity of these motives. James's novella is not just a simple ghost story. It's a subtle psychological probe of a person's state of mind, using literary means. This can also be achieved with cinematic means if the screen writer and the director and the editor of the film are up to their tasks. The best examples for successful achievements in this area are Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". But you don't have to be a genius to make a good mystery movie. You should just avoid the usual stereotypes and the cheap tricks and the obvious traps that come with the genre.

So, if you have read the novella and liked it don't watch this movie. If you just want to watch a simple horror movie this one might be a good catch. But don't pretend, in one of your next party small talks, that you've read James's novella. You might get psyched out.

I am a huge horror fan and this film is up there with the best of them. I might even go so far as to compare the shocks in this film to those found in 'Don't Look Now'. It starts quite slowly and seems to be just an ordinary period drama to begin with, but soon your heart will start beating.

The first shock is totally unexpected and will still scare you when you think about it later. I won't give it away, but you'll notice it! Although the film does have some slower bits, there are enough twists, turns and shocks throughout to keep you interested. One of the only bad parts of this film is the children that Helen Walker looks after. I wanted to give them (especially the boy) a good slap, but this does not decrease the power and shock of the images that'll keep you thinking about this film long after you've seen it.

This film doesn't deserve a "10," but for only one reason. The ending is absurd and meaningless. Valerie Bertinelli's, and her director's, brilliant feminist interpretation of Henry James' misogynist story deserved a denouement. Without spoiling the five seconds or so of film that pass for an ending, it can be said those five seconds undo all the freshness of the movie. The Haunting of Helen Walker has three adult female characters: governess, estate manager (played by Diana Rigg), and housekeeper, none of whom hate one another, distrust one another, or-a typical Jamesian conceit-tolerate one another. Helen's increasing identification with children clearly victims of abuse and neglect doesn't cause the manager, for example, to demand her dismissal. Helen's American-ness isn't regarded as a mild form of illness. And unlike The Turn of the Screw, which questions a lonely protagonist's sanity, The Haunting of Helen Walker shows how a real governess living in isolated splendor might react when she is forsaken by two very rich children's sadistic uncle. I review older, generally unknown, sometimes ridiculed, films when I see they don't deserve the scores they receive on IMDB. The Haunting of Helen Walker inexplicably turns Walker into a victim at the end without letting us know how much time has passed, the circumstances of her losing her mind, or whether the other child who can be saved is saved. But that is the writer's (or writers') fault, not Bertinelli's or Rigg's. I don't think I've ever seen another production where Valerie Bertinelli's acting talent is put to better use.

The Haunting of Helen Walker (1995)

Now this what you call a good chiller, I really enjoyed it, it dose take long to get to the creepy parts, they worked really well.

There are to far apart from each other and they not just there for one Jump scenes, you see this ghost for more then 20's seconds.

I loved the Raining window scenes was really well shot and very creepy how movie was fixed on that the whole time,

The Kid in this movie was creepy but I think they were a little to cute to laugh like that.

I really enjoyed this movie, I know it updated version Turn of the Screw (There are few of these out there)

The acting was outstanding from the whole cast and Kids were great too

I going to give this movie 8 out of 10