The Innocents

I hadn't seen The Innocents (1961) in quite a little while, but it stuck with me over many years. 

After another look just now, The Innocents turns out to be just as excellent as I remembered. 

Based on The Turn of the Screw, the 1898 book by Henry James and a later play version, the screenplay for this movie variation -- directed by Jack Clayton and starring Deborah Kerr -- was largely written by none other than Truman Capote. 

What I particularly love about this horror story is its creepy ambiguity. 

Is Miss Giddens (the governess, played by Kerr) possessed of a wild imagination, or are the sibling children Flora and Miles (Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens) partially or wholly possessed by demonic spirits?

What's going on here? Is everybody crazy? Or are they being haunted by different aspects of their own infiltrated souls? 

The Innocents: black & white and seen all over. Well worth checking out this Hallowe'en season.  

 Today's Rune: Gateway.