The Innocents(1961)

Whenever I think of films featuring ghosts and haunted houses, it is Jack Clayton’s The Innocents which always springs first into my mind. I don’t know about you, but I happen to think that spooky old houses are the best locations to set horror stories in. An old haunted house gives you creaking floorboards, flickering candles and plenty of dark corners; add in the possibilities of either spirits or mental illness messing with your mind, and you really have got yourself one very frightening experience indeed. The Innocents is based upon the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It is a very frightening and claustrophobic film. I think that it makes for perfect viewing on a dark night or on a dark and stormy afternoon. From its very opening shot this one both intrigues and unsettles the viewer. The opening film logos and credits are accompanied by the eerie song, “O Willow Waley”, which was specifically recorded for the film, but sounds like it is straight out of the Victorian…