As you might have guessed, I watch a massive amount of classic horror films. They entertain me, they fascinate me, they sustain me...but they very rarely scare me. 'The Innocents', however, terrifies me.
Everything about the film is oppressive and doom laden: the beautiful photography, the superb sound, great performances, fantastic sets, brilliant script, all perfectly assembled to be ever so slightly odd, ominous and imperfect to keep you off-balance throughout, quietly dreading what comes next. I've always found ghosts scarier than monsters, kids scarier than adults, Peter Wyngarde scarier than almost anybody, so 'The Innocents' ticks virtually every box on the creepy checklist for me.
In short, it's a masterpiece and, rather than dissect what happens or blather on and give it all away, I urge the uninitiated to see it as soon as you possibly can - but for Christ's sake don't watch it alone, or in a darkened room where faces can suddenly appear at the window from outside. Really. We screamed like little girls.
One of the scariest moments, the woman in the lake, just watching......so effective.
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