The session: Creepy Kids!
Four weeks of films featuring creepy kids. Or is it creepy films about kids?
Week 1: The Innocents (1961)
Directed by Jack Clayton
My Level of Prior Knowledge
Never heard of it.
Plot:
A governess takes a job caring for two children on a remote estate. But things turn sideways. Is the house haunted? Are the kids haunted?
Reaction and Other Folderol:
The Innocents is one of those rare movies that
manages to unsettle on multiple levels, and watching it feels a bit like
stepping into a dream where every shadow might have a deeper meaning. Its
haunting atmosphere instantly reminded me of The Woman in Black,
not just for the ghostly elements but for the imagery. The presence of overt
sexual undertones in The Innocents sets it apart—unlike the
chilly restraint in The Woman in Black, Clayton’s film constantly
hints at forbidden desires and tangled emotions beneath its gothic surface.
There’s also a strong Carnival of Souls vibe
in the way the movie uses ambiguity and atmosphere. Instead of relying on cheap
scares, it draws out long stretches of discomfort, where faces dominate the
frame and silence feels loaded with meaning. Deborah Kerr’s performance is key
here—all those tight close-ups of her fearful, searching expressions ramp up
the eeriness. There’s something hypnotic and deeply creepy about her
uncertainty, and those moments when you see her face fill with terror
communicate so much more than any scream or jump-scare could ever do.
One of the film’s greatest strengths is how it refuses to
provide any easy answers. Is the governess losing her grip on reality, or are
genuine supernatural forces at play? This question does get resolved—or at
least I think it does. But it’s in that ambiguity that the movie finds real
power. The final scenes with little boy stand out as the most disturbing—I realized
that he was speaking as though possessed of adult logic, engaging in arguments
and debates that feel too mature for his age. I don’t recall if he was doing
that earlier in the film. But this manner multiplies the discomfort, making it
hard to pin down whether the horror is coming from ghosts or psychological
breakdowns.
All of these elements create a movie that doesn’t let go of the viewer’s mind—even days after watching, fragments return in flashes: a child’s adult speech, Kerr’s haunted eyes, the suggestion that reality itself might be shifting. If The Innocents feels deeply creepy, it’s because it knows the most powerful hauntings don’t come from what’s seen, but from what’s left unseen and unresolved.