Top 8 Film Adaptations of The Turn of the Screw

Since its publication in 1898, Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" has absorbed our collective imaginations. It is a story that pits innocence against corruption, desire against duty, and children against ghosts. While it has been filmed over a dozen times for both the small and silver screens, not all of those adaptations have been worth watching. Listed here are eight of the most visually, dramatically, and thematically compelling adaptions of its central story.

8. THE TURN OF THE SCREW, 2009.

I won’t say much about this notable yet regrettable interpretation starring Michelle Dockery. Dressed up as a typical horror film, it begins with the governess being psychoanalyzed by a police psychologist who gradually comes to believe her story of psychotic ghosts but is ultimately helpless to stop their plan to silence her. There are far too many horror movie clichés, unambiguous uses of the supernatural, and sensational moments of terror to make it a worthy addition to the canon. The corny twist at the end is enough to lay it to rest: Quint’s face appears on one of the policemen leading the governess away to death row. It is, nonetheless, a fun and creepy horror movie, but does a grave injustice to James’ delicacy.

7. THE TURN OF THE SCREW, 1974

Directed by "Dark Shadows" alum Dan Curtis, who added this to a series of TV films based on classic thrillers (also including Frankenstein, Dracula, and Jekyll & Hyde), this made-for-TV adapation positively drips with the pleasantly campy atmosphere that made "Dark Shadows" a Gothic icon. Cold, gauzy, and embellished, it low-production quality works in its favor, making it seem stripped of frills and affectations, and darkened with the sort of realism that James himself was famous for. Notwithstanding, it still brings something of a soap opera atmosphere to the story, complete with steamy dreams of Quint slipping into the governess' (Lynn Redgrave) bed (made steamier by using a blurry filter), a sinister, reedy soundtrack straight from the "Dark Shadows" playbook, and two sensual, livid-skinned ghosts. This version is also creepier because Miles is older, and his deepening, preteen voice and leering behavior make his relationship with the ghosts and governess all the more inappropriate. Cold, stark, and soapy, this is by no means a high-production masterpiece, but is in many ways among the creepiest adaptations I've seen.

6. THE HAUNTING OF HELEN WALKER, 1995.

Although it is not particularly outstanding or unique, this version of “The Turn of the Screw” is worth watching for the strangeness of the ghost scenes: it features the creepiest Quint I’ve encountered (an ogling, leering, suggestive lech), and includes some shockingly erotic elements: Quint and Jessel beckon the governess (a ludicrously miscast Valerie Bertinelli) into a three-way, Miles French kisses the governess while moaning in Quint’s voice, and she imagines (or has a vision of) Miles, Flora, Quint, and Jessel participating in what seems to be a four-way – meeting at a bed and closing the door suggestively. This is a poorly-acted period supernatural drama that doesn’t merit much time, but is interesting for some of its more salacious and chilling material – none of these movies were as genuinely creepy (not necessarily in a good way). It has the vibe of an Are You Afraid of the Dark, Goosebumps, or Eerie, Indiana episode: sensational, Gothic, and unmistakably filmed in the ‘90s: the ghoulish lighting, Dutch angles, and general fun-house/carnival vibe will not let you forget that.

5. THE NIGHTCOMERS, 1972.

Starring a world-weary Marlon Brando, this prequel to the main action is perhaps the most influential adaptation other than The Innocents. Filmed in the throes of the sexual revolution, it is no wonder that the film is larger consumed with sex, especially considering the subject matter: the relationship between Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The tension, however, is fascinatingly shifted, with the children taking on the roles of antagonists and the adults becoming their victims. The briefly featured Master is now a Freud-look-alike, authoritative, but grey-haired, bearded, and fusty – hardly a London playboy – and Brando’s Quint is almost fifty, a kindly man with lightening hair and a cynical weariness that makes him seem vulnerable when compared to his energetic wards (whose ages have been advanced to put them in the opening years of puberty).

Quint is a roguish but lovable entertainer – a storyteller, philosopher, and clown – who harbors fascinating theories on love (that love and hate are the same) and death (that it is only in death where people can be together). Quint and Jessel conduct a violent BDSM affair under the peering eyes of the voyeuristic Miles and Flora, who begin to willfully adopt their manners and fetishes into an incestuous relationship. Ultimately, Mrs Grose’s moral outrage at the servant’s sadomasochistic lovemaking causes the children to sabotage Grose’s efforts to separate them – with psychopathic results. The Nightcomers is erotic, chilling, bizarre, and shocking. It is a psychosexual thriller which begs the question: what if the predators weren’t the servants (people trying desperately to express a forbidden love and attraction), but the (sociopathic, incestuous, voodoo practicing, and murderous) children?

4. THE TURN OF THE SCREW, 1954 (Opera), 1982, 2011 (Adaptations).

English composer Benjamin Britten was fascinated by the psychological complexity of his supernatural tales, turning “Owen Wingrave” into a world-acclaimed chamber opera in 1973, but his first and most famous adaptation was The Turn of the Screw. Written for a small stage, small cast, and small orchestra, the atmosphere is strangely intimate yet simultaneously distant. He follows a Freudian interpretation, and an apparitionist point of view, in which the ghosts are real, but the motives are sexual. Britten’s score is eerie, atonal, dissonant, and haunting, and the librettos are fearfully intense, coloring in details that James omits, providing a genuinely sinister interpretation of Quint and Jessel’s motives for appearing, namely to supernaturally act out their love affair through the children whom they molested in life. A lush, cinematic production of this piece was filmed in 1982, and can be found online. Another, and I think better, adaptation filmed on the stage was produced in 2011, starring Miah Persson.

3. THE TURN OF THE SCREW, 1992.