The Innocents (1961) - UK

The Innocents is a 1961 horror film based on the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

The Innocents tells the story of an inexperienced governess, and daughter of a country parson (Kerr) who is hired to care for the niece and nephew of a callous socialite (Redgrave) at his country mansion, Bly House, whilst he continues to reside in London. Outwardly the children are little darlings, but the governess begins to feel that there's something unwholesome behind those beatific smiles. After several disturbing examples of the children's evil impulses, Miss Giddens gets information from the housekeeper (Megs Jenkins) that suggests that the children may be possessed by malign spirits -- or are all these events just the products of Miss Giddens's own imagination? The best and most frightening vignette in The Innocents occurs when the governess casually kisses young Miles, then recoils in horror when she realizes that someone other than Miles has kissed her back.

Kerr is on top form here, enacting a role that takes perfect advantage of her respectable facade wrestling with unspeakable turbulence beneath the surface. Wonderful adult horror, stylishly well-made and frightening on a couple of levels.

It's masterly in every way with a great performance from Deborah Kerr as the troubled Victorian governess, superb black-and-white widescreen photography by Freddie Francis and Georges Auric's last, truly distinguished score.

An impressively creepy adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Creates an appropriately spooky tone that builds slowly, incrementally, until it reaches a shattering conclusion.

Overall a good classic horror to watch out for.

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055018/

Orfanato, El (2007)

The Orphanage ( El orfanato) is a 2007 Spanish horror/suspense/drama film. It stars Belén Rueda as Laura, a woman who returns to the orphanage where she stayed for a period as a child. She purchases the house, with plans to turn it into a home for disabled children. Everything seems to be going well for Laura, her husband Carlos (Cayo) and their son Simón (Príncep). However, the parents soon realize their son has an imaginary friend and horror begins to unfold.

THE ORPHANAGE is a seemingly simple story that is actually quite complex. There are a handful of seeds set with juicy pay-offs that blossom from them.A good old-fashioned horror in the best possible way, this is a beautifully told, terrifying ghost story that lingers with you long after the shivers have stopped.Not only is the story spooky...there are several good shocks along the way that will knock you out of your seat.The Orphanage proves the haunted house genre is alive and well - in the right hands. It is never less than engaging. Here and there it's even genuinely frightening.This movie is so good at using its horror elements to explore deeper, less fantastical emotions. For all its bump-in-the-night suspense, The Orphanage is ultimately as much about motherhood and grief as it is about apparitions and shadowy corridors.As if more proof were needed that the best way to make a scary movie is through atmosphere, pacing and storytelling, rather than sudden violence, needless gore and random shocks, here comes The Orphanage.

In Russian :

Детский дом (Эль orfanato) является Испании 2007 ужаса / suspense / драма фильм. Он звезд Belén Rueda, как Лаура, которые женщина возвращается в детский дом, где она проживала в период, как ребенок. Она покупки дома, с планирует превратить его в дом для детей-инвалидов. Все, как представляется, удачно для Лауры, ее муж Карлос (Кайо) и их сын Симон (Príncep). Тем не менее, родители скорее реализовать их сын имеет воображаемого друга и ужас начинает разворачиваться.

Детский дом является, казалось бы, простой рассказ о том, что на самом деле довольно сложный характер. Есть горсть семян комплекте с сочной платить компромиссов, что цветок из them.A хороший старомодный ужас в лучших из возможных путей, это красиво сказано, ужас призрак рассказ о том, что с вами сохраняется в течение длительного времени после shivers имеют stopped.Not только история spooky ... есть несколько добрых потрясений вдоль таким образом, чтобы стучать вас из ваших seat.The Детский дом доказывает, преследовали дома жанр жив и хорошо - в нужные руки. Она никогда не бывает меньше, чем заниматься. Кое-где это даже реально frightening.This фильм настолько хорошо, используя его элементы ужаса исследовать глубже, меньше fantastical эмоции. Для всех ее с кем-на-ночь suspense, в приют, в конечном счете, как много о материнстве и скорби как речь идет об откровениях и теневую corridors.As, если больше доказательства были необходимы, что лучший способ сделать страшных фильмов через атмосферу, темпов и истории, а не внезапного насилия, бессмысленных гор и случайных потрясений, здесь приходит в приют.




IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/

The Vanishing ( 1988) - NETHERLANDS

The Vanishing is a film directed by George Sluizer. The film is based on the novel The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé. It was released in 1988 and is in French and Dutch. Sluizer later remade the film in English, but the remake was poorly received.

PLOT : Three years after the mysterious abduction of his girlfriend while the two were on vacation, a man tracks down her kidnapper. The abductor, a seemingly normal professor who contacts the young man through the mail, is actually a cold-hearted clinician of terror. When her kidnapper promises to reveal the location of his lost loved one, their confrontation explodes.

A thriller free of onscreen violence, George Sluizer's original Dutch-French version of The Vanishing (1988) reveals the capacity for evil lurking beneath the most banal surfaces and the dangers of wanting to know too much. Adapted by Sluizer and Tim Krabbé from Krabbé's novel The Golden Egg and set in brightly bland every day locations like a highway rest stop and a country home, the story of a woman's sudden disappearance becomes a creepily deliberate examination of both the psychologically crippling impact of her vanishing on her lover, and the criminal's unfathomable motives. Shifting point of view midway through the film with an extended flashback, the viewer seems to learn everything there is to know about the crime yet what remains unseen, and the unspoken implications of what is known, deepen the disturbing effect as well as enhance the suspense. With an ending that offers chillingly inevitable closure devoid of any uplift, The Vanishing was not released in the U.S. until 1991; critics and art house audiences, though, embraced The Vanishing's resolutely dark vision. Sluizer's 1993 American remake of The Vanishing, however, became a star vehicle for Kiefer Sutherland and Jeff Bridges executed with far less subtlety.

The film was indeed well done and what struck the most was the focus on that of the villain. It is a portrayal of a normal, respectable family man who trains himself in meticulous detail for an abduction. His cold, calculating approach is probably the most frightening aspect. His inhumanity is difficult to comprehend. Exquisitely creepy and too , too chilling . A masterpiece of psychological horror.

It was Ranked 55 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096163/

Deathdream (1974) - CANADA

Deathdream is a 1974 Canadian horror film, directed by Bob Clark and written by Alan Ormsby. It was inspired by the W.W. Jacobs short story The Monkey's Paw.Deathdream revolves around Andy Brooks (Richard Backus), a young soldier who is gunned down in the jungles of Vietnam. At the time of his death, Andy's mother is praying for the safe return of her son. Despite being told by the U.S. Army that their son is dead, the family is shocked when Andy returns in the middle of the night. But Andy isn't the same as the war has changed him. He spends his time sitting quietly in rocking chair, has no desire to see old friends and dresses to conceal his body with turtlenecks, gloves and glasses. Only at night does he become animated, going out on the town to find victims that can quell his thirst for blood.

This movie is a true rarity in the annals of horror cinema in that it manages to be both creepy and genuinely poignant. The fact it manages to combine both of those emotions makes it something truly special indeed, something worth watching despite whatever production flaws it contains. The acting ranges from good (John Marley) to rather mediocre and overdone. But thats to be expected from these low-budget offerings of the time. The direction by Clark is rather unpolished, and he obviously wasn't completely comfortable with direction by this point. However, he does maintain an appropriate sense of pacing. The screenplay is fantastic and ultimately what makes this work. "Dead of Night" is an unique and emotional production that needs to be seen by fans of either cult cinema or more interesting horror films (ones that work on actual mood opposed to loads of graphic gore). The ending is more dour and stunning. I didn't see it coming, but it made perfect sense in line with everything that had happened. It's the kind of ending that a film would never have now. It's simply too honest. One of the better horror endings I've seen, actually.

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068457/

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) - ITLAY

L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, also called The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, is a "giallo" suspense thriller directed by Dario Argento (his directorial debut) and released in 1970.

Plot : Sam, an American writer in Rome, witnesses a murder attempt on the wife of the owner of an art gallery by a sinister man in a raincoat and black leather gloves - but Sam is powerless to do anything as he gets trapped between a double set of glass doors in going to her aid. The woman survives, and the police say that she is the first surviving victim of a notorious serial killer. But when they fail to make any progress with the case, Sam decides to investigate on his own, turning up several clues that point in the direction of just one possible suspect - assuming that he really knows who he's looking for.

The strength of the film though lies in its suspense, which is almost unbeatable. It rivals any of Hitchcock's works, to which it is repeatedly compared. This is one rare jewel of an intelligent thriller that was also the break-through effort for people like Dario Argento, the director and scriptwriter, Vittorio Storaro, the director of photography, and last but not least Ennio Morricone who composed the soundtrack. There are great performances by a cast of lesser known European actors who did not make it big but are great in this one. An excellent breakthrough film for director Dario Argento with a magnificent use of space and a great Ennio Morricone score. The movie will keep you glued to your seat and surprise with an absolutely unexpected twist at the end.

IMDB Info :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065143/