Movie Review: The Turning

By Ryan Grow | January 29, 2020

The Turning is an interesting and entertaining horror film that will challenge your mind in ways other horror movies don’t. 

Based on Henry James’ novella “The Turn of the Screw,” The Turning tells the story of a young woman who is hired as a governess to a young girl and her older brother, but when things start going bump in the night she begins to question her own sanity. 

The horror genre wasn’t off to the best start with the new year, but The Turning gets things back on track. I do understand that some viewers may feel unsatisfied with The Turning because it doesn’t follow the formula of a typical film where all the rising action leads to a big climax and all questions are answered. There really wasn’t any closure at the end of the film, instead, viewers are met with a serious plot twist. Some viewers simply don’t care for movies that take a unique approach, but that doesn’t mean the movie is a waste of time. Perhaps those few individuals just don’t want to have to think too hard.

Personally, I quite enjoyed the confusing and unnerving tone of the film. I did feel as if I, too, was going mad along with the protagonist Kate (Mackenzie Davis); I wasn’t sure who or what was the actual threat. Was Miles (Finn Wolfhard) messing with her? Or were both Kate and Miles being messed with and becoming the victims? Speaking of Miles, I truly believe that he was the driving force that kept the story interesting, and Wolfard knocked his performance out of the park. I enjoyed his unpredictable behavior and you could tell if it was because of mental illness, teenage hormones or something supernatural. To me, it felt like it was a mixture of all three. 

Overall, The Turning was actually a pretty decent movie. It just makes you think harder about what you saw, rather than giving you a perfectly answered ending. The jump scares were well-placed at just the right moment and not overly used. I admire the artistic direction and ambition of the film, despite the absence of a straightforward conclusion.

Critic Rating: 4.5/5 stars

What did you think of the film? Sound off in the comments.