How To Adapt A Classic Horror Story

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SOURCES
Ward, J. A. “The Ambiguities of Henry James.” The Sewanee Review, vol. 83, no. 1, 1975, pp. 39-60. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/s...
Palmer, James W. “Cinematic Ambiguity: James’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ and Clayton’s ‘The Innocents.’” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 3, 1977, pp. 198-215. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/s....
Read Tzvetan Todorov's "The fantastic : a structural approach to a literary genre" for free at archive.org:
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Chase, Donald. “Romancing the Stones: Jack Clayton’s The Innocents.” Film Comment, vol. 34, no. 1, 1998, pp. 68-73. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/s....
Kael, Pauline. “‘The Innocents’, and What Passes for Experience.” Film Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 4, 1962, pp. 21-36. JSTOR, doi.org/10.230....
Recchia, Edward. “An Eye for An I: Adapting Henry James’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ to the Screen.” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 1, 1987, pp. 28-35. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/s....
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[@J_D_Sisson]

Francis' filters weren't black on the edges. They were actually amber (a colour that increases the contrast of black and white). He airbrushed them so they had increasing density the further from the centre they got. You can see what they look like in colour if you watch 'Dracula has Risen from the Grave' which Francis directed; he lent the cinematographer his filters to use whenever Christopher Lee is on screen to give him an "aura of evil."

[@bobbyjosson4663]

Great point. Any chance of pointing to the interview where you got that. I love technical details and background interviews.

[@onil1325ms]

I wish Nerdwriter made more essays about horror media, in general. Love the way he tackles the ins-and-outs. Great video!

[@embracethemystery]

"There is no art without ambiguity." I can't find the attribution for this quote, but I love it and agree with it.

[@Laocoon283]

Its false though.

[@davidzimmermann920]

Falls, though many good pieces of art do have this feature I think. As a hobby musician I often think, sure there's great songs that serve the simple purpose of feeling nostalgic/having a good time/crying your heart out/etc. But I often feel the really great ones do have such a dynamic, where either lyrics and music or the musical composition choices introduce elements of subversion in the piece. Like adding sugar to salty food or the other way around it makes the thing a little bit more intense

[@BladeV8]

*Silent Hill has entered the chat*

[@danielbernas2293]

My dad showed me The Innocents maybe 7 years ago and it was immediately my favorite horror movie, for a while my favorite movie period. The scene with the woman in the forest gets under my skin just thinking about it. Every time I watch it I get more creeped out and I still don't have a solid explanation for everything. Fantastic. Great performances all around, and Deborah Kerr's performance is one of the best in horror

[@VamshiOhgs]

In my opinion The Innocents is not only the finest horror film based on a ghosts and haunted house but is the one that is overlooked by so many people when discussing the greats of the genre from that time period. It was ahead of it's time for how it treated the tropes of horror and overall how the story was structured, the ambiguity that was used the perspective of our protagonist to play tricks with the viewer's mind that delved into the psychology of the lead character, it wasn't merely a supernatural horror but one of the best early psychological horror titles.

[@MariaVosa]

The Turning of the Screw and The Yellow Wallpaper are two of the greatest short stories ever written. I wish someone had managed and adaptation as successful of the latter as The Innocents is.

[@halekduo]

Ingmar Bergman's THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is heavily influenced by THE YELLOW WALLPAPER. I think you'd enjoy the movie.

[@MFLimited]

@@halekduo I wanted to love Through a Glass Darkly. But I couldn’t. I’m an admirer of Ingmar Bergman, but I wanted to see more of the Yellow Wallpaper in the movie.

[@askmeagain43]

KZbin’s algorithm sucks so hard. I thought you had stopped posting videos, because I’m subbed and they never appear in my feed. Turns out I’ve got a year of content to catch up on.

[@beatrix1775]

The same goes to me 🥲 time to catch up

[@B.Arthur]

Deborah Kerr is my all time favourite film actor, and I truly believe this to be her greatest performance. It’s an absolute masterpiece.

[@solharv7817]

Love the Innocents. The scare at the window is maybe the worst I’ve ever been spooked by a film. It really got under my skin, I think because I wasn’t expecting such an understated scare in a classic horror movie.

[@katestyrsky329]

Read the setting story that begins the novel: an unnamed narrator and some of his friends are gathered around a fire. One of them, Douglas, reads a manuscript written by his own sister's late governess. If I recall correctly, he says that he cared about this woman very much, though she was dismissed from her position. To me, there is a clear connection between Douglas and the little boy in the narration. I do believe the emotionally fragile governess lost control and was dismissed for cause. I also believe that the little boy at the end of the story is not killed: he is Douglas.

[@robintob1407]

Ambiguity is misspelt in the thumbnail, great vid!

[@Daemonworks]

This is one of the things that really drives me nuts about The Thing. Not the movie, or Who Goes There, the story it's based on, but how absurdly determined some of it's fans are to remove the ambiguity of the ending, and grasp at straws or pretend there's details in the film that aren't actually there that settle it. The ambiguity is the bloody point!

[@UPalooza]

Yes, I never needed a conclusion, or evidence to support it. You've nailed it.

[@sydposting]

Benjamin Britten wrote an opera adaptation that does some really neat things with motifs and wordplay that enhance the story immensely. “Malo, I would rather be; Malo, in an apple tree…”

[@farissaadat4437]

Could you please elaborate? I enjoyed the opera as a music composition but most of the wordplay goes over my head.

[@gLittle807]

Britten's opera was I think the first I ever saw live (I already knew the work before seeing it). As I walked in and took my seat & as the orchestra was tuning/noodling before the show, one player was rehearsing a bit of Quint's "Miles" melisma, when he first appears--I still geek out at the memory!

[@Adeodatus100]

​@@farissaadat4437 Britten's opera (with libretto by Myfanwy Piper) is if anything even darker than the film or book, hinting that it's the very worst kind of child abuse that's at the heart of the story. Notoriously, some of Miles's Latin lessons appear to contain s*xual innuendos that the boy shouldn't know about. For me one of the most heartbreaking moments is at the end of act 1 when, after a nasty encounter with the ghosts, Miles says to the governess "You see? I am bad, aren't I?" - the abused child blaming himself.

[@lolarogers2313]

Saw this opera live many years ago. It's so eerie and mesmerizing.

[@AllieEstepa]

there aren't enough analyses being done about the innocents, so i was excited to see this! such an sophisticated and eerie gothic horror classic. it should definitely be up there with the greats.

[@overlookers]

The shot of Jessel among the reeds in the pond is *_still_* the most chilling image on monochrome film

[@skryabin07]

So true, Overlookers. What's so great is the second time the governess looks, after Flora has left, you expect the ghost to be gone, but she's STILL THERE.

[@personanongrata987]

"The Innocents" has long been a favorite of mine. You have now shown me greater depths in this cinematic masterpiece than I'd seen. Thank you. --

[@BonesJonny]

Great video. Would love to see a similar one made for Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" and the exceptional accompanying film "The Haunting"

[@Zett76]

I was re-watching the movie a few days ago, and I read the book about 20 years ago, AFTER having seen the movie for the first time... as for the book version, I was pretty sure that it all was "only" in the protagonist's mind... I found it stunning that that notion was kind of lost more and more, with every new instance of the story... (the series from a few years ago was great, but a ghost story through and through) Your thoughts?

[@calebmcurby8580]

I consider myself a cinephile and love classic movies (I grew up on TCM), but I've never even heard of the Innocents. Now I gotta watch it. Thanks, Evan!

[@curiousworld7912]

'The Innocents' is one of those rare films that complement the source material - it's beautifully filmed, and the acting and direction are perfect. As to whether or not the governess was 'mad'; I took from the beginning of the novella, she had gone on to be governess to another family, and was well-thought of - which would appear odd, if she had a reputation for insanity. But, that's just my take. :) Thank you, for covering this novella and film - I love Henry James, too, and the film is (along with Robert Wise's '63 version of 'The Haunting', based on Shirley Jackson's book) my favorite haunted-house movies, with uncertain narration from the central character.

[@dorothysatterfield3699]

Deborah Kerr's eyes spoke volumes in this film.

[@RyanMichero]

I watched The Innocents for the first time about 6 months ago and it blew me away. I'm a (virtual) cinematographer and, damn, Freddie Francis jumped into my list of favorite cinematographers with this film alone.

[@Zarsla]

Turning of the Sceew has been adapted twice, 1961's the innocents and 2020's the haunting of Bly Manor.

[@Clipzilla42]

Don’t forget 2020’s The Turning. I know I did 😂

[@sydposting]

Don’t forget the opera by Benjamin Britten!

[@Jo-bs2uu]

​@@Clipzilla42 oh gosh no interest I seeing that lol

[@3boodae749]

Nicole Kidman's The Others is arguably an adaptation, and the best version of the story on the screen.

[@feelingReckless13]

Turn of the Screw is one of the most adapted novellas of all time...

[@lucasgagliardi433]

More than 12 audiovisual adaptations of this story since 1955. Yet "The Innocents" and "The Others" are the best ones either by matching James' ambiguity or by going in a very different but satisfying direction.

[@cameronchappell8265]

There are only two video types I watch on 1x speed - music videos and Nerdwriter videos. Your cadence and video editing demand a really thoughtful viewing, and I love it.

[@NPC0010]

For the longest time, I thought I was watching this channel, I was sure he showed his face before. I was wondering why I can't find a video with his face on it. Then I read that he sold his channel, I guess that's why he removed those videos with his face on it. Then I came across this video. For the longest time I was watching Nerdstalgic, not Nerdwriter. Glad I found this channel again.

[@Miniac]

I haven't seen The Innocents but the first thing I thought of when you described the plot of the novella was The Lodge. A modern horror movie wherein a girlfriend is snowed into a cabin with her boyfriend's children and the movie toes the line between evil children and a mentally deteriorating girlfriend. Basically, the same exact plot!

[@nightthought2497]

That moment when you realize the story that Janeway plays in early Voyager

[@drpozo]

OMG!! Finally!! Waiting ten years for this video. Hahahaha. Thaaaaaaaanks!! 🙏🏻

[@christianhansen2569]

Ambuigity

[@iMigooo]

Ok but the triple beat that played during the voice over segment of this video hit me to my core nerd writer, love that production!

[@surgodt]

I was delighted to realize that this feeling of the Fantastic lies at the center of my favourite film. The Lighthouse thrives in its ambiguity which is much of the reason I love it so.

[@MinorCirrus]

A beautiful companion song to this is Kate Bush's "The Infant Kiss". "All my barriers are going. It's starting to show..."

[@sindrisnrsigursson3079]

I watched this the same day as I saw the video. Amazing movie, thanks for the recommendation and fantastic analysis :)

[@haddonfieldradio666]

So thrilling to find a new Nerdwriter essay!! From one KZbinr to another - *chef’s kiss

[@HeisenbergFam]

Henry James did great creating a nice story for Turn of the screw, black & white style has a special charm to it

[@Jo-lv3mi]

Love how the thumbnail says "ambuigity"

[@agraciotti]

yeah, The Innocents is a masterpiece and, IMO, the best-haunted house movie ever. I think this reading holds up and probably The Others kind of takes that reading of the novel literally and expands it, that not only do we see everything from the mother's point of view, but it makes the whole family as the actual ghosts.

[@UPalooza]

That was great. Thank you for examining the film technique.

[@benrendich]

One of my all-time favorite movies. You did it perfect justice -- as always. ✨

[@Doctor_Straing_Strange]

''the horror of ambuigity''

[@plica06]

That theme of ambiguity was also used to good effect in the movie: Doubt. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

[@zacharywong483]

Love your choice of video topics and love the thoroughness with which you analyze them!

[@parastooabr1524]

The Nerdwriter publishing a video on The Innocents the exact same day as I watch it? Can't be a coincidence lol

[@charlottecheung7237]

hi Evan, would you consider doing another video on Succession? Your video on the show a few years ago led me to start watching it (which I really enjoyed). It would be great to hear your thoughts / observations on it now that it's wrapped up.

[@bulletproofisobel]

Excellent! I cannot describe how much I love this film. So earie and creepy and that opening song...

[@rixx46]

Fantastic as always. Just got your book! On Kindle AND Audible!

[@HebaruSan]

When a movie unambiguously settles on "ghosts are real," it tends to make me sigh and check out mentally, but this sounds much better, will check it out!

[@Dontlicktheballoons]

One of my favorite films, and God how I love the ambiguity!

[@kushlinfield7106]

Worth mentioning the metatextual story-within-a-story framework of the novella which adds a layer of unreliable narration / ambiguity.

[@davidmouser596]

You missed the third possibility, the ghosts where real and they both drove her mad so as to kill the child for them, especially as they are incorporeal spirits who needed the governess to do the deed for them.

[@dab42bridges80]

That movie gernuinely creeped me out, one of my all-time favorites.

[@olliewarren1993]

I think there's a struggle with ambiguity in films/tv these days brought about by the proliferation of "easter egg" and "plot theory" videos that seek to decipher every last detail of a film for clues. In some ways, I love the minute detail they go into and the interesting takes they find but in others I think it's good as an audience member to sit with a work and make your own interpretations.

[@rakibhasan8016]

It's always soothing Puschak's Voice.

[@urosmirkovic8353]

i always learn something new watching your videos, or hear about some new movie or book i have not heard of before and i just love it

[@zoinomiko]

Oooh what a fantastic view, now I want to watch this!

[@lenroz]

Wonderfully explained! never knew there was a film adaptation, now it's on the watch list

[@kellyjenkins7942]

This reminds me of the ending of Dr. Zhivago when the doctor thinks he sees Lara as he is on a streetcar. He exits the car to pursue her only to die of a heart attack in the pursuit….of the wrong woman! Or is it? Feeling confused and then duped years ago, I took my spiffy new VCR and went through the scene using stop motion. the first image the Dr. sees is, in fact, Lara, played by Julie Christie. Later the camera pans past the prostrate dying doctor to show us a second and different actress. Well done, I thought. Love me some ambiguity.

[@greshambergeron1228]

It’s very cool to me that each of these videos have a very distinct artistic style to them. Lots of really tasteful details 👌

[@doomedandbored]

The Innocents is so fucking GOATed I adore this film with every inch of my being

[@Caveboy0]

I wonder if the WItch was inspired by this although more literal the fact that both magic/thedevil but also insanity are factors.

[@ReynaSingh]

Always great to see another video from this channel

[@WhitieWu]

I'm amazed at the quality considering this movie came out 60 years ago.

[@davidechiarella7752]

literally JUST got the criterion copy so I can watch for the first time - I'll come back to this vid once I have!

[@JoeyOC-qf4bx]

Already, I want to read this book and watch this film. Thank you for sharing!

[@maikelkay9202]

Somebody has called "The Innocents" the "Citizen Kane" of horror movies. And I think he was right. Only Jacques Tourneur has created a few horror classics that can match this one.

[@bencarlson4300]

There are a lot of great horror films/stories that give a definitive reasoning and conclusion, but ambiguity is what always sticks with me. The Innocents does this extremely well, but Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure from 1997 does it best for me. The truth of the borderline supernatural crimes that have been committed are left to the viewer to decide, and our protagonist, like in The Innocents, is not as trustworthy as we are led to believe. TLDR: go watch Cure (1997) and The Innocents (1961) if you like ambiguous psychological horror/thrillers

[@WayTooClose]

Ambiguity is so important in horror stories. Freud's The Uncanny inspired Stanley Kubrick when he made The Shining.👍 Unsatisfaction is a feature, not a bug.

[@ShaneTheBane]

100% shes just crazy lol. No ambiguity. Her reaction to a child's death showcases how crazy she is.

[@irony_2]

Spelled ambiguity wrong in the thumbnail lol «ambuigity»🤣

[@johnelcatsha6895]

Now we know the inspiration for Kubrick's adaptation of the Shining

[@davidzimmermann920]

I always loved that detail in guillermo del Torres movies. Like in pan's labyrinth, where the pan takes her down to the queens or her imagined kingdom only to see from the perspective of the general, that there is no pan, but also this could be explained by smt said in the movie, that most adult people cannot see the magical elements of that world. At the same time, all of here endeavors in the magical realm mirror a conflict the real world.. I loved this also in the haunting of hill house! Such a great series! (Also i dearly love midnight mass, by the same director. Nothing of the ambiguity, but still so good! Watch it!)

[@cabweasel]

"I'm afraid we'll never know" is a great title for an essay about the horror of ambiguity

[@AdaraFukuchi]

When i hear fantastical fantasy, i think of one storyteller and one alone: Jorge luiz borges. Brilliant man.

[@YouTubeKnight]

Two of the greatest horror movies, The Exorcist and The Shining, both use ambiguity to its fullest potential.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

I love this tale, Evan! Thank you so much for your video. 😶‍🌫 I think I've seen most of the cinematic/tv adaptations. I'm glad you used clips from THE INNOCENTS (1961), as it's my favorite rendition. THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR (2020) is my second favorite. Indeed, ambiguity is the point. Life is very filled with it. That can be frustrating for mere humans in regards to interpersonal relations... and expression. But in art, it feels close to ideal... and, at the very least, poetic. #Nerdwriter1 #TheNerdwriter #EvanPuschak #HenryJames #TheTurnOfTheScrew #TheInnocents #TheInnocents1961

[@Horror-Man]

First saw this film back in 2017. Definitely one of my all time favorite horror films.

[@CatDaaaady]

The movie that just came out , Run Rabbit Run, reminds me of a movie that falls into this category. 🤔

[@brantclements8888]

I have read The Turn of the Screw and, though I understand it, it does not affect me. James’s deliberate, turgid style undermines his effect. At least, this is the case for me. I have seen at least one other adaptation of The Turn of the Screw that was laughably bad. But The Innocents is the only movie that has creeped me out in a visceral and lasting way. It is a brilliant, disturbing piece. And it is precisely the ambiguity of the story that leaves me so unnerved. Whether the children are possessed or the governess is mad is impossible to determine. Something that your essay does not mention but which I find especially disturbing is the sexualization of the children. The ghosts, if there are ghosts, use the innocents for their own erotic ends.

[@Wadudsearcher]

Can you talk about your experience writing a book of essays? I love hearing about the crafting processes behind art

[@mad-dunker]

just now noticing the similarities between the haunting of bly manor and the innocents

[@sowii]

The innocents is my favorite horror film ever

[@Montie-Adkins]

Never even heard of this. And a search on Just Watch shows "Not available for streaming". GRRRRR

[@Jacob-Vivimord]

Nice. I wrote a lame speech about Turn of the Screw back in 2011. "Not to oversimplify or anything, but I think one word can sum up my reading of the text: ambiguity".

[@beejls]

Great analysis of a great film. Possibly Kerr's best.

[@-xirx-]

It's a great film! If you believe in ghosts, you'll love it. If you don't believe in ghosts, you'll love it.

[@MickeyD100]

I like the way you work it … Amboo-igity … bout to bag it up.

[@max_plastic]

To be honest, never heard of this one, but I just love The Haunting, film from 1963 which seems pretty similar. Remember watching it for a first time maybe 20 years ago at night on TCM and it was just terrifying.

[@TheNeeenha]

One of my favorites

[@spencerlevine8965]

The shining movie is very similar imo. The book is very explicit that the events are actually supernatural but the movie makes it so much more ambiguous and I actually like that version better

[@colonelweird]

I'd like to see a video about how to read Henry James. Some say he's even more difficult to understand than Stephen King.

[@brandonhamaguchi]

If you like the ambiguity of this story, watch Burning (2018)

[@Black7apex23]

Thats a good explanation for the success of the soulsborne series.

[@keshavbhanu5788]

I opened the video paused it then downloaded the film watched the whole film after that cane back fir this video

[@jainilsheth7996]

Hello Evan, thanks for another beautiful video essay! If possible, please do explore Raden Saleh (painter) as a topic for your video essay :)

[@MrIexperience]

This was incredible bro!

[@LittleMissLion]

Ambiguity is what i like about Picnic at Hanging Rock. An excellent tool in story telling.

[@samcollins5278]

Loved this, now I want to read this book and watch the movie!

[@Epoch11]

More horror you do a good job at explaining it

[@MichaelSchlecht91]

Where on earth can we watch this film? It sounds terrific! I see no options where it is available to purchase

[@jakegaubert9170]

Keep up the good work, and where've you been! missed your videos!