THE TURNING (2020) Review
On paper, The Turning had so much going for it that I couldn’t help but wonder why it wasn’t being promoted more aggressively by Universal Pictures. For starters, it’s an adaptation of Henry James’ classic novella The Turn of the Screw, one of the most influential and enduring ghost stories ever written. Additionally, as an Amblin Entertainment production, the film was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, with a more-than-competent filmmaker at the helm in Floria Sigismondi — an accomplished music video director whose horror-adjacent credits include Marilyn Manson’s hugely influential video for The Beautiful People. On the writing front, the film was penned by Carey and Chad Hayes, the duo behind The Conjuring.
And then there’s the cast, which features some of the most exciting young talent in Hollywood today. Mackenzie Davis stars as Kate, the governess who takes up a live-in job at Bly Manor, with the two children she’s tasked with looking after being played by top child actors Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things,” IT) and Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project). With such an incredible team both in front of and behind the cameras, what could go wrong?!
Well, we’ll get to that in a little bit.
A mostly straightforward adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, with some modern themes thrown into the mix, The Turning centers on Kate, who heads off to Bly Manor to play the role of governess for Flora and Miles, children who have been left without parents in the wake of a tragic accident. Kate gets along quite well with Flora — until Miles makes his presence known, a creepy teenager who seems to have his sights set on tormenting Kate. On top of everything else going on at Bly Manor, of course, there’s the matter of the supernatural aspect that comes into play when Kate begins to suspect that the house is haunted.
Sigismondi, as noted, was gifted with a terrific cast for her adaptation of the classic novella, with Mackenzie Davis once again proving that she’s one of the most likable actors in Hollywood today. Davis is the perfect lead for a story such as this one, which only really works if you care about the character at the center of it; and it’s because we do care about Kate that we’re able to both feel for her and fear for her. Davis’ chemistry with Brooklynn Prince, in particular, informs us of all we need to know in order to understand why Kate is still hanging around Bly Manor even when she knows she’d be better off heading for the hills; a touching scene where Kate teaches Flora to “put on a brave face” is a highlight of the film.
But it’s Finn Wolfhard who really shows a new side of himself as Miles, a character who’s so diametrically opposed to the ones we’ve come to expect from Wolfhard that it’s a bit jarring at first. Wolfhard, who has become one of the most likable child actors on the scene in recent years, proves here that he can be way more than the charming ’80s kid he played in both “Stranger Things” and Andy Muschietti’s IT movies. Miles is downright sinister, the personification of toxic masculinity hiding behind a smiling, cherubic face. Remember when Macaulay Culkin completely shed his wholesome persona to star in The Good Son? That’s Finn Wolfhard as Miles in The Turning, a creepy predator who knows he can do anything and get away with it. Smartly, Sigismondi uses the one f-bomb allowed for every PG-13 movie to further highlight the fact that this version of Finn Wolfhard is one we’ve never seen before.
It’s because of the strong acting and the dynamics between the characters that The Turning is actually at its most interesting before any of the ghosts even show up. The mind games between Miles and Kate, in particular, are compelling and timely; Kate is trapped in a house with a young boy who’s preying upon her like a grown man, and that terror alone is enough to be the central focus of a timely horror story. But once the supernatural element does come into play, The Turning struggles to effectively bring its specters to the screen. The depiction of the ghosts here feels particularly lazy, and though Davis does a great job conveying her character’s fear, the movie is never really able to generate the scares it needs to.
I’d have a hard time putting all the blame on Floria Sigismondi, who — along with cinematographer David Ungaro — brings the tale to the screen with a striking visual style that stands out as being the film’s strongest suit. Not that it should come as any surprise to anyone who’s seen her previous work, but Sigismondi has the kind of eye that makes her the perfect choice for a spooky horror film. The Turning is set in the ’90s, but aside from a few songs throughout and a reference to Kurt Cobain’s recent passing, it feels like way more of a distant period piece than it actually is. And that’s a compliment, as Sigismondi and Ungaro give The Turning a classic horror vibe that feels picture perfect for an adaptation of such an old tale. When Kate, dressed in a bright red coat, approaches the sprawling Bly Manor for the first time, the bright pop of color that she represents contrasts wonderfully with the almost black & white setting; throughout the movie, the color drains from Kate until she finally seems to be right at home there, a testament to Sigismondi’s flair for visual storytelling.
But it’s the actual storytelling that ultimately undoes The Turning, which culminates with such an abrupt and unclear “ending” that I’m still unsure of what the story even was. There are endings that are cleverly ambiguous so that you’ll have something to talk about after they’re over (that can and often does work for horror) and there are endings that are so ill-conveyed that you can’t help but wonder if the final scenes somehow got lost on their way to your local theater — sadly, The Turning’s conclusion very much belongs in the latter category.
And it’s a shame, because up until the point where the film completely derails with some sort of bizarre reveal that I still can’t seem to make sense of in my head, The Turning is a well made, well acted and well shot ghost story — one that, while admittedly quite generic, possesses a spooky atmosphere and enough positive qualities to at least hold your attention and leave you hungry for answers. Alas, those answers never really come. The film plays with some interesting themes, including sexual assault and mental illness, but in the end, all of that stuff is completely washed away in a mess of confusion. While many will say that The Turning has a bad ending, I’d argue that it doesn’t even have an ending at all. In trying to put its own spin on the trademark ambiguity of the novella, this adaptation fails miserably.
When a story ends the way The Turning does, you wonder why you spent the money and time on having someone tell it to you. And ultimately, that’s all I left the theater feeling.
