A black screen with only that haunting theme playing for the opening minutes of the film. Monochromatic terror doesn't get much better than this folks. The Innocents is a story based on Henry James' novel Turn of the Screw. It's been filmed several times before but no interpretation comes close to matching the eerie foreboding that Jack Clayton captures here. Granted, it's dialogue heavy. But! there still are moments that are genuinely terrifying.
If anything, The Innocents is a prime example of how to use lighting and shadows to create scares. Ones that are done right. Freddie Francis knew what he was doing. Lynch must have seen it since he would employ him for a little ole' picture in 1980 called The Elephant Man.
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