The Innocents (1961)

As we all remember in A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Innocents begins with a young girl singing an ominous song that we hear several times throughout the film. It’s an eerie opening scene, but gear up, because it’s about to get much, much creepier. Miss Giddens, a governess (a live-in teacher and caretaker) is hired by a man to look after his orphaned niece and nephew, Miles and Flora. She is on edge from the start - this is her first position, and the preceding governess died under unusual circumstances. She’s put at ease when she arrives at the beautiful and vast estate, where the staff and Flora seem charming and helpful - but it isn’t long before the staff’s slips of the tongue and Flora’s odd comments start to bring back her apprehension.

It’s clear that modern gothic horrors such as I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House and Crimson Peak are heavily influenced by The Innocents, and only The Others has come close to being so chilling - but none are as cinematically exceptional. Rife with symbolism and metaphors for sexual repression and demoralization, Miss Giddens is conflicted between keeping the children “innocent”, and pushing them to the boundaries of their supposed possessions.