The Turning

“Watch the children with care.”

Filmology Rating: 1.25 out of 4

Kate (McKenzie Davis) is hired to be responsible for two young children after their parent's death, so she moves into their mansion. A series of creepy things occur until the editor got bored and quit. 'The Turning' is one of those rare horror films that comes along that is so baffling that whatever happened behind the scenes must be twice as interesting as the film itself.

Nothing happens at all in the entire film. The entire film could be edited out of order and nothing would really change because it's just a series of jumpy moments and no actual story.

The first half of the film is fairly banal and what one would expect from a hack screenplay for a horror film; woman walks around creepy house, sees creepy things that are solely there just to have a jump scare, moody lighting to make it look like a horror film, ghosts, elderly creepy woman, etc. Then by the final act, it transcends into something beautiful.

Not only does the film relish in its dream sequences to trick the audience into thinking that something dramatic is happening, the film also has one of the most baffling "endings" in recent years.

Right in the middle of the third act, the movie just ends and the titles roll, which was met with a simultaneous laughter from the audience. Some people were so upset in the theater that some even requested refunds because of how terrible the film was.

Some of the best horror films of all time were made by real filmmakers who weren't primarily known for horror. It was something they brought to the material from an outside perspective that made the film great.

But if you just want to see a film where everything is dimly lit to look like a haunted mansion with multiple jump scares, a non-ending, and over-acting, then this film is for you.

Rating: Let It Burn