The Turning - February 22, 2019

[Darth Marcus]

Source: Coming Soon

Universal and Amblin Date The Turning
By Kylie Hemmert - May 4, 2018

Universal and Amblin date The Turning

Universal Pictures has revealed the release dates for three upcoming projects: DreamWorks Pictures’ The Turning will open on Friday, February 22, 2019.

The Turning

For more than 100 years, a deeply haunting tale has been passed down to terrify audiences. Next February, DreamWorks Pictures’ The Turning takes us to a mysterious estate in the Maine countryside, where newly appointed nanny Kate is charged with the care of two disturbed orphans, Flora and Miles. Quickly though, she discovers that both the children and the house are harboring dark secrets and things may not be as they appear.

Inspired by Henry James’ landmark novella, the haunted-house thriller is directed by renowned visualist Floria Sigismondi (The Runaways, The Handmaid’s Tale) and stars Mackenzie Davis (Tully, The Martian), Finn Wolfhard (It, Stranger Things), newcomer Brooklyn Prince (The Florida Project) and Joely Richardson (Red Sparrow, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

From writers Chad & Carey Hayes (The Conjuring) and Jade Bartlett, The Turning is produced by Roy Lee (It, The Lego Movie) and Scott Bernstein (Straight Outta Compton, Ride Along 2). Universal will release The Turning domestically and in select international territories.

[Foggy]

I really hope this isn’t a shitty jump scare brigade. The story and the Jack Clayton film have a lot more psychological depth to it than a standard haunted house film.

[Cremildo]

They don't say "visionary" anymore, huh? It's "renowned visualist"!

[puddy77]

https://youtu.be/EzRta_gDfbc

[Britnasty]

Looks absolutely dreadful.

[Todd Tomorrow]

With this originating with the writers of The Conjuring, it’s probably best to put the original novel and The Innocents out of ones head. No doubt the trailer makes this look as close to something like The Conjuring as possible to sell this, it even has a 70s period look.

I doubt this will be great, I’m a big fan of Mackenzie Davis though and unless it gets totally trashed, I might check it out on BD for her.

[EvaDK]

The trailer is pretty dreadful. The dialogue is... not good.

[Creed]

Not a good trailer.

I didn't know this would be Sicario 3, with the music, lol.

[MifuneFan]

This does not look all that good, but the trailer did show off some creepy compositions that I liked. Movie looks like it's decently shot at least, and the setting should provide nice atmosphere, but everything else just seems mediocre. Also, Finn Wolfhard is becoming pretty type-cast. He needs to do a comedy or two to really separate himself from these darker roles he's been taking on.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

This does not look all that good, but the trailer did show off some creepy compositions that I liked. Movie looks like it's decently shot at least, and the setting should provide nice atmosphere, but everything else just seems mediocre. Also, Finn Wolfhard is becoming pretty type-cast. He needs to do a comedy or two to really separate himself from these darker roles he's been taking on.

He’s in Ghostbusters 2020. I don’t imagine that being a drama.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

He’s in Ghostbusters 2020. I don’t imagine that being a drama.

I saw that listing, and still thought it was a typecasting in a horror genre movie, but you're right, it's no doubt going to be a comedy.

[The Great Owl]

Three and a half stars

Kate, a young teacher played by Mackenzie Davis, is hired to work as a governess at a sprawling estate, where she is tasked with the upbringing of Flora, a seven year-old girl who is traumatized by the deaths of her parents and by the mysterious disappearance of her previous caretaker. Shortly after Kate's arrival, Flora's psychologically unsound adolescent brother, Miles, returns home after being expelled from a private school. During the days that follow, as our beleaguered heroine focuses attention on the two children, with no help from the stern elderly housekeeper, she learns some horrifying secrets and begins to wonder if she and the other three occupants are alone in the mansion.

The 2020 supernatural horror film, The Turning, offers an interesting new take on the 1898 Henry James novel, The Turn of the Screw, and its 1961 cinematic interpretation, The Innocents, which starred Deborah Kerr in the lead role. The end result lacks the classic effectiveness of those two inspirational precursors, but I applaud director Floria Sigismondi, who earned her stripes by helming music videos, for preserving the delicate ambiguity of the original narrative and for capturing the appropriate mood, with plenty of help from the location settings themselves and from the masterfully chilling music score by Nathan Barr. I suspect that most moviegoers will walk out of the theater frustrated once the end credits start to roll, but I fell under the spell of the gothic aesthetic to the point where I remained in my seat until after the credits were finished.

This latest adaptation of the James story throws some contemporary gender dynamics themes into the fray. The experience of watching Davis's strong-willed Kate gradually succumb to mental deterioration over the course of the film invites comparisons to real-life news stories about harassed women whose accusations are met with apathy from judges or co-workers. Sigismondi may drive the point home with the subtlety of a jackhammer, thanks to multiple scenes where the lead character's frightening visions of things that go bump in the night are greeted with casual bewilderment by those around her or by gaslighting, but the repetitiveness simply serves to amplify the disquieting aura of the tale.

Davis, who has recently commanded rightful attention with roles in Terminator: Dark Fate, Blade Runner 2049, and The Martian, is once again a sympathetic, yet assertive screen presence. Finn Wolfhard, who has been hitting the mark time and time again with major parts in the Stranger Things television series and in the recent two-part adaptation of Stephen King's IT, steals the show as an initially unlikable boy who bears the weight of his own traumas. Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project) is a talented child actor who exudes the nuances of her literary character in full. Finally, Barbara Marten's performance as the housekeeper will not exactly compel viewers to seek their own hired help at home.

I am still conflicted about whether or not The Turning is a good film. In its own wondrously off-kilter way, however, it is never anything less than fascinating. If you are attuned to movies that rely on haunting images and do not mind when the dots do not entirely connect in a way that you were expecting, then this one is calling you.

[aiman04]

What happened to the Amblin logo?

[Leonidas King]

I’m just happy for the little girl from The Florida Project getting roles. She is great.

[Britnasty]

1/5.

This was utterly terrible. You spend 90% of the movie setting up the film and then nothing happens. It’s all build up then Mackenzie Davis gets scared, sees ghosts, the kids play tricks on her, and then the last 10 minutes happen and it ends abruptly.

Sure, the spooky gothic aesthetic is cool to look at but that’s all it is. It’s all atmosphere with no payoff. The scares are all cliche, it’s your typical January horror.

The ending is just stupid. A thing happens and then it just ends abruptly out of nowhere. And if the ending is supposed to hint that

[Show spoiler]MacKenzie Davis is crazy as hell just like her mother and maybe the house isn’t haunted

, they completely fail to set that up.

[Damon1281]

Movie is a bore, however Brooklynn Prince is adorable. Mackenzie Davis looks ridiculous with the bangs but is an improvement in the acting category over her terminator performance. Not enough. Jump scares don't even make you jump and the antagonist seldom threatens. 1 star.

[EvaDK]

Suspected it was a dud, despite the talent involved and the great source material. The trailer was really bad.

[SleazyForWeasley]

1 / 5
The plot is almost non-existent, and there's an aimlessness to the entire film that leaves the audience thinking "what's the point?," but hey, at least Finn Wolfhard is wearing some neat sweaters.

[chad_1138]

So, does Finn Wolfhard play his typical big mouth a**hole character in this?

[Kaiju]

Damn... was really hoping this was a hit.