Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Writer: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Producer: Scott Bernstein, Roy Lee
Stars: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Barbara Marten, Joely Richardson
Review Score:
Summary:
A private tutor confronts a strange case of madness when the mansion where she works with an orphaned heiress shows signs of being haunted.
Review:
Being perceived as a disaster can sometimes become a minor blessing in disguise. The accounting department tallying dismal box office figures at Universal would surely disagree. But I can’t be the only one for whom “The Turning’s” woeful word-of-mouth about an absolutely abysmal ending spurred me to say, “okay, I have to know how terrible this thing really is.” Imagine how much worse ticket sales would have been without us rubberneckers curious to witness the train wreck firsthand.
As far as the ending that will forever cloud all conversations concerning “The Turning” goes, I find it more clunkily ambiguous than outright nonexistent like many others do. True, the conclusion cuts to end credits so suddenly, many may wonder if an entire reel inexplicably went missing. But picking between the two biggest copout climaxes in modern horror movie history, I’ll take “The Turning’s” “we’re not sure what’s going on either, figure it out for yourself” head-scratcher over “The Devil Inside’s” (review here) shoulder-shrugging instruction to search for closure on a website meant for marketing.
Personally, I have bigger issues with the bland buildup of the first 75 minutes than with the paltry payoff of the final 15. “The Turning’s” tertiary characters and subplots that immediately run into brick walls reek of tinkering intent on engineering the beigest thriller possible. That noise you just heard is the chorus of “I could have told you that” from those who know about the film’s less than smooth production history.
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment announced this adaptation of Henry James’ classic 1898 novella “The Turn of the Screw” in 2016 with director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo attached. Alfre Woodard and Rose Leslie also signed on to star. Then the plug got pulled before shooting began and heavy rewriting ensued. The project rising from those ashes resembled so little of the original vision, Spielberg bid adieu and took his name off the movie on his way out the door. New writers, a new director, and new talent entered the picture and retooling continued.
From this brief bit of behind-the-scenes backstory, you’d be correct to suspect we’re dealing with a film used to its fair share of tearing, molding, throwing, and shaping like an overworked piece of dirty kindergarten Play-Doh. Such treatment apparently carried over because the final film contains plentiful pockmarks indicating scrapped storylines with no holdover value whatsoever.
If I were interested in padding my word count, I could add “never mind that though” after each sentence in the following summary since nearly no piece of ancillary exposition ever matters in the slightest. Watch.
“The Turning” opens on a TV report of Kurt Cobain’s death to establish that events occur in 1994. Never mind that though. Without the Nirvana newsflash, only the use of a payphone would tip anyone off to the fact that the film takes place prior to 2020. If not for that, any guess as far back as at least 1975 would seem to be in play for a setting.
Having accepted a new job as a private tutor to orphaned heiress Flora Fairchild, schoolteacher Kate Mandell says farewell to her roommate Rose. Never mind that though. Kate only talks to Rose two more times in the movie. Rose basically serves as a forgettable sounding board for an incidental instance where Kate’s inner dialogue needs an adult outlet for externalization.
Kate also says goodbye to her mentally ill mother Darla before heading off to Bly Manor. Joely Richardson either has an incredible agent or was clearly contracted for a more important part. Richardson receives the coveted “and” credit in opening titles billing her fifth and final among main actors. Yet her two scenes as Kate’s mom total less than three minutes. No way was that the original intention for her.
It’s baffling how many of the movie’s details receive one brief mention before fizzling into irrelevance altogether. Upon arriving at the estate, Kate learns Flora witnessed her parents dying in a car accident that took place on the property. Flora introduces a mannequin of her great-grandmother Sophie that somehow moves on its own when only the audience is looking. On and on apparent breadcrumbs of deeper development drop only for the crow of stale storytelling to immediately chew them up. Pay no attention to any of it. What’s the difference?
“The Turning” appears intended for people who only see one horror film a year, presumably in January, which tends to be a dumping ground for mainstream thrillers their parent studios have no confidence in. In this case, (dis)interested parties settled for a routine “solo person shuffles around an old house” movie where puzzled stares prolong slow burn suspense even though direct questions could clear up many mysteries in fast fashion. When “The Turning” tires of tiptoeing hide-and-seek scenes inside dark mansion hallways, it moves casual creeping to a foggy forest outside while continuing its quest to be a risk-free take on the tired “is the house haunted or is it all in her head?” trope. It’s disappointing to see Mackenzie Davis regress from being a badass battling multiple murder machines from the future in “Terminator: Dark Fate” (review here) to a rote role where she flinches at shadows like a hollow 20th-century horror heroine.
Start cataloguing supposed scares chronologically. A loud horse startles Kate in the stables. An audio screech accompanies a ghastly reflection while suddenly shutting a window. Kate gasps upon turning around into a macabre mannequin. The camera jump cuts to a noisy sewing machine in close-up. I don’t have to go further for it to be obvious that all of these pops are of the artificially manufactured variety.
“The Turning” wishes it could run on the steam of atmospherically gothic goosebumps akin to TV’s “Dark Shadows.” Except its pared-down plot and dull characters, of which there are only four primary players, liken the film to the less intriguing (read: yawn-inducing) episodes from before Barnabas Collins brought out more satisfying supernatural spooks.
“The Turning” is almost a perfectly average movie for a pedestrian potboiler. It might have remained in “it’s fine, I guess” territory if not for its flat finale, although abrupt cuts aren’t exclusive to the ending. Not only do obvious omissions of deleted scenes clutter things up with confusion, they send signals that producers were content to chop up their movie without caring whether or not the film flowed sensibly from one scene to the next. That’s more insulting than leaving your audience without a real resolution, or at least concrete questions we’re inspired to meaningfully mull over.
Back to the now legendarily lame ending, director Floria Sigismondi told Collider, “I was hoping that people can take away different things from the movie. To generate dialogue is what excites me … rather than being spoon-fed with a nice little bow at the end.” Sounds great. Yet when that dialogue becomes nothing but maddened murmurs of “what the hell just happened,” I’m afraid you’ve triggered the wrong kind of discourse.
Normally I’d draft a concluding paragraph. But in the spirit of “The Turning’s” sour note sendoff, I’ll instead-
Review Score: 40
If you want to see impossible amounts of blood explode crimson colors like the world’s worst version of a gender reveal, well, “Abigail” at least has that.