DVD Review: The Nightcomers (1971)

Henry James’ classic horror tale The Turn of the Screw has been adapted for the screen many times. Most film adaptations follow a somewhat similar formula and use the basic story found in the book as their focus. In my opinion the best of these adaptations is Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) which remains one of the most disturbing horror films I’ve ever seen some 45 years after it was made.

Michael Winner’s The Nightcomers (1971) takes a very different approach to Henry James’ original material. The film is a sort of prequel to The Turn of the Screw and it attempts to explain the events that lead up to the mysterious deaths of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint.

The Nightcomers begins with the new Master of Blye House (Harry Andrews) in Cambridgeshire getting custody of the recently orphaned children Miles (Christopher Ellis) and Flora (Verna Harvey). The Master has no interest in caring for the two children and he neglects to tell them of their parents’ sudden death. He hires an attractive young governess named Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham) to care for them before he leaves for London and without much supervision the children become deeply drawn to the mischievous groundskeeper Peter Quint (Marlon Brando). Together Quint and Miss Jessel unknowingly become surrogate parents to the neglected children.

Quint is a troubled man with no formal education, but he’s also very smart and his modern way of looking at the world is at odds with the century that he finds himself living in. In contrast to the sexually repressed and emotionally charged Miss Jessel, Quint is very comfortable with his sexuality and masochistic desires which seem to both attract and repel Miss Jessel.

When the children witness the sadistic games that Quint and Miss Jessel are playing with one another in private, they become fascinated as well as disturbed by them. Flora and Miles soon begin acting out and imitating the “unspeakable” acts of the adults they admire which unfortunately has dire consequences for everyone.

The Nightcomers is a fascinating film due to Marlon Brando and Stephanie Beacham's uninhibted performances as well as the extremely adult and graphic approach that director Michael Winner takes with the material. The movie is not completely successful and there are plenty of noticeable problems with Michael Hastings script as well as the lackluster score by composer Jerry Fielding, but if you’re willing to forgive them as well as Brando’s unconvincing attempt at an Irish accent, you might find a few things to enjoy in this unusual film.

Marlon Brando made The Nightcomers a year before appearing in Bernardo Bertolucci’s sexually explicit adult film Last Tango in Paris. It’s impossible to not notice the similarities between Brando’s role as Peter Quint and his role as Paul in Last Tango in Paris if you’ve seen both films. Brando’s natural ability to tell a sly story and laugh at himself comes across in his playful interactions with the children in The Nightcomers and his uninhibited sexuality is clearly on display during his bedroom scenes with Stephanie Beacham.

Stephanie Beacham delivers one of her best performances in the film as the tormented Miss Jessel. It’s one of Beacham’s earliist film roles and she would later go on to appear in many other British thrillers and horror movies such as Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) and Schizo (1976). The child actors who play Flora and Miles are much less convincing and seem a bit too old for their roles at times. They do have difficult parts to play in this dark adult drama so it's easy to forgive their failings.

The film is somewhat hard to recommend, but if you’re familiar with Henry James’ original tale, as well as previous film adaptations of The Turn of the Screw you might find The Nightcomers as interesting as I did. Unfortunately the film fails to evoke the kind of quiet terror present in movies like The Innocents and filmmaker Michael Winner doesn't seem capable of creating an atmosphere of dread which would have greatly improved the production.

Lionsgate has recently released The Nightcomers on NTSC Region-1 DVD in the US. The film is presented in widecseen and the picture quality is exceptional. Extras include a brief introduction to the film and audio commentary by director Michael Winner.

For more information about the DVD please see Amazon.

- Kimberly Lindbergs