The Haunting of Helen Walker (1995 TV Movie) User Reviews

Good Ghost Story

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 10 September 2019]

This one is based on Henry James' classic tale "Turn of the Screw".

This is a slower burner - it is a drama with bits of subtle spookiness at the beginning but by then end of the film there are several creepy scenes.

I can't give away the film's ending for first time viewers but I can say that Miles (the boy in the film) I wanted to paddle his butt thoughout most of the movie but towards the ending you'll understand why he acted that way - and it's sickening what was going on with him and his sister Flora. Worth watching!

7/10

Children In Jep. Maybe.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 9 March 2017]

It's always hard to do a remake or adaptation of a classic like Henry James' "Turn of the Screw." The director, actors, and crew must transpose a lot of printed words into visual images and sound. It ain't easy.

The performers can do a lot to add realism to the movie. Diana Rigg, for instance, is the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, and without seeming to do so she turns a dull and unimaginative old lady into a human being by the pitch and stress of her voice and by occasional sideways glances that aren't in the novella but which suggest she's smarter than she looks.

Valerie Bertinelli does a TV version of the heroine, Helen Walker, who was unnamed in the original. She's not bad, considering the challenge presented by a display of creeping madness.

But cast and crew aside, there's another element to be considered -- the intended audience, whose nature will help structure and color the narrative. Any movie is a joint project between the producers and the consumers. In this instance, the producers have presented the audience with a kind of Rorschach ink blot and the viewers have to decide, among other things, whether or not it's a picture of a crazy lady.

The intended audience is the TV viewer looking for something interesting but not too demanding. "The Haunting of Helen Walker" fills the bill. It's not too demanding. For example the governess is given a name right off the bat because it make writing the screenplay easier and it doesn't prompt the audience to wonder if her name was left out by mistake.

Most of the better-done stories of threats and danger take a while to build up tense anticipation. We don't get a look at Bruce the Shark until half-way through "Jaws," and the same with "King Kong." The mysterious and evil figure in "The Third Man" has about fifteen minutes of screen time towards the end. In "The Turn of the Screw" evil is represented by two not-quite-real figures who are only gradually insinuated into the tale. But in "The Haunting of Helen Walker," with an impatient audience in mind, the producers give us the first supernatural shock at ten minutes into the story. (The second comes ten minutes later.) Between eerie incidents, the movie lets us see the governess daydreaming about the handsome young master of the country estate, whom we see only briefly at the start. James let us infer her yearning for a suitable husband.

I've been kind of harsh on "The Haunting of Helen Walker" but it's not a bad movie. They haven't taken a meat ax to James' ghost story. It gets more confusing towards the end, almost hysterical. I don't know what James had in mind. Is she nuts or not? Maybe all James wanted to do was write a chilling tale about ghosts and such.

Dismal attempt at spook show

[helpless_dancer · 5/10 · 23 January 2002]

This was worse than a Harlequin romance novel: the only good part was the old castle and the surrounding landscape. Hammy, overdone rehash of every 2 bit ghostly/old manse film that's ever been done. It provided rain, lightning, dim corridors, haunting music, candles blowing out, spectral beings, and on and on and on all the way to the 'creepy' finale. Valerie should have stayed home and let Eddie bring home the bacon.

Interesting turn, on Turn of the Screw..........

[suzyqfd · 9 February 2001]

In agreement with the other comments, I too was skeptical with Valerie Bertinelli in the part of the governess in basically an all British film. But she was surprisingly very good. I also agree that this was a very scary movie. The effects were great, not overboard. The actor portraying Peter Quint was diabolical looking. Think about how difficult it is to act without being able to speak....very interesting. Diana Rigg, as always was great in her role. The children were okay, the boy had a tendency to squint, but when his eyes were open, he was a very handsome child. The film location was perfect for this type of movie, kind of pseudo-gothic. If you like horror, I would definitely recommend this movie.

Finally, the screw has been turned the right way.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 12 December 2021]

A much adoption of Henry Miller short story "The Turn of the Screw" which has been made more times probably than it deserves to be. Other than "The Innocents" and a prequel, "The Night Comers", I haven't been crazy about any of the other versions I've seen. Perhaps my delight in this version is the fact that I did not think Valerie Bertinelli could pull it off, and an hour into the film, I realized that I didn't even think I was watching her at all. She certainly has gone a long way from her teenage sitcom days.

In this version, the character of Helen Walker is an American Widow, living in England and hired by the uncle of two orphan children to be her nanny. She finds mystery and mayhem at their large country estate, unanswered questions in regards to the deceased recent nanny and the valet lover who had died just days before. After a while, she begins to see their spirits and fears that something in regards to the ghosts are affecting the children.

While the children are basically good, there are elements of them that at times seem incestuous, with the brother being on time like a young Caligula, and the sister's desire to sleep with him after she has a nightmare. The ghost of the dead valet even seems to be taking over his body at times. Diana Rigg is great as the housekeeper, basically a kind lady but very strong when she feels that Bertinelli is snooping too much, and Michael Gough is the gardener. They add a classy touch to a very good production.

Can't better Deborah's

[eashmore09 · 4/10 · 9 February 2013]

Bit of a yawn I'm afraid, but then Deborah Kerr's, "THE INNOCENTS"is a hard act to follow. That has the advantage of being shot in stunning black and white for starters which I think creates an eerie, unsettling atmosphere throughout which this colour version fails to do. Yes I may have jumped at one point but at no time was there anything to send a real chill down my spine. The subtle, ghostly appearances in "THE INNOCENTS" were much more effective in achieving that in my opinion. I wish I could be more positive in my review of "The Haunting of Helen Walker" as it started well and engaged me. I was really hoping for something a bit special. I cannot fault the acting and overall production, but it just simply looked too glossy and lacked atmosphere for my liking, but at least I saw it through to the end.

A hair-raising and creepy TV horror movie!

[OllieSuave-007 · 7/10 · 22 October 2014]

Based on the novel, Turn of the Screw, Helen Walker is hired as a governess for two English children, Miles and Flora, in their old mansion in the England countryside. While on the job, Helen notices strange events surrounding the mansion and children and is determined to discover the surrounding secrets of the home's past history.

This is actually a pretty intriguing movie that captures the audience's attention with the peculiar children, followed by the immediate sightings of the apparitions by Helen Walker. Valerie Bertinelli did a nice job portraying her, displaying aspects of care and nurture for the children and drama and suspicion in places in the plot where appropriate. Diana Rigg did a commanding job in portraying the intimidating Mrs. Grose and Florence Hoath and Aled Roberts did a convincing job portraying the kids - very refined, dignified and lady/gentleman-like. Aled's portrayal of Miles always has this sly and sinister look at his face, with his nose in the air and stuck-up persona that I've found annoying at times.

The effects done for the ghosts were worked out very well and their appearances really sent chills down my body and the hair raise on the back of my neck. The effects team also did a great job in setting up the grand mansion (making it spooky when appropriate) and the surrounding landscapes, especially the green valleys and lake.

I know the movie is based on the novel, but I wished ***spoiler ahead*** Helen would have gave the screaming and obnoxious Flora a taste of her own medicine toward the end and wished the ending would have been made a little more hopeful rather than downright sad (I'm a sucker for happy endings). The ending also seemed a little rushed for me. ***spoiler ends***

Overall, it's not a bad hair-raising TV movie for a few good scares and chills.

Grade B-

Is it just me???

[TheGuyWithTheFeet · 4/10 · 27 January 2012]

Is it just me or is this almost a scene-for-scene remake of The Innocents? I know that they're both based on the same story. But dialog is similar, scenes are similar. Only thing that's not similar is that The Innocents is a high-class, beautifully shot, well-acted production. I found this one to be cheap and poorly played. Valerie Bertinelli doesn't really belong in period pieces. She doesn't have a period look. She doesn't have a period voice. Diana Rigg, however, is pretty great (as usual). She always turns in amazing performances and her Mrs. Gross is no exception. Everyone else though is lackluster and kind of boring. And, adding to the pile, it really drags. It just kind of lays there like a dead fish.

Excellent version of "Turn of the Screw"

[Oriel · 9/10 · 22 December 1999]

My friends have a difficult time stifling their giggles when I mention a quality film version of Henry James's classic "Turn of the Screw" starring Valerie Bertinelli, but she does quite a good job in the title role (a character altered just slightly from the novella to account for her American origins in a British cast and setting) of an altogether excellent film.

Those who have seen the earlier screen treatment of this story, _The Innocents_ (with Deborah Kerr in the Bertinelli role) will enjoy this version for similar reasons, foremost among them the excellent screenplay and eerie atmosphere. The 1995 film adds effective ghostly special effects (chilling but never overdone) to heighten the spookiness, a lush location setting, and increased emphasis on the disturbingly sexual nature of the hauntings. The children may not be as sympathetic as they should be--it's difficult to believe that their natural, unpossessed state is cherubic innocence--but the young actors are convincingly creepy and sly when under the spirits' influence. Altogether the cast is wonderful, with the incomparable Diana Rigg especially effective as the housekeeper who unwillingly comes to recognize that the new governess is _not_ just imagining things. Bertinelli's devotion, fear, and ultimate determination are completely believable, and the final showdown with the evil Peter Quint is haunting indeed--it will take your breath away. This film deserves a place in every ghost story lover's video collection.

A bad example of a screen adaptation

[heinzrogel · 4/10 · 17 January 2017]

I know, I know. The movie version of a novel doesn't usually meet the expectations of the reader resp. the viewer. Especially if the text is as masterfully written as the Henry James novella "The Turn of the Screw". But shouldn't a good film stick to the main idea of the novel? Which in this case is not only the nature of certain underlying motives for the main characters' actions but also the ambiguity of these motives. James's novella is not just a simple ghost story. It's a subtle psychological probe of a person's state of mind, using literary means. This can also be achieved with cinematic means if the screen writer and the director and the editor of the film are up to their tasks. The best examples for successful achievements in this area are Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". But you don't have to be a genius to make a good mystery movie. You should just avoid the usual stereotypes and the cheap tricks and the obvious traps that come with the genre.

So, if you have read the novella and liked it don't watch this movie. If you just want to watch a simple horror movie this one might be a good catch. But don't pretend, in one of your next party small talks, that you've read James's novella. You might get psyched out.

"Turn of the Screw" From a "True-Story" Point of View

[aesgaard41 · 9/10 · 1 March 2001]

I'm a big fan of Valerie Bertinelli; she's a very lovely and under-rated actress, and she does very well in this movie. The problem is that "A Turn of the Screw" by Henry James has been done too many times with little variations or deviations from the original novel. Done best as "The Innocents" (1961), the plot was only really done differently and interestingly on "Dark Shadows" with David Selby and Terry Crawford. The Bertinelli movie is very scary and has great convincing special effects, but some problem does rest in the direction and execution. She finds all these clues that something is wrong at the estate she works on, but it is hard to tell just how all these clues relate to each other once you realize that the children are under the thrall of two ghosts who hate each other. The movie on its own is a very top-notch ghost story, but you have to be totally unaware of the original novel to appreciate it.

Oh. My. God.

[Serafine · 9/10 · 10 August 1999]

I am a huge horror fan and this film is up there with the best of them. I might even go so far as to compare the shocks in this film to those found in 'Don't Look Now'. It starts quite slowly and seems to be just an ordinary period drama to begin with, but soon your heart will start beating.

The first shock is totally unexpected and will still scare you when you think about it later. I won't give it away, but you'll notice it! Although the film does have some slower bits, there are enough twists, turns and shocks throughout to keep you interested. One of the only bad parts of this film is the children that Helen Walker looks after. I wanted to give them (especially the boy) a good slap, but this does not decrease the power and shock of the images that'll keep you thinking about this film long after you've seen it.

Underrated

[hilaryjrp · 9/10 · 5 September 2020]

This film doesn't deserve a "10," but for only one reason. The ending is absurd and meaningless. Valerie Bertinelli's, and her director's, brilliant feminist interpretation of Henry James' misogynist story deserved a denouement. Without spoiling the five seconds or so of film that pass for an ending, it can be said those five seconds undo all the freshness of the movie. The Haunting of Helen Walker has three adult female characters: governess, estate manager (played by Diana Rigg), and housekeeper, none of whom hate one another, distrust one another, or-a typical Jamesian conceit-tolerate one another. Helen's increasing identification with children clearly victims of abuse and neglect doesn't cause the manager, for example, to demand her dismissal. Helen's American-ness isn't regarded as a mild form of illness. And unlike The Turn of the Screw, which questions a lonely protagonist's sanity, The Haunting of Helen Walker shows how a real governess living in isolated splendor might react when she is forsaken by two very rich children's sadistic uncle. I review older, generally unknown, sometimes ridiculed, films when I see they don't deserve the scores they receive on IMDB. The Haunting of Helen Walker inexplicably turns Walker into a victim at the end without letting us know how much time has passed, the circumstances of her losing her mind, or whether the other child who can be saved is saved. But that is the writer's (or writers') fault, not Bertinelli's or Rigg's. I don't think I've ever seen another production where Valerie Bertinelli's acting talent is put to better use.

really good ghost story

[atinder · 8/10 · 4 August 2013]

The Haunting of Helen Walker (1995)

Now this what you call a good chiller, I really enjoyed it, it dose take long to get to the creepy parts, they worked really well.

There are to far apart from each other and they not just there for one Jump scenes, you see this ghost for more then 20's seconds.

I loved the Raining window scenes was really well shot and very creepy how movie was fixed on that the whole time,

The Kid in this movie was creepy but I think they were a little to cute to laugh like that.

I really enjoyed this movie, I know it updated version Turn of the Screw (There are few of these out there)

The acting was outstanding from the whole cast and Kids were great too

I going to give this movie 8 out of 10

The Devil is a Gentleman, but sometimes a rogue...

[DBlackthorne · 8/10 · 3 December 2013]

Based on The Turn of The Screw by Henry James, a new governess {Valerie Bertinelli} for two children arrives at a beautiful Gothic mansion in the English countryside complete with a private lake. Although the Lord of the Manor will not be present, placing all responsibility upon her shoulders - he being a confirmed bachelor, and she a lonely young childless widow, she implores for the opportunity.

Upon her arrival, she spots a face in a blackened window, then later a man on top the tower, and the same lady by the lake. She encounters former Lord of the Manor Peter Quint gazing menacingly in at her from outside a window on a Sunday morning just before church, in which she had just mentioned that The Devil 'causes obstacles for the faithful on Sundays' {the classic "Speak of The Devil and The Devil appears"}. His eyes flicker and long black hair frames a pale face, as Helen is terrified speechless.

The Lady by the lake is Miss Jessel attired in a black dress in which she drowned by suicide after Quint, her lover, fell from that tower. Ms. Walker seems to be sensitive to the ghostly apparitions therein, although head maid Mrs. Grose does not believe her at first, fearing Helen may be losing her mind, yet subsequent strange events become undeniable. The children Flora and Miles steadily become possessed by these shades and set their mischievousness upon their new American governess.

In the end, Emily Jessel and Peter Quint are reunited in a passionate embrace, and despite his beckoning for her to join them, Helen falls back in fright. She attends to the children to free them of the clutches of this devilish rogue, whose reputation is regarded as a monster, lecher, carouser, not only by the resident maids {whom it is assumed he took liberties with}, but also the goodly groundskeeper Barnaby, who held the opinion that "god" struck him down {perhaps a wee bit of jealousy there?}. ∞