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Mar 04, 2018Derringer rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
"The Innocents" ("TI" for short) was released in 1961 (is everyone bored already?). This was a year after the release of that total terrorizer "Psycho", which, when it came to horror movies, was not an easy act to follow. But, thankfully, the producers of "TI" weren't interested in following in "Psycho's" gruesome foot-steps. What a contrast there is between these 2 excellent and very powerful horror movies. Both are packed to capacity with mounting suspense and terror. And, of course, both, in their own right, are superbly crafted with top-notch performances from all members of the cast. While "Psycho", literally, drenched the audience with buckets of blood, "TI" didn't even spill a single drop. It took a different approach to terror. It produced the one thing that was in short supply in "Psycho" and that was genuine goose-pimples. I'm not kidding, this movie is so frickin' eerie and spine-chilling that it'll have you shivering all over. It's the very thing that true ghost stories are made of and it's all been captured here so brilliantly. "TI" does not ring false once, nor is there one bad note in it. This is something that is certainly unique and rare when it comes to the likes of horror films. The terror that lurks within the shadows of this brilliantly frightening story really needs to be seen by you, the viewer, rather than me wasting my time trying to describe the indescribable. It can't be done. Even though we've all been pretty much jaded by all the horror films that have come out since "TI" I don't think there's another one out there that packs the sort of "ghostly" wallop that this one does. If you want chills. If you want thrills. "TI" delivers in a true Gothic style.