The Turn of the Screw   Starring: Michelle Dockery, Sue Johnston and Corin Redgrave Acorn Media UK RRP: £16.99 AV9742 Certificate: 15 Available 01 March 2010

A young woman held imprisoned in an insane asylum refuses to tell her tale, until one man finds the key that will unlock her dark secrets. Hired as a governess to two young children, Miles and Flora, she found herself entrapped in a terrible mystery. What happened to her predecessor? What secrets do the children carry with them? Why was young Miles expelled from school? Who was Peter Quint - and why does his spirit fill the house with fear...?

The Turn of the Screw is based on Henry James's 1898 novella of the same name. This BBC adaptation was originally broadcast on BBC One in 2009.

The production is a cross between a period drama and a run-of-the-mill ghost story. The acting is universally superb, but as the story is a little wishy-washy we were only ever going to end up with an average tale at best. The story has been adapted so many times (in full and in part) that I doubt very few people will be surprised by the plot twists.

Sweet, innocent children are a well used crutch in horror and ghost movies. There's something unnerving about a child being capable of evil acts most would only associate with warped adults. And it's because of this saturation in this genre, that The Turn of the Screw doesn't really hold much in the way of surprises.

Extras include the text based Cast Filmographies and a picture gallery.

While enjoyable for the duration, it's very unlikely that you'll want to watch this production more than once.

6

Darren Rea