By Jane Nightshade
Yes, it's true. The actor Marlon Brando, the ultimate A-lister, once did a relatively low-budget horror movie, just before his big, big Oscar-winning comeback in THE GODFATHER (1972). THE NIGHTCOMERS (1971) is the film, directed by Michael Winner, the British director of so many early 70s Charles Bronson action films, including **DEATH WISH## and THE MECHANIC.
THE NIGHTCOMERS isn't a very good movie; in fact it's rather awful, but it's based on an interesting idea: a "prequel" that explains the back story to the world's most-filmed ghost story, The Turn of the Screw, based on a novella from the 1890s by Anglo-American author, Henry James.
For those who haven't read the story, or watched the numerous film, TV or opera adaptations, here's a quick recap: the plot concerns a naive, inexperienced woman who takes up a post as a governess to two small children, Miles and Flora, at a remote grand estate, called Bly, in the English countryside. The woman becomes convinced that the two children are possessed by the departed ghosts of the former governess, Miss Jessel, and the handyman, Peter Quint, who have both recently died. Miss Jessel committed suicide by drowning herself in a pond on the estate; Quint fell on stone pavement while in a drunken stupor and bashed his head in. In the governess's view, the two evil spirits are continuing their lustful affair in the children's bodies. Tragedy ensues when she tries to confront the spirit of Quint, resulting in the death of Miles and the hysterical, mental breakdown of little Flora. It is left to the readers (or the audience) to decide for themselves whether or not the ghosts are real, or whether they are just a figment of the imagination of the mentally fragile governess.
In THE NIGHTCOMERS, Quint and Miss Jessel are still very much alive, played respectively by Brando and Stephanie Beacham (best known as Sable Colby in the 80s night-time soap DYNASTY). The action takes place at Bly House a year before the events related in the James novella. It covers the affair between Quint and Miss Jessel, and their relationship with the two children.
Cinematically speaking, the main problem with THE NIGHTCOMERS is that Winner apparently couldn’t decide what kind of film he was making: sometimes it resembles an 18th Century picaresque comedy based on a novel by Henry Fielding; sometimes it's a soft-core porn film (by 70s standards); sometimes it's a horror movie. Like many older films, it's very s-l-o-w, with a long build-up to a somewhat short pay-off in the last fifteen minutes or so.
The second main problem is its legendary star. Miscast and misdirected, Brando as the villainous Quint comes off not as sinister or threatening; he’s simply enormously childish and disgusting, like the office mate who always tells unwelcome toilet jokes at the company Christmas party. The actor's famous mumbling and slurring, obscured even further by a hammy Irish brogue, makes the great man almost unintelligible at times, which, combined with the slow pacing, can really try the patience of the audience.
We first meet the unhygienic Quint when he's teaching the children how to torture a frog by stuffing its mouth with a lit cigar; the non-exhaled smoke makes the frog literally blow up. Quint explains to the children that the frog loves the tobacco taste so much he can't stop inhaling even if it kills him, an explanation that becomes a somewhat clumsy metaphor when later, Quint gets up to a bit of sadomasochistic kink with Miss Jessel. Miss Jessel, you see, just can’t quit him, even though he smells bad and hurts her both physically and mentally.
The children watch the two lovers and their S&M games, and then try to imitate what they see. Which brings us to another drawback; the actors playing Miles and Flora are far too old for their parts: 14 and 18 respectively, in roles meant for children of 10 and eight. The actress who plays Flora is especially unbelievable in the looks department; she could have credibly played Miss Jessel herself. Reportedly, Winner used teenagers instead of age-appropriate child actors because of the S&M scenes, but it just doesn't work. It would have been much better to cast child actors for most of the non-sex scenes, and used adult body doubles in half-light for the “adult” scenes.
What saves much of the film is the story, which is engrossing in its way, despite the slow pacing. Horror fans won’t find all that much to go on, however; the only real hint of the supernatural occurs sporadically, such as when Flora causes Miss Jessel's demise via voodoo magic taught to her by Quint. The acting performances (aside from Brando) are solid, especially character actress Thora Hird as the no-nonsense housekeeper, Mrs. Grose. The photography is excellent and there's a lovely score, which unfortunately doesn't match the script, due to its light-hearted, picaresque nature. This movie cries out for a proper remake, with an appropriate actor in the Quint role, better pacing, and a more ominous, atmospheric mood and score. The verdict: the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel are real, as the new governess, arriving at the end of the film, will shortly find out. 5/10, on disc and streaming.
