The Turning(2020)
2020 · Floria Sigismondi · 94 min
A young woman quits her teaching job to become a private tutor and governess for two wealthy young kids, but soon starts to suspect there’s more to their house than meets the eye.
Horror · Thriller
5.71k votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
1/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How The Turning scares
There's a heavy, uneasy feeling that builds slowly through most of the runtime, with long stretches of quiet dread rather than constant jolts. The scares lean on strange sounds, half-seen figures, and a sense that reality itself might be slipping, more than on blood or violence. It plays out in a huge, gloomy old house where every hallway and mirror feels like it's hiding something, and the tension comes from not knowing what's real. It's a good pick if you like slow, moody ghost stories that leave you unsettled and a little confused rather than jumping out of your seat.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Turning rates psychological 4/5, visceral 2/5, gore 1/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 1 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 32 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 50 of 100 — balanced
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 48 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, creeping build with scattered jolts that gradually thickens into a tense, unsettling final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4.
How scary is The Turning?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Turning rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be restrained with gore and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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