Innocence

Writer/Director Hilary Brougher’s Innocence falls under the horror genre, but horrible would be more apt.

The story of Beckett Warner (Sophie Curtis) starts with the abrupt death of her mother (Kelly Bensimon) while surfing.  What happened?  It’s not until an hour or so into the movie that we told she had an aneurism.

No matter.  The result is her father (Linus Roache) puts her in Hamilton, a Manhattan prep school, where Pamela Hamilton (Kelly Reilly) is the nurse.  But, is that all she is?  No.  She and a circle of women are actually over 150 years old, surviving quite well on the blood of virgin students.

This, of course, comes out gradually within the glacial pace of the film.  This pace is made excruciating by the listless demeanor of Sophie Curtis, who is talented and was probably directed to be that way.  Seriously, you could bring your knitting and make a sweater waiting for something to happen.  Or, learn to knit without worrying about missing anything. 

And, of course, there is the cliché “f!*# you” ending of bad horror movies, unintentionally laughable as Beckett destroys the witches only to inherit their spirit.

If it weren’t for the really fine cinematography of David Rush Morrison and the fact Kelly Reilly is incredibly pleasing to look at, this film would be a complete dud.

I give Innocence a 1+ out of 5.