The Turning

The Turning

Year: 2020

Runtime: 94 min

Language: Italian

Director: Floria Sigismondi

Echo Score: 33

Budget: $14M

DramaMysteryHorror

A governess takes a position caring for two children living in a secluded and unsettling estate. As she gets to know the young boy and girl, she begins to suspect that something sinister is hidden within the family’s history. The boy’s return stirs up disturbing events and unleashes a wave of madness and terror, forcing her to confront the estate's dark secrets and fight for her sanity.

The Turning (2020) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

Get a spoiler-free look at The Turning (2020) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.

In a remote, towering estate perched on the edge of a dense forest, the air itself seems to hold its breath. The house, grand yet oppressive, whispers of generations gone by, its empty corridors and shadowed wings inviting more questions than answers. The atmosphere is one of quiet dread, where every creak and flicker of light hints at secrets that have long been buried beneath polished wood and faded portraits.

Kate arrives as the new governess, stepping into a role that promises both responsibility and isolation. Having grown up in the shadows of abandonment and an asylum‑bound mother, she carries a fragile resolve and a yearning for purpose. The journey to the manor is as much a passage into the unknown as it is a chance to confront the fragments of her own past, and the sprawling grounds feel both a sanctuary and an uncanny maze.

The children under her care are as enigmatic as the house itself. Flora, a solemn girl who has never known life beyond the estate’s bounds, watches the world through a thin veil of curiosity and fear. Miles, recently returned from schooling, bears the weight of an uneasy temperament that keeps him distant. Their enigmatic behavior is mirrored by Mrs. Grose, the stern housekeeper whose presence adds an extra layer of formality and hidden melancholy to the household. Together, the trio creates a delicate balance of attachment and tension, each interaction hinting at deeper, unspoken histories.

As days bleed into nights, the estate becomes a character in its own right—its looming silhouettes and lingering mist cultivating a mood of psychological unease. Kate finds herself navigating a fragile line between caretaking and self‑preservation, drawn ever deeper into the house’s quiet mysteries. The film promises a slow‑burning exploration of isolation, memory, and the thin veil between reality and the unseen, inviting the audience to linger in the shadows alongside its haunted protagonists.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 01:26

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Psychological Horrors with Unreliable Narrators like The Turning

Psychological thrillers where the protagonist's sanity is the central mystery.If you liked the ambiguous terror of The Turning, explore more movies like it that focus on psychological horror and unreliable narrators. These similar stories feature characters grappling with their sanity, often in claustrophobic settings, creating a deeply unsettling and paranoid viewing experience.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a protagonist, often isolated or under stress, who experiences events that may be supernatural or purely psychological. The narrative structure deliberately withholds objective truth, making the character's mental state the primary source of conflict and suspense. The journey is a descent into ambiguity, where the final revelation often concerns the protagonist's psyche rather than an external threat.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together because they share a core focus on subjective reality and psychological fragility. They prioritize mood and intellectual unease over clear-cut scares, using techniques like ambiguous imagery and fragmented storytelling to create a coherent experience of dread rooted in the fear of madness.

Gothic Haunted House Stories like The Turning

Sinister stories set in decaying manors with dark ancestral secrets.Fans of The Turning's oppressive estate and hidden family secrets will find more similar movies in this thread. Discover other gothic horror films and mysteries set in isolated, haunting locations where the past violently intrudes upon the present, creating a vibe of decaying elegance and dread.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves an outsider arriving at an isolated, grandiose but decaying property. As they settle in, they uncover fragments of a tragic or sinister history tied to the family or the house itself. The location's oppressive atmosphere fuels the central conflict, leading to a confrontation with a legacy of violence, madness, or supernatural vengeance that threatens to consume the new arrival.

Why These Movies?

These movies are united by their use of a gothic setting as a primary engine for horror and drama. The shared elements of architectural grandeur, isolation, and a cursed past create a specific mood of elegant decay and inescapable fate. The vibe is defined by the interplay between a haunted location and the dark secrets it contains.

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Don't stop at just watching — explore The Turning in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what The Turning is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

The Turning Summary

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The Turning Summary

The Turning Timeline

Track the full timeline of The Turning with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The Turning Timeline

Characters, Settings & Themes in The Turning

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Characters, Settings & Themes in The Turning

The Turning Ending Explained

What really happened at the end of The Turning? This detailed ending explained page breaks down final scenes, hidden clues, and alternate interpretations with expert analysis and viewer theories.

The Turning Ending Explained

More About The Turning

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