Shot in 1971, THE NIGHTCOMERS offers an original story concerning characters and events leading up to Henry James' novel Turn of the Screw, therefore it’s sort of a prequel to Jack Clayton’s black & white THE INNOCENTS, released a decade earlier. For the star of this British-made film, the producer was able to employ Marlon Brando during a time that he made a long line of box office failures, and immediately before he would once again become a household name thanks to THE GODFATHER and LAST TANGO IN PARIS.

In Victorian England at the turn of the 20th Century, teen-aged brother and sister Miles (Christopher Ellis, THE PUMPKIN EATER) and Flora (Verna Harvey, CHATO’S LAND) have unknowingly lost their parents to a car accident in France, and are now put in the hands of a wealthy legal guardian (Harry Andrews, THEATRE OF DEATH). Since the “master of the house” wants nothing to do with the children, he decides to take off, leaving the estate in the hands of the aged, proper housekeeper Mrs. Grose (Thora Hird, THE ENTERTAINER), and in a lesser capacity, the attractive governess Ms. Jessel (Stephanie Beacham, THE HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN) and the strange Irish gardener Peter Quint (Marlon Brando). The impressionable Miles and Flora become very taken with Quint, and despite his harmless jesting and the fact that he illustrates how to make a frog inhale a thin cigar, he’s not exactly the best influence on them. Quint is Ms. Jessel’s lover, and behind closed doors they have a very stormy sexual relationship, complete with kinky bondage. Young Miles happens to catch a glimpse of this though the window, feeling a need to imitate these actions — as does his sister — and together they carry out a sequence of pranks and inappropriate behavior that leads to disaster.

Often classified as a British horror film, THE NIGHTCOMERS has the balls to assume too much about the characters created by James and introduced to cinema-goers in THE INNOCENTS, and its ultimate mediocrity results from a rather bland screenplay, which dabbles in sensationalism and doesn’t really become tense until the final act. Some might blame the direction of Michael Winner (THE MECHANIC, DEATH WISH, THE SENTINEL), who, despite his critics and a number of admitted failures, has turned out a decent amount of entertaining films. There’s also too much dependency on the zoom lens, even though the film does have some very impressive camera shots, lighting schemes and handsome period locations which often makes it resemble a Hammer, Tigon or Amicus production from the same period.

Brando is always interesting to watch, and despite his method-acting tendencies to mumble his lines with the added Irish dialect, he gives a decent performance as a likable though somewhat misogynistic oaf. Beautiful, shapely Stephanie Beacham, who became a dependable figure in British horror with DRACULA A.D. 1972 and AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, shows that she’s a talented actress, here sitting on a fence between prim and naughty, and her willingness to disrobe for several steamy scenes with Brando didn’t hurt much either. As the scheming children, Christopher Ellis and Verna Harvey (who was 19 at the time!) are not nearly as memorable as say, Mark Lester and Chloe Franks as the “Hansel and Gretel” of WHO SLEW AUNTIE ROO?, and their characters’ attempts to mimic the kink and aggression of their elders comes off as awkward and fails to makes any impact or convince an audience of their destructive path. Veteran actress Thora Bird is excellent, and plays well off the rest of the cast, and Harry Andrews is also (expectedly) good in his brief appearance. Beautiful Anna Palk (familiar to horror fans from THE SKULL, THE FROZEN DEAD and TOWER OF EVIL) has a small role as another governess.

Previously available on DVD in the U.S. from LionsGate, Kino Lorber has now picked up THE NIGHTCOMERS on Blu-ray through a deal with StudioCanal (it’s one of a number of Avco Embassy titles that the company holds rights to). Here the film is presented in 1080p HD in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Detail is well defined throughout, if a bit flat in spots, with colors and fleshtones looking natural despite a duller, more subdued palette. This is an overall pleasing transfer with proper black levels and filmic grain noticeably on display, and there’s very little in the way of print blemishes to be found. The DTS-HD Master Audio English mono has clear dialogue and compliments the score from Jerry Fielding (STRAW DOGS) well. Optional English subtitles are included.