SYNOPSIS
Isolated in a traditional English country manor, two rich orphans–Miles (Christopher Ellis) and Flora (Verna Harvey)–have only their nurse, their housekeeper, and a strange gardener named Quint (Marlon Brando) to provide them with company and care. The youngsters are particularly intrigued by Quint’s mannerisms, intuition, and omniscience. Witnessing Quint and his prurient relationship with their nurse, Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham), profoundly influences their budding sexual desires, and soon the children begin to mimic their caretakers. Things take a drastic turn however, when the odd parental figures seem as if they’re going to split up and the children take violent measures to secure an eternal union.
Teetering somewhere between psychodrama and psychedelia, THE NIGHTCOMERS is an aesthetically captivating film. Michael Winner breathes life into a whimsical story unveiling the origin of the children from the Henry James novel, TURN OF THE SCREW. Brando’s performance as the seemingly wholesome gardener is eerie, and the shocking ending of THE NIGHTCOMERS is truly haunting.