10 Babysitter Horror Movies You Probably Haven’t Seen

3. In A Dark Place (2006)

Better Watch Out
Arsenal Pictures

When it comes to babysitter horrors, you don’t get much better than Henry James’s seminal novel The Turn Of The Screw. Over the years, this story of a nanny looking after two troubled youngsters in a haunted house has formed the basis of numerous screen adaptations, including the likes of The Innocents, The Others, and Netflix series The Haunting Of Bly Manor.

One adaptation you might have missed, however, is Donato Rotunno’s In A Dark Place.

Released in 2006, this relatively low budget horror sees Anna (Leelee Sobieski) fired from her position as an art teacher to get a job looking after two orphaned children - Miles (Christian Olsen) and Flora (Gabrielle Adam) - at an extravagant country house. In keeping with the source material, Anna discovers that the house has a macabre history, with the children finding their last nanny in the nearby lake.

Though this version of the Gothic ghost story lacks in the sophistication or chills we’ve seen in The Others and Bly Manor, what In A Dark Place lacks in thoughtfulness and suspense it more than makes up for in its schlock factor.

Thankfully, though, it still isn’t anywhere near as bad as The Turning.

Contributor
Contributor

Glasgow-based cinephile who earned a Masters degree in film studies to spend their time writing about cinema, video games, and horror.