THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - Netflix

[The Bluestocking]

Just finished bingeing on Netflix's flagship Halloween offering this year - Mike Flanagan's reimagining of Shirley Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.

It's not a straight adaptation of Jackson's classic book but it riffs off the story beautifully and is absolutely riveting if you like Horror that's more spooky and psychological than the jump-scare gorefests we get these days. Unusual ending for a Horror story as well - which has led some critics to complain about it but it's extremely fitting within the way the story is framed in this version. Not every Horror story has to end in absolutely tragedy or terror.

Good for fans of quieter, creepier ghost/supernatural-filled Horror like THE OTHERS and LIGHTS OUT.

The Telegraph's critic nails it with her review here:

The Haunting of Hill House review: by far the most complex and complete horror series of its time

CC. @Phyrebrat

 

[Lenny]

Watched the first three episodes of this tonight. I'm not usually into horror series, and tend to get bored and turn them off pretty early on, but this one is doing enough to keep me watching. I like how the horror elements are background to the family drama (it reminds me of another Netflix series, Bloodlines, but in a good way), and I'm enjoying how these early episodes link together.

 

[BAYLOR]

I was not a fan of the Book or the Films . as to the Tv series , im intrigued by their approach.. This could work.

 

[svalbard]

Finished episode 1 and love it. I am not familiar with the source material so this is all new and genuinely spooky.

 

[Toby Frost]

I watched the first episode and I'm worried it's going to be rather drawn-out. I'm not a great fan of the original but I'm not sure the family format really does that much for me. It didn't really seem to have decided whether to be full-on gothic (mad housekeeper, etc) or minimal. I'll probably see if it picks up.

 

[Cathbad]

Am definitely enjoying this series!

 

[Fried Egg]

I am a big fan of the original book and so far I'm really enjoying the series (I've watched four episodes).

As has been previously stated, it's in no way a close adaptation of the original but it is in keeping in many different ways. For instance there is a strong emphasis on the psychological issues of the protagonists with the ambiguity that brings. The hauntings and the psychological problems of the characters feed off each other.

I admire the subtlety and restraint in the execution of the programme. They do not resort to cheap thrills and scares but instead generate tension from suspense. One gets the sense that the family has never really confronted what happened to them when the fled Hill House many years ago and that they will now be forced to re-examine what happened to them and what has been left unresolved.

 

[Cathbad]

It was great!

 

[svalbard]

The episode about the Bent Necked Lady was one of the best things I have seen in a while. Really moving at the end when the penny dropped for me. On episode 10 now.

 

[Fried Egg]

Now the follow up series has hit Netflix: "The Haunting of Bly Manor". It does not follow on from the previous series at all, instead is an adaptation of a Henry James story: "The Turn of the Screw" (although some of the actions from first series are in this one too).

I've just watched the first couple of episodes and I really like it. It seems some critics have lambasted it for being too slow and not as scary but I think it's more subtle.

 

[The Bluestocking]

I have finished watching THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR and I absolutely love it!

I hope we get a third season - this series is definitely very well done.