I think The Haunting of Hill House is the best thing on Netflix at the moment. I love it to pieces. From its story to direction to cinematography, it is nearly flawless. And as a huge fan of the show, I was extremely excited about this addition to the series.
In the Haunting of Bly Manor, we follow Dani, an American au pair who travels to the UK to, guess what, get away from some very unpleasant events from her near past.
I’ve read the Turn of the Screw by Henry James, but it is a very loose adaptation so I will not get into it that much. The Haunting of Bly Manor differs greatly from its predecessor. It is not really a sequel. While it involves a haunted house and chills its primary focus is its characters and their emotional baggage that they carry around with them. This is more like a romantic drama rather than a dramatic thriller. So better be ready for that before going in.
Let’s start with the good, shall we?
It is an amazing-looking show. Production design, cinematography and visuals are stunning. The Haunting of Bly Manor looks beautiful.
The first episode sets up things very well, we get to know the players, the grounds with just enough mystery, but after that, at least until the 6th episode, it moves slowly. The show is a slow burner. While I don’t mind a slow burner as long as it keeps my interest alive, not diving into things like in The Hill House disappoints a little. Then it picks up and becomes unstoppable with one great episode after another.
Once things pick up, we learn about what is going on and delve into the character story and motivations. Man. It is heartbreaking, to say the least. Although the time to get there is long and demanding, once you reach that point and everything starts to make sense and the theories you come up are more reasonable, it is great. With every episode the strong emotional core of the story becomes more visible and in the end it turns to a very powerful season.
Like many others, I particularly enjoyed episode 8. The episode made it easier to understand what’s going in the manor and people in it became more relatable. Just as the episode 6 in the Hill House, episode 8 is a specially prepared episode designed to stand out among the other episodes of the series.
Now, let’s talk about the bad stuff
I am so sorry to feel that way, but this was the worst Victoria Pedretti performance I’ve ever seen. It was impossible to see what she’s thinking. Her expressions were mostly terrible, and she overacted even for the simplest scenes. I don’t know why she did that and why the director approved a performance like this. I don’t think she was overacting like this in the Hill House, or You. I think she was going for a sweet, young, vulnerable girl, but most of the time she looked creepy to me. She was much better in Hill House
The hero of The Haunting of the Hill House, Mike Flanagan, only directs one episode. As a big fan of his since Oculus, I found it quite disappointing. I felt his absence as a director greatly. The chemistry between Flanagan and his Hill House (and Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, Oculus) cinematographer Michael Fimognari was a huge plus for Hill House and not having that in Bly Manor as well hurt.
I also have a problem with narration. I want to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but the last revelation about the narration makes little sense when you think about the certain parts of the story. I think they should’ve gone without a narrator.
So like I said at the beginning, it is more like a gothic romance than a horror. It might not be scary and satisfying in that way, it certainly sticks in your mind long after it’s over.
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