The Haunting of Hill House Review - A Fresh Look At The Haunted House Tales
Mike Flanagan's modern retelling of Shirley Jackson's classic gothic horror novel is scary and one of the best-adapted shows to have come out in a while.
Cast - Michiel Huisman, Paxton Singleton, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Julian Hilliard, Kate Siegel, Mckenna Grace, Victoria Pedretti, Violet McGraw
Directed By - Mike Flanagan
Genre - Horror, Drama
Perhaps beautiful may not be the most common word when you think of a horror movie or a show. But if you ask me to describe Netflix's new horror series in one word, then I would say beautiful. Directed by Mike Flanagan, The Haunting of Hill House is the modern adaptation of a novel by the same name which was written by Shirley Jackson and is considered one of the finest work in this genre. I have read the novel, and it is one of my favourite gothic haunted house book of all time, and so I was excited to see how well Flanagan adapts the source material in his new directorial venture.
For those of you who are familiar with the novel, you know that the book was about this group of four people who come together to find out whether the "Hill House" is actually haunted or not. Thankfully, this is in no way a rip-off or a page to page adaptation of the novel in any way. In fact, the plot is shifted to a family who buys the "Hill House" and moves in temporarily, but the names of some of the characters and their characteristics are taken from the novel like the caretakers of the house Mr and Mrs Dudley, Eleanor and Theodora. Some key incidents involving holding of a "hand", constrained cold spots, banging on the doors and walls are also retained. Some lines from the novel like the description of the house are also present here.
You might have gotten a general idea about the plot till now, or if you had seen the trailer, you might have guessed it. A family moves into a haunted house, and we all know how things start getting creepier and scarier as the plot progresses. So, what makes this show different?
Well for starters, it marries the concept of the supernatural horror with the real world horror. One is a non-living entity which lurks in the shadows ready to give you a heart attack while the other exists around us in human form, guilt-driven feelings or drugs. It shows us how one can have a significant impact on the other in screwing up our lives. The paranormal experiences that the children have in the house play a vital role in shaping up their future lives. They see apparitions and lose someone close to them, and so there future choices and professions come across as a way to cope up with there loss and grief. Steven Crain (Michiel Huisman) becomes a writer who writes about his family's experiences that took place in the house, Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser) starts working at a mortuary with her husband, Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) becomes a drug addict and is sent to a rehab, Theodora (Kate Siegel) becomes a child psychologist and Eleanor or Nell (Victoria Pedretti) is never able to recover from the haunting she faced at "Hill House" fully. Let's not talk about there father and mother as it may spill out some spoilers, but yes, the actors were excellent in their parts. The actors who play as the caretakers Mr and Mrs Dudley were also fantastic.
Mike Flanagan who is known for making Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil and Gerald's Game proves that he is the next best thing that happened to horror films and shows. His understanding of the craft and the genre is masterful. He can take a horror movie and elevate it to greater heights with his mind-blowing directing skills. Watch out for the unbroken opening sequence of the sixth episode where the camera moves from one person to the other and even cuts back to the past very fluently. The way that whole scene and the episode itself is shot is incredible and breathtaking. Of course, the entire show is shot wonderfully, and the seriousness regarding this project can be seen in things like the constant cutting to the past and present where the character almost does the same thing or action in a particular timeline and when we are taken to another time-frame, past or present, it starts with the same action. For example, if a character is seen picking up a flower in the present then when it cuts to the past, we see that character holding a flower. It's just an example, and nothing of this sort actually happens here.
The point is, the makers have put a lot of thought and effort in crafting a series within a genre they love and are genuinely passionate about. This is something you don't usually see these days as the majority of the films are made for just making money. All the actors are excellent here, be it the adults or the children's. They know what they are doing, and there understanding makes the series more riveting to watch. My favourite among the lot was the character of Luke, and among the little ones, I loved Mckenna Grace's performance playing the role of a girl far mature than her age.
A child's mind is filled with imagination and fantasy and so in the beginning when the kids see those apparitions, one could say they imagined things just like there parents said. The series could have planted this ambiguity, but it resolves everything, in the end, leaving no place for doubt. This, however, did not turn out to be a bad thing because this show focuses on a lot more mature topic than being about a haunted house. Anything if taken or done in excess becomes harmful. Hence, the show puts forward an interesting question about love and how far will you go for this love or whether if it too can lead to something sinister if done in excess. The most important thing about this love is that it comes from the family, a place filled with warmth and affection.
The Haunting of Hill House revives the haunted house tales with a refreshing look to it, and it's ten 1 hour long episodes make up for deep character insights, incredible direction and a whole lot of creepy images in the corners slowly making their way towards you. Do check out this "Hill House" if looking for a perfect Halloween getaway filled with scares and thoughts. After all, not all ghosts are evil as there are good ones present among the evil entities.
Rating - 5/5
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Cast - Michiel Huisman, Paxton Singleton, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Julian Hilliard, Kate Siegel, Mckenna Grace, Victoria Pedretti, Violet McGraw
Directed By - Mike Flanagan
Genre - Horror, Drama
Perhaps beautiful may not be the most common word when you think of a horror movie or a show. But if you ask me to describe Netflix's new horror series in one word, then I would say beautiful. Directed by Mike Flanagan, The Haunting of Hill House is the modern adaptation of a novel by the same name which was written by Shirley Jackson and is considered one of the finest work in this genre. I have read the novel, and it is one of my favourite gothic haunted house book of all time, and so I was excited to see how well Flanagan adapts the source material in his new directorial venture.
For those of you who are familiar with the novel, you know that the book was about this group of four people who come together to find out whether the "Hill House" is actually haunted or not. Thankfully, this is in no way a rip-off or a page to page adaptation of the novel in any way. In fact, the plot is shifted to a family who buys the "Hill House" and moves in temporarily, but the names of some of the characters and their characteristics are taken from the novel like the caretakers of the house Mr and Mrs Dudley, Eleanor and Theodora. Some key incidents involving holding of a "hand", constrained cold spots, banging on the doors and walls are also retained. Some lines from the novel like the description of the house are also present here.
You might have gotten a general idea about the plot till now, or if you had seen the trailer, you might have guessed it. A family moves into a haunted house, and we all know how things start getting creepier and scarier as the plot progresses. So, what makes this show different?
Well for starters, it marries the concept of the supernatural horror with the real world horror. One is a non-living entity which lurks in the shadows ready to give you a heart attack while the other exists around us in human form, guilt-driven feelings or drugs. It shows us how one can have a significant impact on the other in screwing up our lives. The paranormal experiences that the children have in the house play a vital role in shaping up their future lives. They see apparitions and lose someone close to them, and so there future choices and professions come across as a way to cope up with there loss and grief. Steven Crain (Michiel Huisman) becomes a writer who writes about his family's experiences that took place in the house, Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser) starts working at a mortuary with her husband, Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) becomes a drug addict and is sent to a rehab, Theodora (Kate Siegel) becomes a child psychologist and Eleanor or Nell (Victoria Pedretti) is never able to recover from the haunting she faced at "Hill House" fully. Let's not talk about there father and mother as it may spill out some spoilers, but yes, the actors were excellent in their parts. The actors who play as the caretakers Mr and Mrs Dudley were also fantastic.
Mike Flanagan who is known for making Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil and Gerald's Game proves that he is the next best thing that happened to horror films and shows. His understanding of the craft and the genre is masterful. He can take a horror movie and elevate it to greater heights with his mind-blowing directing skills. Watch out for the unbroken opening sequence of the sixth episode where the camera moves from one person to the other and even cuts back to the past very fluently. The way that whole scene and the episode itself is shot is incredible and breathtaking. Of course, the entire show is shot wonderfully, and the seriousness regarding this project can be seen in things like the constant cutting to the past and present where the character almost does the same thing or action in a particular timeline and when we are taken to another time-frame, past or present, it starts with the same action. For example, if a character is seen picking up a flower in the present then when it cuts to the past, we see that character holding a flower. It's just an example, and nothing of this sort actually happens here.
The point is, the makers have put a lot of thought and effort in crafting a series within a genre they love and are genuinely passionate about. This is something you don't usually see these days as the majority of the films are made for just making money. All the actors are excellent here, be it the adults or the children's. They know what they are doing, and there understanding makes the series more riveting to watch. My favourite among the lot was the character of Luke, and among the little ones, I loved Mckenna Grace's performance playing the role of a girl far mature than her age.
A child's mind is filled with imagination and fantasy and so in the beginning when the kids see those apparitions, one could say they imagined things just like there parents said. The series could have planted this ambiguity, but it resolves everything, in the end, leaving no place for doubt. This, however, did not turn out to be a bad thing because this show focuses on a lot more mature topic than being about a haunted house. Anything if taken or done in excess becomes harmful. Hence, the show puts forward an interesting question about love and how far will you go for this love or whether if it too can lead to something sinister if done in excess. The most important thing about this love is that it comes from the family, a place filled with warmth and affection.
The Haunting of Hill House revives the haunted house tales with a refreshing look to it, and it's ten 1 hour long episodes make up for deep character insights, incredible direction and a whole lot of creepy images in the corners slowly making their way towards you. Do check out this "Hill House" if looking for a perfect Halloween getaway filled with scares and thoughts. After all, not all ghosts are evil as there are good ones present among the evil entities.
Rating - 5/5
Follow Me On:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/vikas_yadav98
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vikasy199/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vimovies123/
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