I watched The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix a few years ago, and since The Hauting of Hill House was made by the same people, and had a lot of the same actors, I figured I’d watch this as well…and managed to do so in about two days.
I really liked the shifting between the past and the present, as it gave me a deeper insight into the background of the characters and their family history. It allowed me to understand why Luke had turned to taking heroin, given the trauma he’d gone through as a child. It was very obvious that all of the Crain children were deeply traumatised by what had happened to them in Hill House, though Luke and Nell were clearly the ones most affected by it.
I really did like both Luke and Nell. They were probably my favourite characters in this series, as I found their bond to be portrayed really well. I did now, however, particularly like Steven. Well, I didn’t like him much as an adult, at least. I enjoyed his interactions with his younger siblings when they were all children.
It was good to see the flashbacks between the past and the present. However, I felt that the present day was a little rushed. A very short amount of time passed between them finding out Nell was dead, and returning to the house…at least, that’s what it felt like to me. I did feel that there was a lot that was glossed over by the time they all reached Hill House, so I felt like the finale was somewhat rushed…which was a shame, considering the whole buildup through the series.
I particularly liked the way each of the Crain children had an episode devoted to them, as it enabled me to get to know each of them on a more personal level. I would have liked a bit more exploration of the ‘sensitivity’ that was mentioned by Olivia about her daughters. It seemed like all of the Crain children were sensitive to some extent, given how they reacted when Nell ‘went into the red room’.
Episode six, Two Storms, was a particular emotional rollercoaster. The dual storms, one in the past and one in the present, were both quite harrowing, although in very different ways. And although it was obvious that child Nell would eventually be found, or at least make a reappearance, it was still hard to watch the whole family searching for her. And the ending of the episode, where Nell’s unseen ghost was standing next to her casket, while child Nell’s voice echoes about how none of them could see or hear her, was extremely emotional and haunting.
I really liked seeing Olivia’s gradual descent into madness, as Hill House took its toll on her sanity. I still think she should have been able to resist what was happening, given that she told Theo about her abilities. She seemed to fall prey to what was in the house very quickly, in comparison to the others.
I did find it interesting to learn bits and pieces about the history and previous occupants of the house, and I would have liked to learn a bit more about them. For instance, there’s the spirit of a clock repair man who randomly appears, and it’s not clear just why he’s stuck in the house, as there’s nothing indicating how and when he might have died there.
I found the concept of the red room to be a really intriguing one, especially with the idea of it changing to suit what each member of the Crain family wanted. I was a bit confused about why Shirley and Nell were trying to get into the red room in one of the early episodes, as there was then no further attempt to get inside and it was only mentioned later by Hugh. Once they all had their specific rooms, it seemed like the whole idea of getting into the room was discarded until the plot called for it again (when Hugh said it was the only place the water could be coming from).
The horror parts of this series were actually a bit more subtle, even though the series did have its fair share of cheap jump scares. But I did really appreciate that there was more of an understanding of ‘less is more’ than I usually see in horror movies.
On the whole, I did really enjoy watching this series. I liked the characters, at least for the most part, and I really enjoyed the contrasts between the present and the past. While the series did come to a good ending, I think it would be good to see more of the characters, even if the genre isn’t necessarily a horror or supernatural one.