Friday 12 October 2018

Series Review: "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018).


"You're expected" in The Haunting of Hill House. This supernatural horror drama television series created and directed by Mike Flanagan, and loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. It is the first entry in The Haunting anthology series. Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

After its publication in 1959, Jackson's gothic horror classic went on to become a finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, it has been made into two feature films. Jackson's novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion in the reader, using complex relationships between the mysterious events in the house and the characters’ psyches.

In early April 2017, Netflix announced that it had ordered a 10-episode adaptation of the classic horror novel, with Flanagan and Trevor Macy as executive producers, and Amblin Television and Paramount Television as co-production companies. It is the first scripted series to be made for Netflix by Amblin. By mid October, Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, and Timothy Hutton were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place throughout Atlanta, Georgia.

The series stars an ensemble cast that includes Huisman, Reaser, Jackson-Cohen, Siegel, Pedretti, Gugino, Thomas, and Hutton. The show is a barnstorming showcase for the cast, so often underused and/or unrecognised, who tackles a difficult, physically restricted role with gusto. Their performance is strong and varied enough to keep viewers riveted during a confronting personal ordeal ahead. Nothing about the show would have worked if they hadn't gotten the right cast, and the cast is spot on.

Unsurprisingly, the show is Flanagan's most accomplished to date, the result of the years he's spent giving a damn about his characters and their anguish. He's so good at it, he even makes it look easy. The show is able to please Jackson's fans and, at the same time, to propose a film that is perfectly maintained as a meticulous thriller and a horror artifact. What an awesome series! The Haunting of Hill House is a wonderful entry in the catalog of Flanagan's ever-growing and impressive body of work. Explores the dichotomy of truth and lies in a family, how men can transform into dangerous foes instead of family members to the other family members they supposedly love. Filmmaker Mike Flanagan delivers an efficiently-paced adaptation that grows more and more absorbing as it progresses into its midsection. The show, like the novel, plays with the limits between reality and imagination, masterfully crafted by Flanagan with his direction and edition. Combining strength and resiliency alongside gruesome imagery, Flanagan releases a relevant film to the times and pays homage to a lesser known literary gem in the most satisfactory manner. Finally, after the last abysmal adaptation of Jackson's classic, we have an adaptation that's worthy of the book.

Simon says The Haunting of Hill House receives:



Also, see my review for Gerald's Game.

No comments:

Post a Comment