By Rhea Rangarajan
“Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for a hundred years before my family moved in and might stand for hundred more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”
The Haunting of Hill House is an American supernatural horror drama television series created and directed by Mike Flanagan, it is an expanded and reworked version of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name. This TV show isn't what you would typically call a horror show, it isn't exactly big on the cliche predictable jump scares - however the horror and the tension is built through an intricate emotional plot which spans over the past and present.
The Haunting of Hill House is a story of how the Crains fight their own ghosts whilst battling the ghosts of the hill house and struggling to save whatever is left of their family. There are two timelines; the past when the family used to live at the hill house full of darkness and the present where the kids have grown up and left the darkness behind but now it is inside them. This show will break your heart and stitch back all the pieces too.
I think this format, a 10-episode series, is much more effective than a feature film because it gives the story time to breathe. A big event happens in episode 1, episodes 2–5 are then mostly all flashbacks, each focusing on a different character and how they arrived at that big event. This allows for the much needed in depth character development - it also helps a great deal in building the eerie atmosphere and portraying the darkness in hill house. From episode 6 onwards there is forward movement of the plot, though there are different flashbacks as well from then on. What you need to understand is, you won't understand anything till the middle of the series and that's the beauty of it, that's what makes it so fascinating and alluring.
I had recently read a review where someone had used this quote to describe the show “When you light a candle, you know that it's brightness is really low and it cannot light the entire house but slowly and steadily, before you even know it, you can see everything perfectly.” And it really is spot on, this is exactly how the show is built up.
It is one of the few movies/shows that can change the narrative from the time they first arrived when the hauntings started to the present day without the changes feeling out of place. It seamlessly went back and forth but unlike other movies that used this type of narrative it always made perfect sense and added even more drama and scares.
The filmmakers did a terrific job building up the atmosphere. There is a general creepiness which is very strong, and I genuinely got chills up my spine on many occasions. As for the jump scares, they were unique and not at all cliched, they were really able to create new camera angles and ways for these jump scares. I really appreciate the storyline for this TV show, it's not like any generic horror plot with predictable events and same cardboard characters, it really delved into real trauma and emotions reflecting that of real life.
The cast is absolutely phenomenal, both the younger actors as well as the actors playing the older counterparts. I have to note Carla Gugino, who plays Olivia Crain, in particular. Her descent into mental illness and the ghost world is so believable to watch that it hurts. You feel it in your gut. And even Victoria Pedretti, her appearances as a spectre or corpse on multiple events is mind-blowing and chilling.
This show is hands down one of the best shows I’ve ever watched if not the best, personally my favourite episode is episode 5 “The Bent-Neck Lady”. This episode is truly remarkable, I do not want to spoil it in case you do decide to watch it, but for me it was one of those episodes which rattles your brain and is truly perception shattering. I strongly recommend you to watch it, even if you may not be a horror fan, it truly is an exceptional show.
Here are my two favourite quotes from the show:
“I love you completely, and you loved me the same. The rest is confetti” - Nell Crain
“She used to say she was the kite and I was the line. She was a creature of the clouds and I was a creature of the earth. And she'd say that without me she'd become untethered and she would float away… And then without her, I would just, you know, crash, just drop right down to the ground” - Hugh Crain
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