Wish that more creators took the route that The Haunting of Hill House took and instead of trying to compress hundreds of pages of literary brilliance into a two-hour movie, they took the time and did it right via a limited series on TV. Netflix ran The Haunting of Hill House and its 10 episodes and it may be the most perfect thing ever seen on the medium.
This incarnation of the 1959 gothic horror novel by Shirley Jackson is legions scarier and more thrillingly compelling than any that had come prior. Yes, even the 1959 movie version with icon Vincent Price. The reasons why play out over 600 minutes of can’t-miss television that out-cinemas any horror flick that plays at the multiplexes.
The Crain family have been through the ringer. They moved into the titular abode when mom and pop decided to work over this gothic mansion and (hopefully) make a profit when selling it. This is not new to their five children, after all this is how the family had been making their living for years. Thing is, with the Hill House … it’s going to take a few years. In the meantime, they will live in the home that already looks like it’s haunted simply from the stellar production design! Then, as is the case with these types of stories, little things start to occur and “it” effects each family differently. It if seems like whatever it is that haunts this home and this family is insightful, intuitive and insanely gifted at starting spooks, that is because it is.
The Haunting of Hill House is masterfully told and utilizes time in the most extraordinary of manners. Those five kids didn’t have the easiest of times growing up, especially with the whole haunted house thing and how it drove their mother Olivia Crain (Carla Gugino) over the edge. What brings the kids together at the beginning of episode one is the fact that the clan’s youngest sister has committed suicide. This gathering will force them to confront those ghosts of the past—both literal and figurative. In “modern” times, the house is still there, never was sold and is as dark and decrepit as the bond that this family currently shares. Making matters worse, it appears that whatever it was that haunted the Hill House is not done with the Crain family. That may be the scariest dramatic element of this entire series.
The screenplay on all ten episodes is chillingly captivating, but it does something absolutely revolutionary in that it keeps audiences guessing throughout. Nothing is ever set in stone, not for one single second. Just when you think you know a character or how a situation will play out, Hill House takes a right turn or exponentially expands a thematic tease that you may have forgotten about from an earlier episode. I have never experienced a storytelling event such as the one delivered by show creator Mike Flanagan. The man is a wizard and he may never be able top what he’s achieved with this Netflix series, and that is OK because if whatever Flanagan conjures up next is half as powerful as The Haunting of Hill House season one, then it will still blow our collective minds.
For example, episode six, or as its known in this series, 106, is entitled Two Storms. It may be the greatest hour of television I have ever seen. Knowing that, producers have smartly added a commentary track by Flanagan for that ep that adds so many layers to what was witnessed it works almost like a filmmaking masterclass. In the episode itself, there are powerful moments strewn throughout that will have the emotional spectrum fully run through by the viewer including all-out sobbing and all-consuming terror. I can’t even fully put into words how incredible episode 106 is to effectively communicate to my readers why it is so profound. It’s probably for the best, given the fact that there is nothing I want less than to spoil even a nano-second of this show. Just watch it. Inhale it. Treasure it.
One could argue that binge watching was created just for shows like this, but I would beg to differ. This is like fine wine, and no I do not mean it gets better with the passage of time. That may be true, but what I mean is this is an entertainment morsel that must be savored. Don’t rush through the entire ten episodes. Take your time and bask in the genius that is Flanagan and his Haunting creation.
Three of the episodes are given extended edits. The first one, Steven Sees a Ghost, sets up the tone, the themes and introduces us to the ensemble and the terror they endure. With a second viewing, turn on that director’s commentary track for further insight. The same can be said for episode 105: The Bent-Neck Lady. That extended director’s cut adds emotional layers to the episode that makes what occurred during it, all the more emotively powerful and horrifying.
The final episode, Silence Lay Steadily, concludes the series with the last of the extended episodes and a smartly recorded commentary track by Flanagan. What else is so rich about this one is that Flanagan can talk more about the series as a whole with that final director’s commentary—something he could not do throughout until he had laid all his cards on the proverbial table.
The Haunting of Hill House arrived in a 3-disc Blu-Ray set and it firmly has an elevated place in my home video collection. Like a few other discs that get routinely run through my Blu-Ray player (like Band of Brothers), this is one that will get countless viewings over the decades. If you treasure a solid spook, achieved by the most gifted of tale tellers, then do not rent this puppy, purchase it. If you watch Hill House once, you will absolutely want to witness it again (and again and again).
Thus far, the salute has mostly centered on Flanagan and his gifts. Without an electric ensemble to utter his word and live out his tale for our entertainment enriching, it would be one boring experience.
For starters, Gugino puts on a clinic. She has one of the toughest of assignments in that it is through what happens to her in Hill House that sets in motion so many of the familial struggles and horrors that ensue. The actress has always been a stunner, and with her work on the Netflix series, she should be able to punch her ticket into any movie or television work she wants. It is a revelation. Two actors were tasked with the part of her husband, during the flashbacks we get E.T.’s BFF all grown up, Henry Thomas. He could not have been given a better partner in bringing patriarch Hugh Crain to life than with Timothy Hutton. The pair of actors are like bookends and what lies in-between is the family that I could not have pulled for more to catch a break and fine a ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy existence.
The same can be said for the kids and the adult thespians tasked with picking up the torch. During those flashbacks, much is required of the child (or younger) actors and they triumph around every turn. The payoff is the rich performances turned in by the older, or more mature, actors who play them as adults. Things have not been easy for any. There are anger issues. There is substance abuse challenges. Each character is drawn in such a way that there is a pitch perfect line that dates back to what they experienced as children and seeing the casualties of what occurs in Hill House play out with the adult children (and the patriarch as well, one could argue) is simultaneously hugely entertaining and something that is painful to watch. We make the most fully realized personal connection with each soul that inhabits Hill House and as such, those ten episodes play out like chapters in a book you cannot put down. It’s like going through a family photo album that includes pictures of various train wrecks and horrific accidents that no matter how frightening, those pages still get turned. We’re invested in this clan and even when things conclude, there is an element of sadness that it is over.
Even though The Haunting of Hill House is as dizzyingly scary as any horror picture that made its way into theaters in the last several years, it has an intensely personal beating heart that becomes a part of our psyche, yes our psyche over the ten episodes. When it is over, it is in many ways utterly heartbreaking. The Crain story is done. Future seasons will focus on other things. I’m sure they will be compelling as Flanagan’s gifts are well documented here. It’s just that nothing can compare to going through this emotional endurance test with this family that first time. It is the rare entertainment experience that is nothing short of pure perfection.
Grade: A++