The Haunting of Hill House

[MonnoM]

http://deadline.com/2017/09/the-haunting-of-hill-house-mckenna-grace-violet-mcgraw-netflix-series-1202176337/

"Netflix’s upcoming The Haunting Of Hill House has added a pair of young actresses as Mckenna Grace and Violet McGraw have been cast in the series adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s classic 1959 novel from Amblin TV and Paramount TV. The re-imagining draws from the original classic ghost story while expanding on the mythology of the Crane family.

Previously announced cast includes Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Michael Huisman, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel and Henry Thomas.

Mike Flanagan (Ouija: Origin of Evil) is at the helm of the 10-episode straight-to-series drama. He’ll also serve as executive producer alongside his producing partner Trevor Macy as well as Amblin’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey."

[Swan]

Flanagan? I'm down. I've read the book. It rocks. Shirley Jackson is awesome.

[MonnoM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9OzG53VwIk

[Austruck]

I'm nearly halfway through this show/season. Clearly you have to go into this knowing that it's really just using Jackson's story as a jumping-off point but isn't really following the book. I did go in with that knowledge, so I'm truly enjoying it so far. (No spoilers, please!)

Acting is good; the casting is great. (The kid-versions of the adults are spot-on.) The scares are genuine but don't feel at all cheap. It's not gory but it's still chilling. And the interwoven storylines (adult kids, childhood kids, the parents then and now) are well handled and keep your interest. So far, it's got my total attention... I hope to start the second half of the episodes later today...

[Saunch]

I got two episodes in over the weekend and #2 is seriously good with some genuinely disturbing moments. Hope to see more soon.

[Austruck]

Finished it last night. HAD to. Was too curious and couldn't stand to wait till today. It gets better with each episode. And the editing and directing … the choices made in how to tell this story … I just kept thinking how well everything blended together, how well the actors suited their roles, etc. It is SERIOUSLY good stuff. Probably the best limited series I've seen in quite a while.

[cricket]

We're trying it tonight, know nothing about it.

[pahaK]

I watched this few days ago and gave it 6/10 on IMDb.

For some reason (quite possibly just a wrong day to watch something like this) I hated it after two episodes and almost gave up. It got lot better after that though and after episode 9 I was planning to give it a "good" rating (7/10) but the final was again bit weaker so I had to drop one point.

I didn't like how episodes were focusing on one character at a time. It felt artificial way to pace the narration and resulted into lots of unnecessary repetition. I was also disappointed at how little scary or spooky stuff there was*. It also suffered from the issue that practically all King series do - all the adult characters were annoying asses so it's very hard to get emotionally involved in their fates.

Acting was really solid (though I didn't like adult Luke, the actor was physically too imposing IMO). Parts when siblings are still kids worked better than the present (all the kid actors were great and the parents were the least annoying adults in the series). I liked the cinematography and consistent style a lot (great choice to let one person direct all the episodes). I also liked the sad atmosphere of the show.

I haven't read Jackson's book but the series wasn't anything like I expected

*In a sense the lack of threat / scares becomes logical in the end because the ghosts themselves were never really malevolent (I guess it's debatable if even the house was).

[cricket]

We thought it was terrible and shut it off halfway through the first episode.

[Austruck]

Wow, no love for this one! Sorry to hear it. I found the adults suitably flawed, considering what they'd been through before that point. I admit there were moments when one or the other might have skirted near stereotypes but I felt they dodged those nearly all the time.

I'll also admit that the first episode wasn't the best, IMHO. I gave the second episode a chance because I'd heard good things from friends who enjoyed it.

[Swan]

I liked the first one a lot, and am halfway through the second. If the first is not the best, like you say Austruck, then I'm in for a real treat.

[ynwtf]

We thought it was terrible and shut it off halfway through the first episode.

Agreed on the first EP. It felt like an unsteady pilot and didn't clearly layout who was who for me. I did push through and I'm glad I did. EP2 was much, much better.

[MovieGal]

I think the first episode introduces us to the characters, each episode after provides information about each character. 2nd episode was about Steven, 3rd was about Shirley... and so on. I haven't gotten far but that's what I have taken away so far.

[Chardee MacDennis]

Watched it over the last week. Thought it started really well and we liked how they handled the different timelines.

There are a couple of big issues i had with it and eventually they were too much to overlook. Would give it a 7 out of 10.

[MovieMeditation]

This thread needs to get back on the map! This series is something that needs attention.

Once again my man Flanagan is doing something to horror no one else is doing. His infamous transitions from Oculus are here too and still fun, but the way he mixes in horror elements and makes them about inner demons, family problems, personal problems and whatnot is quite astounding. This show shouldn’t be watched for the horror - though that aspect is really good too - but if you do watch it invest in the story and characters instead. The horror will come as a bonus and evolve as a wholehearted element. This is a horror-infused drama.

I’m at episode 5 right now and have been truly intrigued since last episode. I feel like it got me now. I wanna watch more of this. A surprise to see so much negativity. I can’t understand that at all. Not to that degree at least. Give it a chance.

[MovieMeditation]

Okay. With episode 6 I just witness one of the greatest hours of television in recent memory... holy crap. I’m lost for words.

The script and acting alone was great but they felt like showing off too in the visuals (with purpose though, of course). Mike Flanagan is an absolute master and props to everyone involved.

[pahaK]

Apparently a second season is coming (news at Bloody Disgusting (https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3547844/teaser-mike-flanagans-haunting-hill-house-returns-netflix-new-chapter-2020/)). They seem to take a similar route to Terror and make each season its own story. Second will be based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James so we're getting The Innocents remake.

[Sedai]

Second Season is out; has anyone seen it?

[Austruck]

Second Season is out; has anyone seen it?

No, not yet! I thought all the hype I was seeing from a distance was just because this is the time of year for this sort of thing.

Will have to check it out!

[pahaK]

Second Season is out; has anyone seen it?

I've watched two episodes. The first one was horribly bad (it even looks like a soap opera at times, ugh), the second little less so but definitely not binging this. On the other hand, I didn't like the first season after two episodes either, so I'm not giving up yet.

[chawhee]

I've heard it's not quite on the same level as Season One, and using the same cast seems like a bad decision.... I'll probably watch it soon though

[pahaK]

I've heard it's not quite on the same level as Season One, and using the same cast seems like a bad decision.... I'll probably watch it soon though

Not being on the same level feels like a major understatement. I tried to continue, but I'm officially giving this up late in the third episode (hell, even the dreaded telenovela look was back). One of the biggest disappointments this year, and we can officially call 2020 the year of terrible The Turn of the Screw adaptations.

[Sedai]

Damn, that's a bummer. Was hoping Flanagan could take this in a bit of a different direction, while maintaining the same level of quality, for better or for worse, of his other Lasser Glass material. That is to say, good, not great. Will still give it a shot, but I have a feeling i will end up agreeing with pahaK...

[cat_sidhe]

Second Season is out; has anyone seen it?


Just finished it and it was wildly uneven. I don't mind liberties being taken to keep things fresh but they shoehorned a completely different Henry James story (The Romance of Certain Old Clothes) in episode 8, blending the two stories also in family name, which was completely unnecessary.

In all, about 3 good episodes, the rest is quite ho-hum.

[chawhee]

I'm 3 episodes in and I think I'm calling it off. It's not nearly as suspenseful/horrifying/terrifying(however you want to describe) as its predecessor, and some of the subplots here are distracting more than supporting.

[Austruck]

I watched the whole thing.

I think the one thing that kept trying to get me to give up was the casting of Dani Clayton. Oh my gosh, that actress was horrible. And she was the main character. UGH.

The two children were sublime, I thought, especially Flora. I think I kept watching for all the OTHER characters, and I always get a kick out of seeing Henry Thomas playing adults because he still looks like Elliott from E.T. to me. Adding on a semi-weird British accent didn't help me get rid of the Elliott image. But that's a quirk of mine that I admit.

Still, ugh on the casting of the main character, who never seemed real to me and always seemed like, "Look at me! I'm trying to act! And act! And aaaaact!"

Ugh. :D