THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

               The Haunting Of Hill House: Netflix's Complete Horror Story!

    
Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it. Having run away in the dead of the night on that fateful day, the family will be forced to reunite once again to confront the demons from their pasts.

  When Netflix announced their decision to bring to our screens the horror classic by Shirley Jackson, it was met by a lot of mixed reactions, and quite rightly so having due regards to how tv series adaptations of horror novels have turned out and the below par reception they receive. If there was a way that a horror tv show could be created to make a big impact, it had to be well planned, the story told in rivetting fashion and with great actors involved in some good developmental work over the course of the show.
  The pilot episode of the Haunting of Hill House had to be the scariest tv episode ever, scary not because it was terrifying, but scary because the storytelling was terrific, the build up play was amazing and brilliantly constructed, and the character's introduction to the audience and to the haunted house was awe inspiring, it was creative Genius and it was iconic as much as it was rivetting.
   As far as the story is concerned, it's as common as every horror story goes. It is not a unique storyline, there are a lot of haunted house stories floating out there, and thus it is quite amazing what Mike Flanagan and Co were able to achieve. The real strength of the show lay in the storytelling techniques of the show runner and the script writer. The story was of the type that if not handled properly could either have resulted in a horror show that had its terrifying elements over flogged and bloated, or one that was so poorly constructed that audience just wanted to see the end game without bothering with character relations and development.

   Returning to the Haunting of Hill House, the show was created around a family, and that was why it made for a compelling watch. The show first off introduced us to two timelines, the present and the past;during their stay at Hill house. The first five episodes of the show chronicled the individual past and present of the members of the Crain Family, the demons they encountered at Hill House, and how they presently cope with the events that culminated in their fleeing therefrom. The account of each individual Crain, ranging from Steven Crain, Theo, Nell, Shirley, and Luke and the evil they were confronted with at Hill House meant that the initial episodes of the show were not repetitive or bugged down with a lack of creativity, but rather it was resplendent with a lot of diversity and diversification of terror. What they felt they saw as children coming to once again haunt them as adults was creative and it was chilling. It gave the audience quite a few scares.
 What was really brilliant about this show had to be the way it achieved the goal with the least fuss, there were only about a handful of deaths, but the way they were managed had to be the most beautiful presentation of something so terrible. Those death scenes were both scary, artistic, Creative and above all Mighty relatable. We couldn't have been any more impressed than we are. The show creators had a way of making a big reveal, stringing the viewers along till the big reveal, and that is one thing that arguably kept the show interesting. We just have to reiterate once again that the story is brilliantly told.
    Acting was top notch, it was some A grade stuff. Carla Gugino,Michiel Huisman had to be the stand out performers. That takes nothing a way from the rest of the actors, they were all amazing. Their on screen performances were on point, their conversational mastery and situational responses were stuff dreams are made of. We must also say that the show won't have been as highly regarded as it is without much attention to the little details, and also brilliant dialogues/ conversations, both of which are not capable of being achieved without the cast. So once again a big thumbs up to the cast for coming through Big time.
   At the risk of SPOILERs, we must also state that the season finale had to be the most mysteriously iconic endings of a lifetime. I know a whole world of viewers found that hard to explain, but it is quite simple, beautiful and perhaps not really relatable, but all the same brilliant. The realisation that what they all perceived to be seeing as children were actually real was a stunner, the big reveal that the bent neck Lady that haunted Nell was nothing more than her future self haunting her as a was chilling and hard to swallow. The realisation that Abigail was not an Imaginary friend made up by Luke was brilliant and her subsequent death at the hands of Olivia was masterful. Need I mention that the events that built up to the suicide of Olivia had to be one of the most traumatic and harrowing travails of the whole show.

   One aspect of the ending we didn't really like had to be the fate of Hill House. It didn't feel right what happened to Hill House or what the Dudleys put themselves up to. Not only does it sound unreal, but it also feels totally unrelatable.  However, whatever wrong we felt the show did to us, it more than made up for with the fate of the Crains( the surviving members that is). It is a happily ever after ending, and we couldn't have been any more happy about the how the creators chose to resolve this one. We felt the Crains had been through enough, and definitely needed a big win, and they got their happily ever after, albeit at the expense of 3 members.
  A masterfully crafted horror show that kept viewers interested, drawn in and captivated for the duration of the entire season. A horror show that offers a whole lot of alternatives going forward, should Netflix choose to renewed it for a second season. We are very impressed with the work done, with the chill factor and with the storytelling technique. This is one show that will live long in the memories of those who watched it. You may be checking to confirm every little noise in the dark after watching this one. Beware!
   On a personal note, I liked the idea behind the Red Room, and it's being like a spooky haunted room of requirements(if you know your Harry Potter). A room no one was capable of opening while they lived at Hill House, but one which they all come to realise a little too late they had all been inside of on more than one occasion. Scary!!!
   A solid 8.8/10 FCA AppR for this one. Brilliant!

 Starring Carla Gugino, Michiel Huisman, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti.
 Created by Mike Flanagan
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Based on the Book by Shirley Jackson