World News – AU – Netflix The Haunting of Bly Manor Review

Just in time for Halloween, streaming giant Netflix and series creator Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) are back with the next chapter of “The Haunting” anthology series, titled The Haunting of Bly Manor Although we were disappointed with the lack of dread in Flannagan’s tale of Henry James’ 1898 gothic horror novel, « Turn of the Screw, » the series continues to create memorable characters with it. tremendous performance help from new and old Hill Maison cast members in new roles

The Haunting of Bly Manor, which Flanagan offers nearly a century for its 1980s England adaptation, centers on Dani (Victoria Pedretti, who played Nell in Hill House), a young American nanny who was hired to care for two orphaned children – – Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) Flanagan, who writes and directs the first episode, is indeed able to create a sense of dread and apprehension as soon as Dani first arrives at Bly Manor It does this in two impactful ways: First, the overall creepy look of the house simply screams « Come back now! » and secondly, the clever way the main characters are introduced for the first time makes you think there is something wrong with them

Siblings, for example, are just plain weird, though both are nicely portrayed by Smith and Ainsworth There’s Flora, with her relentless use of the phrase, « perfectly splendid » whenever she finds something pleasant, and Miles, with his overly knowledgeable adult demeanor and edgy facial expressions, is just disturbing for a kid his age.And then there’s Hannah Grose (T’Nia Miller), Bly’s housekeeper Manor, which is often seen staring into the distance as if lost in a daydream and in need of a shake up in reality Flanagan uses these little quirks in each of his characters to create a wonderful sense of mystery about them before even setting foot in the house

Once inside, the mystery deepens as Bly Manor slowly develops a fascinating character of its own over the season’s nine episodes.There are bizarre supernatural events during the day, but most importantly at night However, unlike Hill House in which we saw a terrifying curvy-necked lady or a creepy, slender man with a bowler hat wandering the hallways, Bly is less showy with her ghost than her predecessor Sure, there’s a faceless lady in the lake and a feeling of looming doom around every corner, but there really isn’t anything scary jumping on you or chasing little kids down the hall this The lackluster amount of scares this time around is disappointing as Hill House has set the bar high with a few big scares strewn throughout the series.

While I wish Bly Manor would sometimes boost my adrenaline a bit more, Flanagan faithfully follows in the footsteps of original author Henry James in this regard. This means it draws on its Gothic horror roots, rather than the more visible award we typically see today, including a fair amount at Hill House

However, although this story is completely separate from Hill House, Flanagan successfully uses some of his best storytelling techniques used in Season 1, such as bouncing back in time to provide more revealing context and depth to each character Each backstory is carefully designed in such a way that by the end of the series, you fully understand why each character made the decisions they made.

Under horror, Bly Manor is truly a love story and aside from the supernatural quirks that occur all around the estate, Flanagan seems more determined to explore the complex relationship aspects of his characters and find elements disturbing in them more than telling an effective ghost story It’s in these vibrant relationships, like the friendship between Hannah and Bly Manor boss Owen (Rahul Kohli), that the show experiences some of its most compelling moments. There’s nothing grand here, just two. people engaged in conversations about life in Paris and a desire for the better These are very subtle character building moments here, but Kohli and Miller’s chemistry is palpable

There is also a strong family dynamic between Flora, Miles and their uncle Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas, aka young Hugh Crain in Hill House) While the children are being raised by Dani at Bly Manor in the country, Henry is married at his job in London and has not seen his niece or nephew since their parents died Thomas gives a hard-hitting performance as he convincingly describes his character’s struggle to fight his own inner demons.However, even with Flanagan’s use of flashbacks to provide more context, Henry’s story gives l ‘feels like she’s on a different show due to how disconnected it is from everyone at Bly Manor The series never quite reaches the emotional heights of Hill’s Crain family dynamic. House, but it gets pretty close

Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor doesn’t have the terrifying punch of its more horror-laden predecessor, The Haunting of Hill House, however, creator and director Mike Flanagan is able to imbue this new chapter with a rich character development and a memorable love story Punctuated by captivating performances by Henry Thomas and T’Nia Miller, The Haunting of Bly Manor may not reach the same level of horror in your face combined with emotional depth as Hill House, but it comes close enough. / p>

The Haunting of Hill House, Netflix, Mike Flanagan