With Halloween right around the corner, streaming platforms are quick to promote content relating to the spooky season.
An obvious choice of entertainment for this time of year is scary movies and horror-themed TV shows, and Netflix has been quick to promote the works of Mike Flanagan. Known for his iconic casting and creative team, Flanagan is an accomplished writer and director. He is the visionary behind several successful films and five limited series. Amongst his collection of limited series is his most notable work The Haunting of Hill House.
Rated among the top 5 horror TV mini-series by IMDB, this series is a chilling piece on the page and on the screen. Drawing from the 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson of the same name, Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of this story creates new characters and places them within the original setting of Hill House. Flanagan’s version follows the Crain family, consisting of mother and father Olivia and Hugh, and their five children.
The series contains parallel plotlines of the past and present, causing there to be two inciting incidents. In the plotline of the past, the Crain family moves into Hill House with the hopes of renovating it. However, paranormal activities begin within the house, and the family is left living in a constant state of fear.
The series begins with the family’s frantic escape from Hill House, where they are forced to leave their mother behind. In the plotline of the present, each child is now an adult and has limited connection to their father. Despite obvious attempts to cure themselves of their trauma, each member of the Crain family is haunted by their experience in Hill House and — without spoiling too much — by other traumas they were forced to endure throughout their lives. The Crain family is forced to reunite due to the sudden death of a family member, and the hauntings of Hill House re-enter their lives.
The intertwined plotlines further reinforce one of the main messages of the show — there is an undeniably strong tie between the past and present. This motif allowed for several interesting cinematic techniques to be utilized, and it created a unique opportunity for the use of continuous shooting.
More specifically, the sixth episode of the series, “Two Storms,” is 56 minutes long and consists of five unedited sequences. The longest of these sequences was 17 minutes long, which required a full month of rehearsing with the cast and crew before being shot. The take also involved hundreds of lighting and sound cues, which were extremely difficult to coordinate in real-time, according to Insider.
This cinematic style created the illusion of walking between the past and present. The older versions of the characters walk down the corridors of their home and are suddenly back in Hill House, seeing their childhood memories playing out before them.
The ghosts that appear throughout the series serve as a metaphor for the memories and traumas that are carried throughout our lives. For the characters, the ghosts are physical manifestations that the house takes from their minds. The setting of Hill House holds significance because it latches onto the memories and fears created by those who lived there. The processing of trauma is a common theme amongst many of Flanagan’s works.
Overall, this series is an epic retelling of a bone-chilling tale. With terrifying scares and a plotline full of heart, this limited series draws on the human experience of trauma and grief to tell an unforgettable story. It’s a must-watch!