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Review: The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

It has recently been announced that Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House will be returning for a second season. The show will become an anthology series with the new season being called The Haunting of Bly Manor, based on the classic 1898 horror novella, The Turning of The Screw, by Henry James. It was quite predictable that a new season would be announced considering the first's high acclamations, however, the bar has been set so high that one can nevertheless be a bit apprehensive about a new season coming out. As you will read below, I thought that the first season was one of the best things I watched in all of 2018...

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The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

Horror is not for everyone - most can agree with that. However, horror at its best can be as provocative and as salient as the best of any other genre. Most times, the great horror stories will be built upon a metaphor or a resonating theme that is reflective of contemporary society. Recent hits, such as It Follows and The Babadook, are such examples, though I will not illuminate you in what the metaphors are, for those that have yet to see the films.

The Haunting of Hill House follows this trend and is a fascinating and exceptionally well-made look at issues that permeate our current world, most notably, within the family unit. On the surface, the show is about a family that moves into an haunted house. The series jumps back and forth in time between when the family was actually living in the house when the children were young, and much later on, with the children as adults who are still dealing with the fallout of whatever actually happened during their time in the house. In this way, the show unravels as a mystery with the audience unsure of what actually transpired during the titular 'haunting', though we definitely know it had a lasting impact on each of the family members.

As it is not a standalone two-hour film, the show is able to delve into some quite heady topics. In my opinion, the overarching theme of the show is dealing with trauma, as apparent through the family's continuing struggles many years on after they have already left the house. Each character's resulting trauma and the way they cope with it (or attempt to) forms the crux of the series. Within and around the realm of trauma, mental illness and addiction are also focused upon. As can be imagined, all of these elements have the potential to be tied into horror quite easily. What makes the show so successful is that all of this is depicted in a very real and also respectful manner. Whether its trauma, mental illness, addiction or severe family dysfunctionality, none of it is simply used for simple scare-tactics. All of the characters are written and portrayed in very real ways and many of the family dynamics shown will strike home in one way or another with the audience. It is this ability to relate to the show that perhaps makes it the most compelling, as well as the most frightful. Whether you are a fan of horror or not, I recommend that you watch The Haunting of Hill House. 9.5/10


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