Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
The Crain family resides in a beautifully rundown historical mansion where night after night, a couple of the children see ghosts. Twins Luke (Julian Hilliard) and Nell (Violet McGraw) are frightened by a specter whom they fittingly name “The Bent-Neck Lady.” Their older siblings Steven (Paxton Singleton), Shirley (Lulu Wilson), and Theodora (Mckenna Grace), for the most part, believe them and faithfully comfort them. Their parents Hugh (Henry Thomas) and Olivia (Carla Gugino) aren’t surprised due to the unfamiliar sprawling estate with its creaking floors and massive hallways. Late one night, Nell looks up and the camera brilliantly shifts to reveal a long black haired figure floating above her with a chilling death rattle repeating “No, no, no.”
The screenplay is told over two time periods, seamlessly jumping back and forth between the past and the present. The past is the family’s formative years at Hill House, leading up to a momentous night, while the present finds the children grown up, their mother deceased and their father somewhat estranged. Steven (Michael Huisman) is a paranormal writer and investigator, openly skeptical, claiming to have never encountered a ghost. He has upset some of the family by releasing a bestselling book based on their experience in Hill House while the other members are ecstatic to receive the hefty royalties. Theo (Kate Siegel) is a youth counselor with a drinking problem who harnesses psychic abilities. She feels the cold supernatural presence in the house and also finds things like vintage wine bottles stashed by prior long-gone tenants. Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser) runs a funeral home with her husband and they have two children. Nell (Victoria Pedretti) and Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) have it hardest with both of their past traumas being unshakable. Luke is living in Los Angeles, battling heroin addiction while Nell is dealing with a serious case of sleep paralysis. Regardless of their distance, emotional or physical, the family is bonded. That bond is clear when at the same exact time in the middle of the night, all of the family members wake up and grab their necks in unison. It’s quite rare for such a large family in a series to have equal focus on each person’s life and all are perfectly cast. Each episode focuses on a different member, granting more access to their lives and unlocking the mystery of what happened that tragic night in the past.
Mike Flanagan directed and adapted the entire series loosely based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 bestseller. Jackson’s book has been adapted twice into feature films and the third entry is certainly the strongest. Flanagan is an exceptional filmmaker, who directed original stories like “Oculus” and the anticipated “Shining” sequel, “Doctor Sleep.” His sly techniques, impeccable editing, and seemingly infinite tracking shots kept me breathlessly enthralled. Most horror directors focus too much on the scares and action, thus losing sight of the characters so it’s rare to find a story as interesting as its horror elements.
In general, haunted houses as settings and ghosts as plot devices can be hit or miss but “The Haunting of Hill House” transcends the genre. There aren’t any cheap thrills. The story avoids clichéd horror tropes, jump scares, and other expected frights. There’s a real catharsis to this ghost story and it’s meaningful. Heavy themes like suicide, denial, chemical dependency and depression are all handled with delicate writing and acting. The house itself could be considered a character with its enticing details and expressive rooms. This is my second viewing of the series and I noticed more ghosts ingeniously placed around different frames and corners of the rooms and it’s creepy to be unsure of whether you see something. Flanagan stated in an interview that they appear in nearly every scene so I plan to watch this a third time to try and spot them all. Unfortunately, we have to wait until 2020 for the new season, if you haven’t watched it yet, I beckon you to visit this excellent series.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD October 15th from Paramount Home Entertainment
