Unlike Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor cannot really be called a straight up 'horror' show. Rather, it is a character drama, with some spooks thrown in for good measure. That however, doesn't make this mini-series any less infectious. If you enjoyed the finale of Hill House, imagine that as a whole series; multiple stories of love, family, sacrifice, tragedy and togetherness, peppered with some ghosts. Some of the cast from Flanagan's original show reappear to play different roles, and the huge contrasts between their characters is reflective of their magnificent acting range.
The always lovely Carla Gugino is the narrator this time round, serenading each episode with her voice. Sometimes this does qualify as 'telling', instead of 'showing', which may disappoint viewers, however, this addition helps propel the plot, with its many intricacies, forward. Considering how many sub-plots are happening throughout the show, not everything is given a complete resolution; or, a conclusion that all will be satisfied with, and to that end, is weaker, story-wise, to Hill House.
The scripting is very beautiful, with some poetic flare and amazing descriptions that are neither clunky nor awkward. These flow really well; made even more mesmerizing by the cast. The score from Hill House returns in all of its glory, and despite its sameness, it is wonderfully adopted into the scenes, powering them just like in the original show. The music does a great job of highlighting what is meant to be unsettling, and what is meant to be tragically beautiful.
The show follows Dani (the amazing Victoria Predretti), who has fled her past, in America, and come to England, looking to start over. Her desperation leads her to Wingrave (Henry Thomas). Thomas is beyond excellent in this show, balancing just the right amount of empathy and menace. Wingrave's niece, Flora (Amelie Bea Smith), and nephew (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) are in need of a live-in nanny and teacher, where they reside at Bly Manor, the sets at the estate being truly beautiful to behold. Occasionally, children can be annoying; here however, the child actors are just as adept as their adult counterparts, blessing the series with their charm and charisma.
Sharing the manor, is Hannah (T'Nia Miller), the housekeeper, one of the show's most interesting characters, who definitely deserved more screen time, Owen (Rahul Kohli), the chef, and Jamie (Amelia Eve), the groundskeeper. Every character has their own backstory that is visited, some more than others, illustrating the shared experiences of romance and loss that has brought everyone together, the series balancing various kinds of love, from passionate, through to unrequited. Oliver Jackson-Cohen has an on-again off-again screen presence, his brilliant accent and persona being as creepy as it is enthusiastic, while Tahirah Sharif deserved more screen-time; this actress is unfathomably gorgeous - something supernatural must be afoot.
Those at the manor live with a sense of dread hanging over them; something unspeakable, that we as an audience, come to understand. Each episode carries on from the next, so missing even one can hamper uncovering the full mystery. Akin to Hill House, the ghosts plaguing the manor could be described as wishes and guilts, the show making the viewer confront what we may consider 'evil', and giving it a nuanced perspective.
The opening episode creates a sense of ominous dread, enticing the viewer, something that the second, slower episode does not. I would argue the second episode is unfortunately the weakest of the nine, with cuts that irregularly feel less elegant, and narrative events that are never revisited. It just could have used tighter editing. The third episode gets the show back on track, and from there, the series goes from strength to strength. It's never particularly fast, requiring its viewer to have patience. It is also a show unafraid to attempt unique stylistic choices, with almost the entirety of one episode shot in black and white.
The eighth episode is easily the most eerie of them all, combining subtle and in-your-face horror elements. Prior to the last five minutes of the ninth episode, I would have said the show was not as powerful as Hill House. But, The Haunting of Bly Manor hides its last trump card well, and the final scenes broke me like a twig - and then out came the waterworks. Though the finale is deeply melancholic and poignant, and in some ways, mildly predictable, it truly makes the entire journey over the nine episodes worth it, and will make you want to go back and revisit the characters and stories we love in love with, again and again.
The always lovely Carla Gugino is the narrator this time round, serenading each episode with her voice. Sometimes this does qualify as 'telling', instead of 'showing', which may disappoint viewers, however, this addition helps propel the plot, with its many intricacies, forward. Considering how many sub-plots are happening throughout the show, not everything is given a complete resolution; or, a conclusion that all will be satisfied with, and to that end, is weaker, story-wise, to Hill House.
The scripting is very beautiful, with some poetic flare and amazing descriptions that are neither clunky nor awkward. These flow really well; made even more mesmerizing by the cast. The score from Hill House returns in all of its glory, and despite its sameness, it is wonderfully adopted into the scenes, powering them just like in the original show. The music does a great job of highlighting what is meant to be unsettling, and what is meant to be tragically beautiful.
The show follows Dani (the amazing Victoria Predretti), who has fled her past, in America, and come to England, looking to start over. Her desperation leads her to Wingrave (Henry Thomas). Thomas is beyond excellent in this show, balancing just the right amount of empathy and menace. Wingrave's niece, Flora (Amelie Bea Smith), and nephew (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) are in need of a live-in nanny and teacher, where they reside at Bly Manor, the sets at the estate being truly beautiful to behold. Occasionally, children can be annoying; here however, the child actors are just as adept as their adult counterparts, blessing the series with their charm and charisma.
Sharing the manor, is Hannah (T'Nia Miller), the housekeeper, one of the show's most interesting characters, who definitely deserved more screen time, Owen (Rahul Kohli), the chef, and Jamie (Amelia Eve), the groundskeeper. Every character has their own backstory that is visited, some more than others, illustrating the shared experiences of romance and loss that has brought everyone together, the series balancing various kinds of love, from passionate, through to unrequited. Oliver Jackson-Cohen has an on-again off-again screen presence, his brilliant accent and persona being as creepy as it is enthusiastic, while Tahirah Sharif deserved more screen-time; this actress is unfathomably gorgeous - something supernatural must be afoot.
Those at the manor live with a sense of dread hanging over them; something unspeakable, that we as an audience, come to understand. Each episode carries on from the next, so missing even one can hamper uncovering the full mystery. Akin to Hill House, the ghosts plaguing the manor could be described as wishes and guilts, the show making the viewer confront what we may consider 'evil', and giving it a nuanced perspective.
The opening episode creates a sense of ominous dread, enticing the viewer, something that the second, slower episode does not. I would argue the second episode is unfortunately the weakest of the nine, with cuts that irregularly feel less elegant, and narrative events that are never revisited. It just could have used tighter editing. The third episode gets the show back on track, and from there, the series goes from strength to strength. It's never particularly fast, requiring its viewer to have patience. It is also a show unafraid to attempt unique stylistic choices, with almost the entirety of one episode shot in black and white.
The eighth episode is easily the most eerie of them all, combining subtle and in-your-face horror elements. Prior to the last five minutes of the ninth episode, I would have said the show was not as powerful as Hill House. But, The Haunting of Bly Manor hides its last trump card well, and the final scenes broke me like a twig - and then out came the waterworks. Though the finale is deeply melancholic and poignant, and in some ways, mildly predictable, it truly makes the entire journey over the nine episodes worth it, and will make you want to go back and revisit the characters and stories we love in love with, again and again.