Critical Condition: The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House | Netflix, from Friday

➢➢ “While horror films often dominate the fall box office, the genre still rarely gets its due on the small screen — at least in any traditional sense … Fortunately, horror maverick Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game, Oculus) and Netflix are here to amend that oversight with The Haunting of Hill House, a 10-episode series dropping on Friday, Oct. 12. But it’s important to note that Hill House isn’t an adaptation so much as it is total reimagining of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. It’s as though Flanagan has taken Jackson’s original work, shattered it and then rearranged the pieces to create a completely original, but equally brilliant tale.” — TV Guide.

➢➢ “One of the more effective and sustained exercises of this type ever attempted for the small screen. The Haunting of Hill House … is often scary as hell and possessed of enough character-centric nuance to carry viewers through to the end — even if some of the visceral frights peter out well before the conclusion … After 10 episodes, The Haunting of Hill House reaches a conclusive end. Barring possible disappointment at the feelings-over-fear resolution, though, audiences are likely to go nuts for this edge-of-your-couch nightmare.” — The Hollywood Reporter.

➢➢ “The story is told through flashbacks from an ongoing present in which the five Crane siblings all are dealing with sadness and qualms that have been with them since childhood; we see, in retrospect, the permanently marking time they spent as children living in the eerie Gothic manor Hill House … Viewers may well be frustrated, at first, by the pace at which connections within the family reveal themselves … But those siblings bring a variety of experience into the show, and make it gleam with anguish and with rage.” — Variety.

➢➢ “This is a new version of The Haunting for a new time, when the term ‘ghosting’ means something else entirely, and, although it’s not always completely successful in its balancing of horror and heart, it’s definitely an intelligent and intriguing cocktail that constantly invites the audience to question what it’s seeing. Hopefully, this slow-burn series will catch light in a way that Jackson would be proud of.” — Digital Spy.

➢➢ “Some may find the story’s slow-burning nature frustrating, but like Castle Rock, it’s refreshing to see a psychological horror evolve a little more naturally than the usual rapid escalation. Flanagan also benefits from assembling a solid cast which also includes Gerald’s Game star Carla Gugino, E.T‘s Henry Thomas and The West Wing‘s Annabelle Gish. Naturally things could all go narratively pear-shaped by the time episode 10 comes around, but based on its opening episode, Hill House shows binge-worthy promise.” — Stuff.