The horror collection on Netflix has been suffering for quite awhile. After watching all of the good movies, like "The Conjuring" and "Hush", you're stuck with lesser known titles like "Creep" and "The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House".
If you're like me and have spent the past few Halloweens disappointed with the horror section on Netflix, you're in for a surprise. This year's new additions are pretty promising, especially the Netflix Original adaptation of "The Haunting of Hill House", based off of the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name.
If you're a fan of Shirley Jackson and haven't seen the Netflix adaptation, you should be warned: this is more of a loosely based reimagining than a straight-up recreation of the novel. So, if you haven't read the novel, you're fine.
Despite the title, "Hill House"is not just another ghost story about a haunted house. It's an examination on how trauma affects the human experience, as well as a love story.
The story centers around the Crain family. Hugh and Olivia, and their children, Steven, Shirley, Theodora, Luke, and Nelly moved into Hill House with the intention of taking the summer to flip the house, sell it for profit, and move on to their "forever home" as Olivia puts it. It's implied that the family has been in the flipping business for a while.
Olivia is an architect and Hugh handles the handiwork; their professional roles tie in with their role in the plot, especially Hugh, who Olivia accuses in later episodes of always needing to "fix things".
Without giving too much away, the story hops back and forth between a modern day "present" where Shirley is the owner of a funeral home, Theodora is living in the guest house, and Steven is living in Los Angeles, and a "past" where the siblings live in Hill House with their parents.
The house seems quiet at first; it's just really old. Then the kids start hearing noises at night. Strange things begin to happen, as they usually do in the horror genre.
Nelly is awoken by the Bent-Neck Lady.
Luke makes an imaginary friend named Abigail, who apparently lives in the woods.
Shirley tries to open the Red Room, a mysterious room with a red door that can't be unlocked.
Character development shines throughout this series, especially due to the constant switching of timelines. Since the plot is not linear, the viewer really gets invested into the characters as adults, which leads them to want to know just what the heck happened with Hill House.
In the first episode, it's clear that this family is not...normal. When we see Steven as an adult, we find that he's a writer and a paranormal investigator. Phone calls from his youngest sister Nelly make it clear that she's having some sort of mental breakdown, and she mentions their brother Luke, Nelly's twin. She says that she's worried about Luke, and Steve says that Luke is still in rehab.
Immediately, I was left wondering what kind of trauma these people had witnessed as children.
What's more, the entire "present tense" of the show takes place within the course of one single night. The characters keep referring to it as "The Last Night", which is the last night that they are inside of Hill House, and the last time that they see their mother alive.
If all of this is not enough to convince you that "Hill House"will scratch your horror genre itch, stop holding your breath. The show recently caught Stephen King's attention; he tweeted, calling the show "close to a work of genius."
Now, exhale, and binge-watch away.
But you might want to leave the lights on.
