‘The Haunting Of Hill House’ (2018)

‘The Haunting Of Hill House’ is a Netflix Original series that was released earlier this month (October). As halloween is on the horizon, I thought I’d put myself through this spooky 10 episode series. Just as Netflix does, all of the episodes were avaliable immediatly from the streaming plattform, which is no good for me, as binge watching is one of my worst habits. Like the fool I am, I watched all the episodes every spare minute that I got, and much alike every horror TV series, it did not fail to put the viewer in a sense of unease.

The first episode managed to confuse me like mad. Switching between past and present, we meet the Crain family, both as children, with their mother Olivia and Hugh looking after them, whilst residing in Hill House, and in the present, where the children are all grown up, and leading their own messed up lives, still somehow tied to the past. The time shifting was fairly difficult to connect with in the first episode, as we are just starting to get to know these characters, so it’s quite hard to grasp quite what is going on. I would advise, If watching, after the 1st episode, to simply read up about the plot of that paticular episode, so you can get your head wrapped around it. However, apart from this fact, the 1st episode is highly intriguing, and the confusion almost lures you in to watching more. As each episode goes on, we get much more of a better picture of what went on years ago, whilst also learning more about the present day, and how each character got to this point in their lives.

Each episode for the first half of the series, explains the perspective of each child in the house, and focuses on their story in present day. In doing this, it allows us to learn so much about the characters and what they’ve been through. By dedicating a whole episode to each child of the Crain family, we are able to connect with what each one is going through, and that allows us to gain a wider appreciation for the steps they all take in the 2nd half of the season. The whole plot is completely non-linear, and paints the picture much like a jigsaw. The events happening are at completely random points in the timeline and it isn’t until the last episode that we get the last piece of the puzzle, so we may get a clear finished picture. I have to say, the way they did this was so powerful, and mysterious, that I struggled to go about my day, because I was constantly yurning to finish the series, just so everything could make sense in my brain. Although hard to grasp at some points, it really does all come together in the last episode.

The horror aspect of this show jumped right in, with the house itself playing a big fearful role from the onset. Not only is the set mind-numbingly earie, but even in the present day scenes, when the Crain family are nowhere near the house, the sets still manage to emotionally drain you, as you are forced to endure scenes that take place in funeral homes, and rehab centres. The lighting and colour of the shots remains consistant throughout, to maintain the spooky feeling. The series is very smart in the way that it sets the audience up for jumpscares that never happen, ultimately keeping the viewers forever on the edge of their seats. That is not to say that the series has no jumpscares, because it certainly does. With all of the screaming ghosts, and bangs on the walls, it is safe to say that the show has some fear factor. However, unlike your average jumpscare horror movies, the series just likes to keep viewers anticipating the next jump, simply by placing ghosts in the background of the shots, and the dark tones from each shot.

At times however, I did stop and think to myself, this isn’t really that scary. For me, it held that perfect level of horror and drama. In many articles online, the show is portrayed as so scary that audiences have been known to faint, but I found myself looking for what viewers could have possibly fainted at. Most of the jumpscares are fairly okay. Put it this way, I never wet my pants once. What I found much more interesting, was the different themes that the season covers. Although a cliché horror series, it also covered lots of topics that you would not usually feautre in this genre of TV. We not only saw the series cover the ghosts in the house, but we also saw issues such as drug addiction, and the effects it has on the individuals family. The show also touched on homosexuality very lightly, with it portraying a very relaxed response about sexuality, and the family treating it much like a useless piece of information that does not affect their lives or anything else in anyway. The show also tackles the friction inbetween families and the rivalries between siblings as adults. It captures the troubles of depression and the effects the outside world has on individuals. We see it being beautifully portrayed, by seeing the characters as innocent children, and next as struggiling adults. Other issues that are covered are things such as cheating on your partners, infertility, and of course, loss of a loved one. So not only is this show a horror based series, but it’s a very grounded series, in that the show explores the horror’s of reality, as well as the supernatural horror’s  that we encounter in hill house.

The show recieves an excellent reccomendation from me, to anyone willing to dive in to a very emotionally draining series. This show requires constant attention, and lots of thinking, therefore it is not for those who purely watch television for some light relief. The show can be fairly depressing and shocking at points, that having ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ on standby is not a bad idea, because the show itself takes a lot out of you. A brilliant season, filled with horror, frights, drama and a very gripping narritive.