The Haunting of Bly Manor

The Haunting of Bly Manor released on Netflix earlier this month. Although the latest installment is finally here, we will be looking at The Haunting of Hill House. The original series released to critical acclaim, but before we compare The Haunting of Bly House to the original, we need to look back on Hill House. Hill House was good, but was it scary? In our Haunting of Hill House review we break it down whether this show was good, scary or not.

The Weekly Review – The Haunting Of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House starts off confusing. The first episode is a crazy and scattered tale of five siblings and their parents. The episode isn’t scattered in a bad way, in fact it alludes to a concept frequently visited throughout the show. The next four episodes catch the view back up to where episode 1 ends. Each episode follows a different character and it excels at getting the view to care about that character.

The Characters of Hill House

Honestly every single character is great. Middle child Theo is a little overly edgy, but even she is still a great character. By the last two episodes Theo shares many moments that make her whole character make a lot more sense. Oldest son Steve can seem cold at times, but the show does a good job at showing why his patience is so thin, and why he harbors the feelings he has. The characters are greatly developed. Even the side characters who share little screen time are great. Nell’s late husband is likeable and kind, and both Theo and Luke make a “friend” a long the way. The acting is phenomenal as well, Really every performance is solid in this show. So besides the characters and acting, how is the show as a whole?

Is The Haunting Of Hill House Even Scary?

The Haunting of Hill House has its moments, but I was never scared. I wasn’t scared once. Episode 5: The Bent Neck Lady has a lot of eerie moments with the shadowy undead figure, but I wasn’t scared. Even the jump scares in the show don’t scare me. The last two episodes take place within the Hill House in present day, and the view gets to see a ton of undead. I wasn’t scared even during the last two episodes. It just isn’t scary to me.

I couldn’t sleep throughout the two days I took to view the series, but it was due to unrelated reasons. These reasons involved night terrors and nightmares, but not because of Hill House. I can assure everyone that it wasn’t because of the show. The show wasn’t scary enough to affect my psyche, it just wasn’t. Luke is followed by the creepy tall man, but he didn’t scare me. The clinically insane zombie with orange hair crawls at members of the family, but not even that scared me. Really nothing in this show scared me. I am brave and I am an adult, and television shows do not scare me.

The Story

The story is great. It isn’t scary, but it is great. There is some genius level writing within the show. Rewatching the series really illuminated all the blatant cases of foreshadowing within the show. None of it is really obvious too. It doesn’t spoil anything if you don’t already know. This is where Hill House really shines. The wonderful cast brings a wonderful story to life. The show seems grim at times, but the family moments are sweet. The ending could have been dark, but it actually ends on a high note. Hill House flirts with darkness and heart, and it succeeds in every way.

The Verdict

The Haunting of Hill House isn’t scary, but it is a great show. I am sure it could be scary to some people, but not me because I am a brave man. The acting receives a 10/10, and I give the story a 10/10, but unfortunately the scare factor is a 0. I give The Haunting of Hill House a total of 3.5/10. I have to subtract 6.5 points because it just wasn’t scary.

What did you think of the show? Are you a brave man like me or did it scare you? What did you think of our Haunting of Hill House review? Be sure to follow the website, as we will be reviewing The Haunting of Bly Manor soon.