Coming up to ~spooky season~ so for those that like that sort of thing, there's a new series on Netflix which is an adaptation of the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name, that has been adapted before into two feature films both entitled The Haunting (which I really need to see at some point). Created by recent horror maestro, Mike Flanagan (Gerald's Game, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Oculus). The events stray away from past adaptations instead focusing on before and after the hauntings from the book took place, and focusing on the family that lived there once rather than the participants in the academic study.

 

 

I made the mistake of watching the first episode before I went to bed last night, sleeping was difficult after that :kink: But I liked, very creepy and atmospheric and while there was a fair few jump scares in there, it wasn't gratuitous and the focus seemed to be on the psychological rather than supernatural horror which is always good. All episodes online now!

Sounds better than the 2 supernatutal ones I saw on Netflix

 

Malevolent anddd 3rd Eye :/

The first episode was so good! Reminded me a bit of Murder House but less trashy.

I was sold as soon as I saw Carla starring there. And then once again after I watched the trailer. <3

On episode 3 now and I'm hooked! So very cleverly done, so subtle and really f***ing scary without using jump scares. One of the best Netflix original shows I've seen in a while, maybe since the first season of 13 Reasons Why so far.

This is honestly SO GOOD and the scares are never cheap so I can really understand why it's getting such rave reviews. The acting is great, the plot, characters, everything just keeps you hooked. Also the sisters are all remarkably similar (also totally a resemblance between Shirley/Theo and Carla), and the young/older casting is SPOT on. Just finished the first three episodes yesterday and I cannot wait to watch more of this in the coming days but man it's so freakin intense.

 

Also can I just add how incredibly gorgeous Carla is still today at 47 years old like wow.

I'm impressed with how well this has been made - the casting and direction especially. I like that it's more of a family drama that uses pinches of horror as a driving force to push the story forward. They actually managed to create interesting and complex characters too, something the genre tends to struggle with.

 

HOWEVER (a big however)

 

 

The ending was so disappointing and went against the ethos of the series. I don't understand the decision to romanticise the house and wrap everything up with such an uncharacteristically happy ending.

 

SO excited to see this but Big Brother is currently taking up a lot of time as well as other UK dramas that I need to watch before they expire on iPlayer etc so I've put Netflix shows on the back burner (still not finished Bojack :()

 

I love that the focus is actually on the atmosphere etc rather than cheap jump scares - seen a few images where (not really a spoiler but..)

ghosts are hidden in the background of a few shots and never noticed/referred to etc which sounds so intense

!

Echoing the praise - I am 2 episodes in and completely hooked. It's often I watch many TV shows and they get my full attention. By all accounts it really picks up midway too once the introductions are complete.

Ep. 5 - The Bent Neck Lady is certainly a contender for the most harrowing hour of TV I've seen this year, both terrifying and so, so tragic at the same time. This has been such great Halloween viewing with such interesting characters with so many more questions so far, really intrigued for the last half of this.

Ep. 5 - The Bent Neck Lady is certainly a contender for the most harrowing hour of TV I've seen this year, both terrifying and so, so tragic at the same time. This has been such great Halloween viewing with such interesting characters with so many more questions so far, really intrigued for the last half of this.

 

Totally agree with this. I guessed the twist quite shortly, but it's reveal is really well executed and really hits a nerve.

 

I have just watched episode 8 and complete shit myself. I was not expecting that scare at all!

This is kinda shit

Reading all of this makes me scared to watch it honestly lmao. But I'm beyond excited

Episode 5/6 (can't remember which) are being dubbed the very best horror moments of the Decade. :o

 

I'm so hyped to watch this but I'm too invested in Daredevil and Making A Murderer right now haha. I'll finish them v soon though.

Reading all of this makes me scared to watch it honestly lmao. But I'm beyond excited

 

It will scare you, but it's all done in good taste. The heart of the show is the family aspect and it's very well done, you feel invested in all the characters and the fact most of the early episodes are centric allows you to see the same scene from different points of views. It's also utterly heartbreaking as well. You'll really enjoy it.

 

Episode 5/6 (can't remember which) are being dubbed the very best horror moments of the Decade. :o

 

I'm so hyped to watch this but I'm too invested in Daredevil and Making A Murderer right now haha. I'll finish them v soon though.

 

Episode 6 is the one that will be talked about and with good reason. The acting is superb and you'll know why as soon as you watch the episode why everyone is talking about it.

I'm impressed with how well this has been made - the casting and direction especially. I like that it's more of a family drama that uses pinches of horror as a driving force to push the story forward. They actually managed to create interesting and complex characters too, something the genre tends to struggle with.

 

HOWEVER (a big however)

 

 

The ending was so disappointing and went against the ethos of the series. I don't understand the decision to romanticise the house and wrap everything up with such an uncharacteristically happy ending.

 

While I agree I also think

for such a character driven drama having a painful ending would have been heartbreaking. The show was sad enough, I think having the twist that they were all in the red room still would have been awful. I could maybe have coped if it was 1 of them, but for all 4? Nope I wouldn't enjoy that. The heart of the show is the character drama.

 

 

I absolutely loved the show, I would recommend this to anyone. It's well acted, directed and has a brilliant storyline. The tension is something else and if you give it your full attention it will captivate you. My only gripe really was

the sideplot with the Dudleys. There are so many holes and inconsistent parts and I thought the Annabel twist could have been better exectuted. But the Red Room twist was great, I called most of the other big moments but not that they had all been inside the Red Room!

 

Wow - simply the best show I’ve seen in ages! Episode 5, 6 & 10 were just 😬😵😪

Wow this was phenomenal, so utterly heartbreaking, and the way they blended the supernatural elements with the real world dramas was incredible. Completely terrifying at times while carrying so much emotion at the same time. Some of the best horror I’ve seen in ages, highly reccomend omg

While I agree I also think

for such a character driven drama having a painful ending would have been heartbreaking. The show was sad enough, I think having the twist that they were all in the red room still would have been awful. I could maybe have coped if it was 1 of them, but for all 4? Nope I wouldn't enjoy that. The heart of the show is the character drama.

 

 

I absolutely loved the show, I would recommend this to anyone. It's well acted, directed and has a brilliant storyline. The tension is something else and if you give it your full attention it will captivate you. My only gripe really was

the sideplot with the Dudleys. There are so many holes and inconsistent parts and I thought the Annabel twist could have been better exectuted. But the Red Room twist was great, I called most of the other big moments but not that they had all been inside the Red Room!

 

 

I'm not suggesting they all had to die, not at all, but the finale's tone was just all over the place. I was expecting something more poignant, especially after how great the sixth episode was. The cheesy music and cringe-worthy final monologue was not the show I had just spent nine and a half hours with.

 

It's even more apparent after watching Sharp Objects just before this - they completely nailed the ending.

 

Edited October 30, 20186 yr by blacksquare

Well having watched the ending

I must consider myself a bit disappointed, I agree it got the tone wrong and inconsistent with the rest of the series - the house was presented as such an evil and terrifying place that would stop at nothing to consume them all especially going by what it did to Nell, but it just...let them go? I was under the impression it corrupted and trapped the people that died but Nell, Olivia and Mrs Dudley and her daughter at the end seemed to be at peace there. I wanted more of a showdown or the highest test of the house's powers, the flashbacks were good and I loved the reveal about the Red Room, but it didn't reach the scary heights of previous episodes and it just felt a bit kitsch. I get that they probably wanted to bring light to a dark drama, but it was a bit weird to wait until the last episode to do that. I'm glad the characters made it out as they were all very likeable and fleshed out, but there was an awful lot of missed opportunities in that final (and that quoting from the original novel was really unfitting and awkward).

 

 

Still a fantastic series and I love how it's blown up so much, the creator reportedly already has ideas for Season 2 even if it's not greenlit yet!