Shirley Jackson’s novel Haunted Hill House rightly ranks among the landmarks of Gothic fiction – on a par with the best works of Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft. That is also the opinion of genre titan Stephen King, who never tires of emphasizing his admiration for the Californian who died in 1965 at the age of only 48 and her work. The creator of “It” and “Shining” considers the classic one of the best horror books of the 20th century.
The bundle has already been filmed twice for the cinema, albeit with varying degrees of success: in the form of the successful “Until the blood freezes” (1963) and the rather meager “Das Geisterschloss” (1999). In 2018, Netflix commissioned Mike Flanagan (“Doctor Sleeps Awakening”) to remake it in miniseries format and with his own twist. Of “Ghost Hill House‘ the director and author achieved a real stroke of genius.
Haunted Hill House can be viewed at any time Netflix being picked up. If you don’t have a streaming subscription, you don’t necessarily have to watch the tube. Because online retailers such as Amazon also have the entire series in a handy set of 4 DVDs.
The box is unfortunately only available as a British import with an English soundtrack, but it is offered for a very reasonable price. The biggest incentive to get your hands on the title in haptic form is that the director’s cut of the series is only available here. Three of the episodes are three to five minutes longer because they contain extra scenes not seen in the Netflix version. All extended episodes plus one of the regular episodes also each have a supplemental audio commentary from series creator and director, Mike Flanagan, giving you a detailed account of his thoughts on creating the series and individual episodes.
This is what Haunted Hill House is all about on Netflix
1992: Hugh (Henry Thomas) and Olivia Crain (Carla Gugino) make a living by buying old buildings, renovating them and then selling them for a profit. This summer it’s the turn of Hill House, a stately mansion. But staying at the residence, built in the 1880s, is anything but routine. Not only the life of the couple changes drastically here, but also that of their five children.
Even more than a quarter of a century later, as adults they still suffer from the events and the nightmares they trigger. For example, the youngest daughter Nell (Victoria Pedretti) simply cannot let go of the ghosts of the past. Driven by her memories, she returns to the house with suicidal intent. This soon brings together not only Hugh (now: Timothy Hutton), estranged from his brood, but also the rest of the siblings there.
Bestselling author Steve (Michiel Huisman), funeral director Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser), psychologist Theo (Kate Siegel) and junkie Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) want to deal with their mysterious past together. What exactly was the terrible thing that happened at Hill House then? And why did they have to leave their mother behind when they left in a hurry in the middle of the night?
Mike Flanagan ties us up in front of the TV
Flanagan implements his imaginative adaptation, which is built on several levels of time, with a confident timed staging that is immensely gripping and exciting. Dialogues and situations that always seem realistic allow the excellently cast actors to shine. In addition, a lot of atmosphere is created by, among other things, Michael Fimognari (“Oculus”) aesthetic camera work and captivating music by the Newton Brothers (“The Game”).
But Flanagan’s greatest asset is the pointed, perfectly fitting editing of the scenes. He combines the events of then and now and their effect on the very different characters within the Crain family into a homogeneous whole. We’re always told just as much about the characters and the old house as is necessary to fast-forward the plot, but still leave us guessing at their resolution.
Once you get into the series, you’ll find it hard to turn it off. The appeal of Shirley Jackson’s contemporary story is truly amazing. Precisely because we quickly become fully involved mentally, the scares that are cleverly distributed over the episodes but are never used clumsily or exaggerated often come into their own.
These are especially effective if you enjoy Haunted Hill House alone and in a darkened room. So if you’re really jumpy but still want to take the risk of watching the series (which is really worth it!), it might be better to sit in front of the set in daylight and with someone.
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