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The Haunting of Hill House - TV's first great horror series - Friday, Oct 12 on Netflix

effzee

effzee

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,273
NJ
They tied in everything you see randomly in the first few episodes but I didn't see any explanation or call back to:

  1. Nell disappearing during the night of the storm.
  2. Do we know or see in another episode what happened to young Nell during this time?
  3. Do we know who puts the marbles/buttons on Nell's eyes in the open casket?
  4. Is the banging on the door when Shirl and Theo are alone in the Funeral home supposed to be Nell calling them to help the siblings?
 
Officer Big Mac

Officer Big Mac

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,596
Teiresias said:
I'm blanking here, what episode and scene are you referring to here?

k

As someone said, the house is basically tricking them into not knowing they were in the room. Steve and his dad even have a conversation about it as they're driving to the house at the end, because his father reveals there was no tree house at all. I think the time stuff is really a cool addition to the haunting aspect of the house and somewhat new and fresh to the haunted house genre.
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I get all of that. Everyone knows where the red room is. They can't get in but everyone has been in it. And this never comes up in the time they live in the house.

When they are looking for Luke Steve says maybe he's in the treehouse. Olivia says "Very funny, Steve." because they don't have a treehouse. Steve conveniently doesn't press the issue. When Steve visited Luke did he walk into the red room with Luke? Wouldn't Steve know that the red room is where his game room is?
 
Teiresias

Teiresias

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,233
Teh Hamburglar said:
I get all of that. Everyone knows where the red room is. They can't get in but everyone has been in it. And this never comes up in the time they live in the house.

When they are looking for Luke Steve says maybe he's in the treehouse. Olivia says "Very funny, Steve." because they don't have a treehouse. Steve conveniently doesn't press the issue. When Steve visited Luke did he walk into the red room with Luke? Wouldn't Steve know that the red room is where his game room is?
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The house can make the red room look like anything it wants to each individual family member, you really think it's so far off the rails for it to lead them there without them knowing where they actually are?

There are plenty of examples of this misdirection by the house in the show.
 
WizardofPeace

WizardofPeace

Member
Oct 27, 2017
969
Loved the show, but I wasn't really scared at all. Maybe I watch too many horror movies and shows to be scared anymore, but the story itself was phenomenal.
 
henhowc

henhowc

Member
Oct 26, 2017
33,678
Los Angeles, CA
Whose your favorite kid?

My vote goes to Theo. She seemed pretty unaffected even why shit started going down. Not to mention her dance scene. :D

The twins were super cute though.
 
HotHamBoy

HotHamBoy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
16,423
This is a pretty good show in its own right, I'm really enjoying it.

That said, I take exception to them calling it The Haunting of Hill House. It really doesn't have much to do with the book at all. Not the plot, not the characters, not even the themes.

Interestingly, I feel like this show cribs some ideas from Richard Matheson's novel Hell House.
 
HotHamBoy

HotHamBoy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
16,423
BlackFyre said:
Absolutely It's inspired. If you notice the sign of "Hill" was spray painted to "Hell".
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Shirley Jackson's book is better but Matheson's House is creepier. They done good to borrow what they did.

Oh shit, I just realized that the
corpse in the wall
Is 100% lifted from Hell House.

Probably the most obvious lift is
the idea that the house itself is an active antagonist seeking to acquire more souls
 
Crepuscular

Crepuscular

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
400
I just got around to watching this after getting to it in my TV backlog. I liked it.

Then I came to this thread to try to read a few reactions, and it's just reminding me how much I dislike the whole Netflix/other streaming dump-whole-seasons-at-once thing that happens now. The whole thread is just basically

"just finished episode 8....whoa"
"I just got through episode 5....OMG"
"I just started ep 1"
"Just finished the season...liked it except the finale"
"I just watched episode 4... duuuude!"

The communal experience of watching tv really sucks now, in that it no longer exists. I remember the days of watching the new episode of Lost all at once, then there being 50+ forum pages (plus, like, real life conversations lol) obsessing over that one episode and speculating wildly with each other. So much better. I really miss it. Hell I would have parked my butt in front of the tv week-by-week to watch this if that still existed, but I know it doesn't, so why bother watching right away? Hence why I'm just getting to it. This show definitely would have produced countless hours of discussion in a live group setting though.

Anyway, that was my old man yells at cloud moment for the day.
 
Triggerhappytel

Triggerhappytel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,075
Astral said:
I just watched episode 6. Holy shit, what direction.
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Is that the one with all of the really long takes with no cuts? I just watched that last night too. Such a great episode and the acting/direction was flawless.

It took a while for me to warm to this because I found the first couple of episodes a bit dry and Steven and Shirley are probably my least favourite characters, but I'm loving it now. I've just started episode 8. I will hopefully finish tonight.

Unlike most Netflix stuff which I usually watch while I'm doing other stuff like washing up or ironing, I find I really have to concentrate on this and preferably watch with headphones because the atmosphere and creeping dread is so amazing. I've got to sit and give it my full attention.
 
ElectricKaibutsu

ElectricKaibutsu

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,476
Crepuscular said:
I just got around to watching this after getting to it in my TV backlog. I liked it.

Then I came to this thread to try to read a few reactions, and it's just reminding me how much I dislike the whole Netflix/other streaming dump-whole-seasons-at-once thing that happens now. The whole thread is just basically

"just finished episode 8....whoa"
"I just got through episode 5....OMG"
"I just started ep 1"
"Just finished the season...liked it except the finale"
"I just watched episode 4... duuuude!"

The communal experience of watching tv really sucks now, in that it no longer exists. I remember the days of watching the new episode of Lost all at once, then there being 50+ forum pages (plus, like, real life conversations lol) obsessing over that one episode and speculating wildly with each other. So much better. I really miss it. Hell I would have parked my butt in front of the tv week-by-week to watch this if that still existed, but I know it doesn't, so why bother watching right away? Hence why I'm just getting to it. This show definitely would have produced countless hours of discussion in a live group setting though.

Anyway, that was my old man yells at cloud moment for the day.
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There's still Game of Thrones.
 
Triggerhappytel

Triggerhappytel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,075
Crepuscular said:
I just got around to watching this after getting to it in my TV backlog. I liked it.

Then I came to this thread to try to read a few reactions, and it's just reminding me how much I dislike the whole Netflix/other streaming dump-whole-seasons-at-once thing that happens now. The whole thread is just basically

"just finished episode 8....whoa"
"I just got through episode 5....OMG"
"I just started ep 1"
"Just finished the season...liked it except the finale"
"I just watched episode 4... duuuude!"

The communal experience of watching tv really sucks now, in that it no longer exists. I remember the days of watching the new episode of Lost all at once, then there being 50+ forum pages (plus, like, real life conversations lol) obsessing over that one episode and speculating wildly with each other. So much better. I really miss it. Hell I would have parked my butt in front of the tv week-by-week to watch this if that still existed, but I know it doesn't, so why bother watching right away? Hence why I'm just getting to it. This show definitely would have produced countless hours of discussion in a live group setting though.

Anyway, that was my old man yells at cloud moment for the day.
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I agree with you that everything launching simultaneously dilutes the conversation somewhat. On the other hand I've gotten so used to binging multiple episodes in short periods of time that I'm not really looking forward to going back to week long waits for programs on regular TV.
 
dyst

dyst

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,461
Just wrapped up and it went from a decent show to really liking it at the end. I love the flashbacks and how they played with time. There was mystery throughout and even at the end, the show still leaves a few things unanswered. Not necessarily with the story of the Cranes but with the house itself.

They could easily do season 2 and follow the orgins of the house and how the evil started.

As for the room with the red door, this has probably already been mentioned. In the opening credits there is a part where you see a maze with walls that move, so maybe in a way, its analogy for the room, thus they have all been in it at one point or another. The house and its rooms move from time to time.
 
The Silver

The Silver

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,731
Finally watched this, good lord that was incredible. Now this is my kind of ideal horror, fucking classic. Seeing Bent Neck Nell standing by her casket helplessly watching her family fall apart as the episode ends was the scene of the show for me, that hit me hard.
 
Lifendz

Lifendz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,391
Just started episode 4, but so far this is excellent. And I'm loving the "Lost" style specific character focused episodes. This is everything I hoped American Horror Story would be. Probably going to binge through it before the weekend is over. A+ so far in just about every aspect of the show.
 
Blader

Blader

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,632
I finished the show last week and ended up really liking it. I kind of hated the first three episodes, partly because of how terrible so much of the acting was (for most of the adults at least; Nell, Luke, and the kids are great) but the show really started to pick up for me with ep. 4, and then I binged right through 5-10. The ending of 5 was unfortunately spoiled for me by this thread lol, but the way it played out was still pretty cool. Despite hating a lot of the acting, the show is somehow better than the sum of its parts and I dug it overall. Though, having watched The Haunting a few months ago, I have no idea how this and that are supposed to be based off the same book. Pretty much the only thing they share is a haunted house.
 
Fancy Clown

Fancy Clown

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,409
Finally finished this. There were certainly some strong points to it (episodes 4-6 seemed to really find a groove) but I really hate Flanagan's writing style. The overwrought dialogue, heavy handed symbolism spelled out through monologue, and heaps of melodrama really didn't work for me. That combined with some not so hot performances and in your face ghost scares really dragged the show down for me, even if there was enough I enjoyed to keep watching to the end.

The guy who played Luke was easily the best actor though, along with the present dad, and the introduction of his floating/cane ghost was a really effective use of tension.
 
More_Badass

More_Badass

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,626
First time I checked this out, the first episode didn't really grab me. But now I'm really into the show. Up to episode 3, the dumbwaiter scene was really well done. Such great unassuming creepiness and build-up.

I'm really liking the interplay between past and present, and how well the show connects the two threads and other flashbacks through match cuts and lines of dialogue.

The show reminds me a lot of Hereditary, with how the family drama and trauma is the heart of the show and the horror all branches from that core. As well as the sense of tension and dread that the show is good at establishing.
 
Indelible

Indelible

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,731
Canada
Finally got around to this show and it is easily one of the best Netflix originals. The season got better throughout and it had a very satisfying ending, can't wait to see what they come up with for season 2.
 
Solobbos

Solobbos

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,826
Watched this in 3 days with my girfriend. She doesn't like horror but she loved this one. One question, though; Why did Luke draw Abigail with a huge gaping mouth and in many different twisted ways in the treehouse?
 
TolerLive

TolerLive

Senior Lighting Artist
Verified
Nov 15, 2017
1,860
Redmond, WA
Late to the party. Girlfriend showed me the first episode friday night and i proceding to binge the series this weekend. What a fantastic piece of work from Netflix. The horror wasn't super scary, but the mystery and the following reveals were very well done. And the production values really added to the shows ability to create beautiful cinematography. Acting was spotty at times but the production value picked up the weak pieces of the show.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,868
I'm extremely late to the part but I finally started watching this. Initially the plot bears a strong resemblance to the movie Oculus, and then I found out that the same guy directed that movie and this series, and that the actress who plays Theo is actually IN Oculus. That's not really a negative because Oculus was a great movie but I thought it was interesting.
 
Solo

Solo

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
15,770
Z-Beat said:
I'm extremely late to the part but I finally started watching this. Initially the plot bears a strong resemblance to the movie Oculus, and then I found out that the same guy directed that movie and this series, and that the actress who plays Theo is actually IN Oculus. That's not really a negative because Oculus was a great movie but I thought it was interesting.
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Theo is also the directors wife and stars in his other movie Hush.
 
tellNoel

tellNoel

Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,254
Sorry for the bump but i just recently finished the series and I absolutely loved 'Two Storms' the most. What an absolutely amazing episode, I've seen nothing like it before.
 
Zippedpinhead

Zippedpinhead

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,757
TearablePuns said:
Sorry for the bump but i just recently finished the series and I absolutely loved 'Two Storms' the most. What an absolutely amazing episode, I've seen nothing like it before.
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The fact that the episode only had three or four cuts, instead opting for long tracking shots, really increased both the tension, as well as kept the narrative focused. Its easy to hide things with all the jumps and cuts in a normal episode, I felt two storms was a triumph in directing and blocking.

The fact that it wasn't nominated for an emmy this year for directing is a shame. In my opinion, two too many GoT and not enough Hill House.
 
Zippedpinhead

Zippedpinhead

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,757
peppermints said:
Genuinely bummed there's not a new season ready in time for fall/Halloween season. Loved the first one.
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phanphare said:
is there an expected release window for the new season? I guess Halloween 2020
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to be fair, the director and creator, Mike Flanagan, focused his time on Doctor Sleep which comes out this November.

I imagine that Netflix will try to lock up whatever project he wants to do in between Bly Manor and season 3 (If they want a third season)
 
DassoBrother

DassoBrother

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,632
Saskatchewan
I saw Ready or Not this weekend and there was a preview for Doctor Sleep. Me and a friend were discussing how Mike Flanagan kinda has a structure that he likes, with Ouija, this show, and now Doctor Sleep where there's just this interconnectedness of the storytelling between past and present. I think Gerald's Game had some of that as well. It doesn't sound like anything special since lots of stories are told with flashbacks but Flanagan takes it to another level.

It got me excited for Doctor Sleep, I hadn't seen a trailer and didn't realize that Flanagan was involved but it looks good. I do wish there was something announced for more of this show though. It's definitely top 3 Netflix show for me and the rest of their stuff isn't even close.

EDIT: If anyone is really jonesing for something else I'd suggest Ouija.
 
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TetraGenesis

TetraGenesis

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,138
Zippedpinhead said:
The fact that the episode only had three or four cuts, instead opting for long tracking shots, really increased both the tension, as well as kept the narrative focused. Its easy to hide things with all the jumps and cuts in a normal episode, I felt two storms was a triumph in directing and blocking.

The fact that it wasn't nominated for an emmy this year for directing is a shame. In my opinion, two too many GoT and not enough Hill House.
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Wait, it wasn't??

That's such bullshit. That episode was a goddamn marvel. The Emmy's are a fucking joke. They also nominated GoT for writing this year as if that doesn't tell you all you need to know.
 
Zippedpinhead

Zippedpinhead

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,757
TetraGenesis said:
Wait, it wasn't??

That's such bullshit. That episode was a goddamn marvel. The Emmy's are a fucking joke. They also nominated GoT for writing this year as if that doesn't tell you all you need to know.
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yeah GoT took three noms for drama, If Hill house was submitted under the limited series category it's not as clear cut. Foss/Verdon got two, When they see us got one. Its only a real shame if netflix didn't even submit it for consideration.
 
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