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SADNESS OVER FEAR: THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Dominic "Bryle" Tayzon
In this review, I’m going to talk about the stuff I like and the stuff I find mediocre, and analyze the show as a whole to find out what it’s trying to tell us.
This show is tragically terrifying!
Horror movies aren’t horror movies without scenes that will leave you up at night – and this show has a lot of good ones. What makes Mike Flanagan an amazing film maker of the horror genre is his zero reliance on jumpscares. They all depend on building tension: My favorite was the one right at the end of the very first episode. I love how the scene started out as innocent at first, and then it slightly builds up during the phone conversation. When Hugh tells Steve the heartbreaking news, my heart stopped! And that close up shot of Nellie’s face slowly withering had me at the edge of my seat! Now THAT is how you create and build horror!
What do I think about the car jumpscare? To tell you honestly, I knew this jumpscare was coming mainly due to the Internet. On the other hand, I think it’s the funniest jumpscare of the entire show – seriously, I’m not joking! I actually found myself chuckling when this scene happened mostly because I interpreted this scene as Nellie stepping in to stop her sisters from fighting.
But the episode that really sent a shiver down my spine was Episode 5: “The Bent-Neck Lady.” The way this episode ended was just pure tragedy! The way Nellie hangs on the ceiling, helpless as she’s forced to relieve all her horrific moments just to realize that SHE was the Bent-Neck Lady all along was just terrifying! You get a sense that the House is this Mastermind who’s been planning this from the very beginning – which leads to another topic I’d like to discuss
There are a lot of match cuts in this show; the episode that best exemplifies this is Episode 6: “Two
The way the episode transitions back and forth from the family back then to the family now shows the real horrifying thing about The Haunting of Hill House: that despite leaving the house, the house never left them! The entire family has been trapped in an endless loop of despair, having to go through the same disagreements, and traumas.