Haunting of Hill House - 2018 - Netflix Original

Ol' Fashioned Girl

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Holy Guacamole, Batman.

I tuned in to this one with a chip on my shoulder. I hated the version starring Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones (1999). The 1963 original starring Julie Harris and Claire Bloom is my absolute favorite; so I didn't have much in the way of expectations for this version - and it was definitely starting out in the hole. The first five minutes ticked me off so much I almost turned it off in favor of 'Big Bang' reruns; but Ol' Boy convinced me to hang in there... and it's worth it. I've never had a horror movie make me cry.

Bottom line... if you like eerie, creepy, thought-provoking terror, give it a go. If you're curious about the 'why' of Hill House, give it a go. It's not the vintage '63... and it's far from the upstart '99... but I believe the '19 can hold its own. It changes some things... but it works. Be patient with it.

The only problem: it's a ten-episode series that looks to be charting a course to wrap up the movie story by the end of the ten. I haven't a clue what they can do for another season unless they move on to another family/house/whatever.
 

Lissibith

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I started watching it. Then it introduced the things that the girl finds in ep 2 just before the wasp nest and ... no. Just no. I've watched enough horror shows to know where that's going and I am done. Which is a shame because I like a lot of what it chooses to do. the atmosphere is pretty great
 

rainsmom

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Yep, I hated that aspect of episode 2 -- and they did EXACTLY what you expected them to.

I binge watched the whole season yesterday. It gets better with each episode, until the last. Not a fan of their ending.
 

mccardey

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[derail] I had never heard of the book, and I found it on the shelf in my room at my first-ever writers retreat about five years ago in a big, rambling old house on a lane at the top of a mountain. It was SO SCARY I ended up spending the night on AW talking to you lot because I was too terrified to sleep. No way am I going to watch it! :scared: Oh - and thank you to all those people who talked me down from it, five years ago. You know who you are. Though you've prolly forgotten all about it now. Oh, they were good times, good times...[/end derail]
 

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Just watched episode 5 & it was excellent (predictable—but in a perfect way), & now I wonder if I dare watch episode 6 here at 10pm, partly because the later I go the more likely it will keep me up, & partly because I loved how ep 5 ended & want to end strong for the night
 

Lissibith

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So ... if a person were to skip the back half of episode 2, would one miss the resolution of that aspect I don't like? Or does it conclude in a later episode?
 

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At least through episode 6, I can say that that element hasn't come back.

Episode 6 was better than episode 5, and it's my favorite so far.
 
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AstronautMikeDexter

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This show is so tense!! I actually just finished the sixth episode as well and I am shaking. I love that I care about what happens to these characters. I feel such empathy for them and what they're going through and that makes the scares all the more scary and impactful.
 

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I'm in episode 3... one episode per day... no make it a half episode per day... is fine with a coward like me :scared:

*sleeps with one eye open*
 

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So I think that episodes, 5, 6, and 9 were the highlights for me. I was disappointed in episode 10. I could see metaphorically what they were going for, but I think it didn't work, and went to bed last night feeling a lot less creeped out than I had the night before, although I admit I still worried I'd open my eyes to my own Bent-Neck Lady last night.

I'm rewatching some eps now. For sure, 1 and 5 and 9 together. I'll have to decide about others. There are things I'd like to see in other episodes that were clues to the explanations of the last 2 episodes, and things that might make more sense in retrospect, but I'm not sure I want to rewatch the whole thing right now.

I think 5 & 6 are still the highlights for me. The thing that worked so well for episode 5 for me was that the reveal in it was telegraphed to me in the first five minutes of episode 1, and yet the way it was delivered in that midpoint episode felt perfectly executed.
 

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I started watching it. Then it introduced the things that the girl finds in ep 2 just before the wasp nest and ... no. Just no. I've watched enough horror shows to know where that's going and I am done. Which is a shame because I like a lot of what it chooses to do. the atmosphere is pretty great

So ... if a person were to skip the back half of episode 2, would one miss the resolution of that aspect I don't like? Or does it conclude in a later episode?

That aspect never comes back. There is one metaphor related to those things that's mentioned at a key moment in ep 9, but it really isn't needed. It's just that you'll miss Shirley's intro story, but I feel like it's less needed than others' episodes. I think you've even already been introduced to the Shirley thing that gets alluded to for the rest of the season and answered at the end.

But maybe I'm biased because I find Shirley to be the least interesting of the kids
 
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Lissibith

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That aspect never comes back. There is one metaphor related to those things that's mentioned at a key moment in ep 9, but it really isn't needed. It's just that you'll miss Shirley's intro story, but I feel like it's less needed than others' episodes. I think you've even already been introduced to the Shirley thing that gets alluded to for the rest of the season and answered at the end.

But maybe I'm biased because I find Shirley to be the least interesting of the kids
Thanks! I skipped past, and am now at episode 7. Pretty glad I did. Though I'm kind of with you on Shirley.
 

SarahJane

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I loved this series overall, but hated the last episode. I feel like it ruined all the tension that they had built up so beautifully. A story as dark as this should not have such a saccharine happily ever after.
 

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Just finished episode 5. Best one so far
 

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episode 5 was amazing. i finished the series on Saturday. i gotta start Sabrina now....
 

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Episodes 5,6,9 have been my favorite too! I only have episode 10 left and I have been begged by my husband to wait until tonight to finish it together. Some of the intended grief stricken dialogue has come across corny, but for the most part I think they've done a wonderful job retelling this classic in a new way.
 

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I'm way waaaay too scared to watch it but it does look amazing (I've read all the plot summaries and the fun tweets about it). It does sound like the cast and crew have put a lot of effort into making it special - especially the long shots. I HAVE heard it's more of a family drama with horror elements but at the same time I've watched clips on YouTube and they're enough to make me say HELL NO and sleep with one eye open.
 

Greene_Hesperide1990

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I haven't read the novel this was adapted from but I found this to be a pretty good series. As most of you said, episode 5, 6, and 9 were my favorite episodes. As for the ending, I think Mike Flanagan originally intended for them to all be stuck in the house's illusion ( like when they were celebrating Luke's 2 year sobriety you'd see the Red Room's window in the background), which is pretty dark but could have work. I felt they could have worked out a few kinks, there could have been a happy ending that wasn't as cheesy, but I guess after all the trauma they've gone through I'm okay with letting the Cranes have some some peace in their family. If they make another season though, I don't know where they would go with it.
 

Spicyqueso

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I never read the book but I was just amazed at the character development and how each one handled grief. I thought it was really well done and gave me a few nightmares haha.