The Haunting of Hill House

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HinkyDinkyTruesmith
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:21 pm

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#26 Post by HinkyDinkyTruesmith » Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:25 pm

I understand the irony in what I'm about to say, given James's own tendency in much of his work towards bloated, digressive, expansive prose (which I love unreservedly), but I could do without a bloated ten hour version with a hyper sentimentalized ending of The Turn of the Screw, especially when we have a perfectly good two hour version in The Innocents.

More power to those who can enjoy it though.

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Persona
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:16 pm

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#27 Post by Persona » Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:38 pm

The Innocents is as great a straight-up adaptation as we could ask for, yes, but if The Haunting S1 was anything to go by, this will be something very different from the book.

More like "loosely inspired by." Probably a more modern story that even has The Turn of the Screw events as the Bly Manor back-story. And just because Hill House went for a more emotional, bittersweet ending, doesn't mean S2 will go the same way.

But yeah it will probably be ten hours.

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Big Ben
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:54 pm
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Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#28 Post by Big Ben » Fri Feb 22, 2019 12:39 am

I imagine that this will be the only exposure quite a few people will have to Turn of the Screw and I guess I'm okay with that. I'd never say no to more horror anthologies, particularly if they have a good structural foundation to go off of much like the first season.

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Persona
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:16 pm

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#29 Post by Persona » Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:39 am

Turn of the Screw is one of my all-time favorite books, so yeah, if this gets more people to read it, it will be worth it.

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Roscoe
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 3:40 pm
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Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#30 Post by Roscoe » Fri Feb 22, 2019 10:08 am

I checked out a couple of episodes, and despite a cool scene here and there (Henry Thomas waking up one of his children in the middle of the night so they can Get The Hell OUT) it felt rather by the numbers -- I sat there counting off the upcoming effects ("cue the cockroach, cue the light going on in the model of the house..."). The new version ultimately comes off like Stephen King's IT, but with a house instead of a clown.

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jazzo
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:02 am

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#31 Post by jazzo » Thu Aug 15, 2019 4:14 pm

According to the blu-ray.com forums, this is now available to order from Amazon in an extended cut:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Haunting-of- ... ayforum-20


I'm happy, at least.

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Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#32 Post by Murdoch » Thu Aug 15, 2019 6:04 pm

I'm happy to see Netflix releasing a physical release, hopefully it bodes well for The OA or at the very least Evangelion.

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Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
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Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#33 Post by Murdoch » Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:15 pm

Anyone watched Bly Manor? It's much more of a straight adaptation of the source novel than the previous season but Flanagan mostly succeeds here. He leans heavily into the gothic romance rather than make the season a parade of eerie ghouls like the last (not that I minded that approach too much). While I wasn't too invested in the central story since I'd just watched the Innocents, which is a far more effective adaptation, the Hannah storyline is Flanagan at his best. The previous season shined when its characters grief turned to tragedy and I think it's only Hannah's arc that touches upon the prior season's success in this respect. Still, the season does feel very by-the-numbers overall and I'm mainly recommending it to others based on the strengths of Hannah's character and the last two episodes.

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Pavel
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:41 pm

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#34 Post by Pavel » Wed Oct 14, 2020 4:02 am

Watched it in one sitting and quite liked it. Thematically very similar to Hill House, although I think that handled its themes with more care and nuance. Unfortunately, Bly Manor takes the excessive sentimentality that reigned over the final episode of Hill House (thereby disappointing me a little, though the previous episodes were plenty great enough to compensate) and splashes it all over the show (especially the finale though; Flanagan definitely has a problem with endings). Still captivating and engrossing, with a few memorable characters. Could've done without the Carla-Gugino-as-narrator framing device, and a bit less of the children — the film often relies on their acting capabilities, which, with all due respect, are still very limited (the scenes in which the little boy isn't acting like himself [being vague in order to avoid spoilers], in particular, are quite weak). Episode 8 is fantastic. Plus, Greg Sestero shows up in two episodes.

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ianthemovie
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Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#35 Post by ianthemovie » Wed Oct 14, 2020 12:02 pm

I've been enjoying Bly Manor so far (currently four episodes in) though I have to say I feel that as a series "based on the work of Henry James," as it claims to be in the credits, it's a major disappointment. I keep hearing the show described as "sentimental," and I would agree. "Sentimental" is the last word that can be used to describe James' fiction. I keep looking out for connections to other James stories, such as those referenced in the episode titles, but so far such connections seem tenuous and fleeting at best, such as the name "Wyngarde" which comes from "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes." ("Clayton" is probably a nod to Jack Clayton, no? The show also makes heavy use of the willow lullaby from The Innocents.)
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I'm particularly curious to see whether the show addresses the insinuations of child molestation in The Turn of the Screw. That's an element of the story that even the best and most faithful adaptations won't touch because it's too disturbing. Based on the somewhat gentle, almost heartfelt tone of the show so far, I can't see it going there, either.

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Pavel
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:41 pm

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#36 Post by Pavel » Wed Oct 14, 2020 1:12 pm

I thought Clayton was a nod to Jack, too. Episode 8 ("The Romance of Certain Old Clothes") is kind of the outlier episode and definitely seems to be the episode that shares the most similarities with James (partially due to the setting, to be fair).

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Persona
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:16 pm

Re: The Haunting of Hill House

#37 Post by Persona » Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:51 am

I just finished By Manor and I totally get why a sizable chunk of people feel like they didn't get what they wanted out of this season.

Obviously, as up front as Netflix and Flanagan were about what this season was trying to do and the fact that the show itself makes it abundantly clear what kind of story it is, there were going to be built-in expectations based on the first season and mention of the horror genre that this season was never going to fulfill based on its intentions.

Was it sentimental? Yes. But the sentiment was earned based on the character work and the storytelling. There is not a lot of television out right now that invests so much in how it is telling a story from beginning to end and how it interweaves different character traumas and backstories and motivations into the fabric of its themes while using far-out horror/fantasy concepts to underline and extrapolate the thematic. When we get Peter's backstory and realize how it informs how he treats Miles, I mean, damn.

Yeah, it was a slow build. Yeah, not every character hit the mark completely. But most of them really did, episodes 5 and 8 were just outstanding television, and while a bit sappy I do think the finale was a very strong follow-through and denouement for everything that was on this season's mind and heart.

As an adaptation of Henry James, no, it doesn't really capture the essence or vibe of his work at all, but ultimately I am okay with that because I do think it was really impressive how it integrated various story ideas of his into one whole that felt very complete. And it did keep the meter of pace and method of quietly evolving story construct that James was so good at.

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