They said it in the final episode, this wasn't a ghost story. It was a love story.
And more specifically a story about losing your loved ones. That's probably the preeminent theme of the entire series.
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The Haunting of Bly Manor - Friday, October 9 on Netflix
- Thread starter RatskyWatsky
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And more specifically a story about losing your loved ones. That's probably the preeminent theme of the entire series.
I think it's ironic that the 90s remake of The Haunting of Hill House tried to do a whole family motif and failed miserably
Overall I think this was just okay. Hill House did a better job of meshing family drama with horror, and I felt this went on too long in places just to get to where it was going, sort of like
Another question:
Overall I think this was just okay. Hill House did a better job of meshing family drama with horror, and I felt this went on too long in places just to get to where it was going, sort of like
How I Met Your Mother but also ghosts
Another question:
how does the gardener know about the parts she wasn't there for? And also if she knows she's still hanging around the manor why not just move back there?
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For season 3.. hear me out:
The Haunting of Usher House
Bly Manor was based on Turn of the Screw and other Henry James works right?
Let's go full Gothic Horror with adapations of Poe's works using the backdrop of The Fall of the House of Usher as the backdrop.
Unnamed character goes to visit Rodrick Usher at his estate, and we get the full family history inspired by different Poe works.
Mask of the Red Death
Cask of Amontillado
The Raven
Pit and the Pendulum
Tell-Tale Heart
William Wilson
The Black Cat.
IT ALL WORKS OUT SO WELL. It could be an amazing idea to tell a family history associated with Poe's tales, have the back drop be the House of Usher, then have the last episode be the Fall of the House of Usher.
The Haunting of Usher House
Bly Manor was based on Turn of the Screw and other Henry James works right?
Let's go full Gothic Horror with adapations of Poe's works using the backdrop of The Fall of the House of Usher as the backdrop.
Unnamed character goes to visit Rodrick Usher at his estate, and we get the full family history inspired by different Poe works.
Mask of the Red Death
Cask of Amontillado
The Raven
Pit and the Pendulum
Tell-Tale Heart
William Wilson
The Black Cat.
IT ALL WORKS OUT SO WELL. It could be an amazing idea to tell a family history associated with Poe's tales, have the back drop be the House of Usher, then have the last episode be the Fall of the House of Usher.
I'd be down. You'd be hard pressed to find a way to make all those stories mesh together without seeming forced though. I've been through and seen a few mazes for horror events at theme parks based on Poe's works. One was literally traveling through the stories and one was a serial killer who commits murders based on Poe's works, so I know it could work
Well I finished the series...and to be honest it kinda lost me.
The Flashback Episode to the 1600's just absolutely killed any and all tension in the story for me; why...why the fuck would you do that at the absolute climax of the action?!
What's more, the explanation for what the lady of the lake is...well...it was fucking stupid.
What's more, the explanation for what the lady of the lake is...well...it was fucking stupid.
As stated above, I found Bly far far far inferior to Hill House in just about every respect, but Miles and Flora were fucking excellent.
There being psychological ghosts and also real ghosts make it messy.
And there are several love stories in the season. It seemed they should've focused it on one or two instead of spreading them thin in the middle of the actual ghost parts and spooky stuff.
I also hope next season doesn't have fake British accents. That Henry actor was incredibly bad.
And there are several love stories in the season. It seemed they should've focused it on one or two instead of spreading them thin in the middle of the actual ghost parts and spooky stuff.
I also hope next season doesn't have fake British accents. That Henry actor was incredibly bad.
It's the execution and pacing of the episode more than the actual character, I'd wager.
Plus smashing an hour of backstory smack dab in the middle of your climax is just an awful choice.
I like it...but I'd suggest an alternative: Adapt the notable works of horror author Garth Marenghi, with season 3 being:
The Haunting of Darkplace Hospital.
I really don't get how people think Hill House was that much more scary.
Other than a few key scenes Hill House has absolutely no horror tension outside of the house scenes which aren't actually a lot of screentime.
Other than a few key scenes Hill House has absolutely no horror tension outside of the house scenes which aren't actually a lot of screentime.
That just goes to show how flat Bly Manor is.
Hill House wasn't "scary" scary, but it definitely had way more tension and creepiness going on. The design of some of the ghosts was much better too.
In Bly Manor, once they
show the faded faces clearly
The ghosts were not sinister or imposing or threatening which like, why even bother at that point
The love stories were the focus of the season though. Not just one, all of them. That's what it was about. Love and loss, and all the different ways loss can occur.
Hill House was infinitely more unsettling and creepy throughout which is all I really ask for.
This feels very accurate for some reason.
I think it's because hill house had a lot of nuanced themes and more slow burn type stuff.
While Bly Manor was more overt in what it was about and wore its themes on its sleeve and was just focused on telling a story.
ironically he plays the kids' father in Bly Manor.I like it...but I'd suggest an alternative: Adapt the notable works of horror author Garth Marenghi, with season 3 being:
The Haunting of Darkplace Hospital.
I know! Fortunately Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry have not already been used.
I could have used some "you two were...buddies...weren't you?" whenI know! Fortunately Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry have not already been used.
you find out Charlotte and Henry were sleeping together
Yeah, if you go back to the Hill House threads, people were pointing out that Hill House was only scary with its famous jump scare. Neither of these shows are scary. They're just stories with ghosts in them.
I love that House of Usher idea btw. Though the Masque of the Red Death may be a little too real for us lol
My partner told me that there's a Supernatural episode that does the concept of "the dead who eventually lose their minds and self after they die" better than this thing does.
See I feel like Bly had tension throughout and felt like it was generations of ghosts haunting it.
Hill House felt like a typical movie's haunted house and them not going deeper into it kinda sucked.
Dani's flashback being the only part without much tension. Even in the broad daylight you felt the weirdness going on there.
Meanwhile Hill House had very little happening outside the house(vast majority of screentime) except a few key places.
Which honestly made it a bit more "scary" because it came from nowhere but just less cohesive throughout
Hill House really loses its threat personally
because we know everyone but the mom survived the house. and nothing too crazy can happen because Nell, Luke and Hugh were the only ones all in about the ghosts openly.
Bly meanwhile Dani, Hanna, Owen, the kids, etc felt in danger the majority of the series.
Amazing. So fun seeing him pop up in Bly Manor.
It was an amazing season in terms of drama and character acting, but lousy in terms of horror. I agree with the criticisms about pacing, and characters being spread too thin. I felt disconnected from the au pair. Seemed like she was missing some spark compared to the rest of the cast - not sure if it was the writing or the performance. Hannah Gross and the kids were amazing. Quint was underwhelming. They did a great job humanizing him, but he's so much more menacing in The Innocents.
My pitch for season 3: The Haunting of Exham Priory. The Rats in the Walls, but massively expanding upon characters from the Delapore and Norrys lineage and their coexistence, hopping through time in the lead up to the big revelation.
Episode 8 sure is something. I wouldn't say it's bad, it just seems ... Out of place? It brings the pacing to a screeching halt.
Otherwise absolute top notch entertainment.
Otherwise absolute top notch entertainment.
I must be weird, I actually liked episode 8 quite a bit. I like when this show went into "story mode" in terms of narrative structure. Happens a few times throughout the show.
Oh it's not bad by any means, it's in just a bit too long for it's own good.
Gotta say, the soundtrack is amazing and it works really well in episode 8.
I really liked how in depth they went for everything and how all the pieces fit into each other until episode 9 and that is when I found two plotholes and now everything is ruined.
1. When Flora said You me and Us why did the Lady of the lake not respond then.
2. If Lady of the lake was taking a fixed path through the house why did the Wingraves not see her every night? What made her decide on that particular path?
2. If Lady of the lake was taking a fixed path through the house why did the Wingraves not see her every night? What made her decide on that particular path?
Just finished episode 5. I feel like I'm watching a different show than most people....this is a fucking phenomenal season.
I finished it last night and am one of the few that really enjoyed it, maybe even more than Hill House. Whereas some people feel duped in that this is not really a horror story, I felt that way about Hill House when I first watched it and it became obvious that a majority of my time with that series was going to be spent watching a bunch of unlikable people yell at each other and there wouldn't really be much spooky stuff. Plus I found the ending of Hill House to be pretty dumb. Still, there were some good moments in Hill House and I ultimately ended up liking it enough, I guess. But it wasn't what I expected going in.
I think that helped me set my expectations appropriately with Bly Manor, so I wasn't expecting a lot of actual horror. But I did end up really enjoying the whole thing and never felt myself getting bored or thinking it was going on too long. For some reason I just found everything about Bly Manor much more interesting and compelling than anything in Hill House. I guess gothic romances are my jam. Good to know! I tried reading Turn of the Screw a few months ago and found it a bit hard to get through and gave up pretty quickly, but maybe I'll give it another shot.
I think that helped me set my expectations appropriately with Bly Manor, so I wasn't expecting a lot of actual horror. But I did end up really enjoying the whole thing and never felt myself getting bored or thinking it was going on too long. For some reason I just found everything about Bly Manor much more interesting and compelling than anything in Hill House. I guess gothic romances are my jam. Good to know! I tried reading Turn of the Screw a few months ago and found it a bit hard to get through and gave up pretty quickly, but maybe I'll give it another shot.
1. The person saying "It's you, it's me, it's us" was inviting a spirit into their body. If I'm remembering the scene correctly, Flora was inviting Mrs. Jessel, not the Lady of the Lake, so the Lady of the Lake could not accept that invitation.
2. The path was her going from the lake to the bedroom where her daughter slept. I don't think there's a real good explanation as to why most people never saw her, except that it was supposed to their summer house, so they probably didn't really spend that much time there anyway.
2. The path was her going from the lake to the bedroom where her daughter slept. I don't think there's a real good explanation as to why most people never saw her, except that it was supposed to their summer house, so they probably didn't really spend that much time there anyway.
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Same, I was sobbing the last 20 minutes.
Really loved every second of this.
I just finished and I really liked it!! I thought the story and the twists were well done and it ended in a heartfelt but bittersweet way.
Really glad I didn't listen to some in this thread saying it wasn't scary enough or that there was too much melodrama.
Really glad I didn't listen to some in this thread saying it wasn't scary enough or that there was too much melodrama.
I felt so bad for Hannah. :(
Haha nice. Knew I heard that voice from somewhere else before.
Answer for #2
I'm pretty sure it's said explicitly (and it's certainly shown several times) that Viola did not take her walk every night. In fact from the way Flora reacted to seeing her doll it was implied that her walks were fairly rare events
Episode 5 is a legit 10/10 episode and the high point of the season.