Horror TV

 I did a TV post not too long ago so I will keep this one short. We recently watched the Haunting of Hill House and the Haunting of Bly manor. I don't know if I would call these horror or suspense. They don't do a lot of jump scares, they are more creepy which to me at least is better. Not relying on a corny method to get a reaction BUT then is it horror? You not really scared. I went to bed every night fine after them. So I dunno what you want to call them BUT in my mind they are VERY well done. I do have to say there is another horror anthology series that is stupid popular. Difference between the two, AHS often will mix in politics or current world views where as Haunting is just purely horror. Which I think I prefer. also spoilers below FYI, if you haven't watched.... Also shouldn't have to say it but ya, spoiler warning!

Start with Hill House, wish I would have watched this when it first came out, the cast and the story are stellar. I quite enjoy how each episode is kind of the same story just told from differing views. I also really enjoy how well written each view is. It takes a lot of time and thought to mix those all to tell the same story. In the next season I will say there is a stand out actor but this season they are all great. It is actually much longer than I thought. I figured after the funeral that there wouldn't be much but it still goes on. Now I thought I paid a lot of attention but the one thing I feel this season is missing is a reason. With these kind of shows I want to know why? Maybe I missed it but it really doesn't feel like it explains what is going on or why it is happening. Yes it breaks out who some of the ghosts are but not why they are still around like Bly manor does. Also what part is mental illness and what is actual haunting. Your led to believe that Hugh can see Olivia after her death when he is not at the house BUT she clearly states no, that wasn't her. So it was mental illness, a figment of his imagination? What about Luke and seeing the bowler hat ghost when he was away, again not really there? Love the follow up, not sure if that is the right word maybe fall out from Hill House? Steven becomes a huge skeptic, Shirley becomes the mother, Theo I guess has powers? Luke becomes a junkie and Nell is almost normal but still haunted? The writers seemed to have needed 5 kids just to show all the possible out comes from such a traumatic event. Also Nell, was she haunted or again was that mental illness. Did her husband just die of natural causes. I would assume so because we now know bent neck lady wouldn't hurt him. Either way even without a reason or a real explanation if some of the hauntings afterwards were hauntings or mental illness this show really is starting off great in the first season.

Now Bly Manor is the real test. They had a hit, can they follow it up? Shortest answer yes, my short answer broke down is as follows. First I would cut the whole wedding / storyteller plot. It literally brings nothing to the table. We were already told the survivors were doing alright and it really wasn't a big shock at the wedding to find out who they were. Honestly from his first corny joke I had already guessed Owen. So not a huge fan of that. HOWEVER the cast is amazing, each one played the role great but them two kids were awesome. Amelie Bea Smith made me think if I ever have kids I want them to be nice little Bri'ish ones. I have to say Benjamin Evan Ainsworth though steals the show. When he plays as possessed by Peter you would think he was in his 20 / 30s. This kid can act.... That was a half decent twist. I mean I caught it JUST a hair before they really explain it. Another thing I was not a fan of Peter Quint. For a villain he is great, he is a thief and a murderer. Kudos to Oliver Jackson-Cohen btw he was a great sympathetic character in Hill House and a great douche in Bly. Got some range. Anyways the point is I didn't want / need a sad back story for Peter. I don't think it really make anyone actually feel sorry for him and sometimes people are just bad. He isn't given some story arc from bad guy to good guy, he doesn't change. He was going to possess kids and lock their minds away  so he really didn't need a push toward sympathy.  What I enjoyed a lot more in Bly there is a reason for the haunting. Hill House had a bit of back stories for the ghosts but unless I really missed a big part there isn't a reason for the haunting and IMO that is a key point. Even if it is a cheesy reason I think it needs a reason and Bly did that much better than Hill. If it is an ongoing anthology I think they should every season leave one episode to backstory like this one did. Now the other thing I was not a fan of was the body jumping. Or at least the repetitive nature of it. I mean I think I get it was so everyone understood BUT watching the same scene over and over. While it helps tell the backstory it was overdone. So those are my two beefs, things I might have changed. Not so much a fan of the body hopping and why try and make Peter likable? Other than that a great season. The things they missed in the first season they nail in the second. 

So that is that a quick review on a great new show.....