BY: Jessica Alldredge
The Haunting of Bly Manor debuted as a Netflix Original on October 9. This much-anticipated sister series to The Haunting of Hill House was an absolute delight. Whether you just like well written and directed television shows or if you’re a horror fan, there’s truly something for everyone involved in this installment of The Haunting anthology.
The creator of the show, Mike Flannagan, gives the audience a mystery to be solved and keeps viewers guessing at every turn. The colors, the camera angles, and the little things that the characters do provide little easter eggs that will eventually reveal themselves to be part of some larger circumstance.
Without spoilers, here’s what The Haunting of Bly Manor has in store for you:
An American girl named Dani is given the job of nannying a lawyer’s niece and nephew. It just so happens that the children live in a huge looming manor in the English countryside. What could possibly go wrong? That’s what keeps you on the edge of your seat and ready to start the next episode as soon as you can.
The casting is immaculate, and the writing has you rooting for even the scummiest of characters. Everyone has a story, and everyone plays a small part in a much bigger puzzle. Their stories will make you question the very reality of what you’re being presented with. But with the mystery not to be outdone, there are warm and fuzzy feelings to be had around every corner. For every little thing that gives you the creepy crawlies, there is a conversation or an interaction that leaves you disarmingly charmed.
While Bly Manor didn’t follow directly in the horror footsteps of its predecessor, The Haunting of Hill House, it still holds its own in Mike Flannagan’s repertoire. As the director of two adaptations of horror fiction novelist Stephen King, the man has a reputation. But The Haunting of Bly Manor is different. You won’t really know how different it is until you get into it.
Where The Haunting of Hill House left you awake at night, waiting for whatever demons might haunt you, Bly Manor is different. You might even say it’s deeper, more challenging, and more emotionally involved. Don’t worry— there are answers to every question you have within the show. Just pay attention. You’ll wish by the end of it that you could watch it again for the first time over and over again.
Even if you aren’t keen on horror, this show has something for you in the mystery, the charm, and the little pieces that keep you clicking for the next episode. Do yourself a favor and don’t read any spoilers. The Haunting of Bly Manor will absolutely leave you saying that it was “perfectly splendid
