Dealing with familial drama can be difficult. Sometimes, families keep secrets from one another, and the longer the secrets are kept, the more painful the reveal becomes.

Such secrets are pebbles compared to the mountains of problems experienced by the Crain family in Netflix’s new hit show, “The Haunting of Hill House.” While far from horrifying, the show does capture a tragedy-stricken family trying to stay together even when everything seems to fall apart — not to mention the fact that the show does have some great scares that will keep you up a little later at night.

Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, the show features the Crain family, brought together by the death of the family’s youngest sibling, Nell (Victoria Pedretti). Her death brings back memories of the family’s traumatic starts living in the seemingly haunted Hill House, where their mother — played by Carla Gugino — committed suicide after going mad. Together, the family is forced to come to terms with the demons that separated their family, both internal and right around the corner.

The storyline switches between flashbacks to the Crain family’s beginnings at Hill House and the modern-day grieving over Nell’s death. While many stories told in a nonlinear format can be convoluted, this series is easy to follow and perfectly framed. Each moment from a family member’s childhood matches the present-day issues and explains crucial character traits among the family.

For the most part, Mike Flanagan, director of “Oculus” and “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” proves to be adept behind the camera. He clearly has experience in the horror genre and tries to be creative by scaring the audience. One episode in particular features the family together the day before Nell’s wake, told with very minimal edits, or long shots, and little music, with a massive thunderstorm serving as the only background noise. This gives way to providing many creative transitions between flashbacks and modern day, while also raising the tension among the family and serving as an outlet for their anger and fear. Touches like these set the show apart from other typical horror films.

The heart of the show is rooted in the family. The anger felt among the Crains is not just typical drama, but is deeply seated tension created from years of dishonesty and poor decisions stemming back to their chaotic summer at Hill House. The familial drama gives way to conversations about both honesty and properly dealing with mental health issues. This adds weight to the drama, making the scares even more frightening because they mostly come from psychological trauma, as opposed to cheap jump scares.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any jump scares. Indeed, there are definitely several that you will spot from a mile away that could have been handled more organically. Also, the lighting in many scenes looks fake, with many night sequences appearing to be shot in the day.

Despite this, the show is still entertaining and emotional because for the majority of the time, they do try to be inventive and stay with the familial drama. This allows for emotional connections with the characters and several disturbing moments. One episode was so disturbing, I decided to stay up an extra few minutes to digest what I had just seen. No spoilers here, but watch out for the Bent-Neck Lady.

And ultimately, that’s what sets “The Haunting of Hill House” apart from other horror shows. From fantastic acting to creative direction, the show offers a new, fresh look into haunted houses and familial drama. It’s a lovely, and chilling, experience to stream this Halloween.

Published on October 29, 2018 at 7:31 pm