The Haunting of Bly Manor

This review comes from my Letterboxd account, where I review all of the movies and limited series I watch.

Okay, first, let me get something off of my chest: in all honesty, this is a 4.5-star show in regards to quality. There's an incident that happens in the fourth episode that feels too sudden and even cliche for it to feel realistic, even though it's such a crucial part of the main character's backstory. Along with that, the eighth episode in general, while it's also important in order to learn certain elements of the backstory, is, in my opinion, completely useless and dragged the pacing of the show significantly. Along with that, I found myself a bit more invested in the way the story of Hill House was executed than I did with the execution of Bly Manor's story, which is a nitpick that maybe shouldn't count as criticism but is still definitely there.

All that being said, I'm giving this show my perfect score because I honestly think I was more personally affected by Bly Manor than I was by Hill House. I think the ending is a lot stronger, the characters feel more memorable, and I personally connected more with the angle Mike Flanagan took this story. Where Hill House focused on exploring grief and loss, particularly in the context of a family, I think Bly Manor more so focuses on anxiety -- the everyday demons that haunt us when we're least expecting them and that sometimes stay with us longer than we think they will. They come at the most unexpected and unwanted times, and they haunt us personally, demoralizing us, tiring us. I think a lot of us have been dealing with a lot of anxiety during this incredibly tumultuous time, myself included, and because of that, I think this show can connect to a wide variety of people because of the supernatural spin it puts on exploring that anxiety that still feels relatable and accessible to everyone.

Let's get this out of the way, the acting is phenomenal here from everyone. Henry Thomas pulls a surprisingly authentic British accent from out of nowhere, and Flanagan found some absolutely convincing and sometimes absolutely terrifying child actors in Amelie Bea Smith and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. Returning actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen is incredibly menacing here, Amelia Eve and Rahul Kohli are absolutely charming presences the whole way through, and Tahirah Sharif is super likable here as well. However, there are two performances that I truly want to give praise to (aside from the child actors): Victoria Pedretti and T'Nia Miller. At first, I genuinely thought that Victoria's performance in this show was going to be the least interesting despite the fact that she was the lead, as I didn't realize she was the actress who brilliantly played adult Eleanor in the previous season. However, as the show kept progressing, she was given so much more to chew on and really had the chance to prove herself as a character and as a performer. She won me over by the end, particularly in the final episode of the show (no spoilers, of course). Along with that, T'Nia is genuinely Emmy worthy here, and I really hope she gets award praise for her role. She did such a phenomenal job as a housekeeper trying to deal with some very strange personal demons, and I think part of it is that she consistently felt like the most natural performance here. Everyone else was fantastic, don't get me wrong, but T'Nia just always felt completely authentic to me, and I absolutely adored her here.

I also want to give praise to the direction and the writing because they're once again stellar here. Apparently, Flanagan only directed the first episode of the show, but if I didn't know that before I saw the show, I genuinely wouldn't have been able to tell. The show always feels like it has a consistent style and tone that just works for these characters and this setting, and the writing is always great. Every single lead at some point in time gets their little monologue and their chance to show what they can truly do as performers, which I always thought was just awesome. What I perhaps have to praise more than anything in this show, though, is the absolutely amazing editing. In particular, the information that Flanagan chooses to reveal and when he chooses to reveal it is so brilliantly done that it never feels like any exposition is being shoved down your throat for the sake of progressing the story (except for the eighth episode, which we won't talk about anymore). The way that information is revealed through images sent chills down my spine so many times, and the sound design was absolutely incredible, too. I will say this as well without getting into any major spoilers: throughout the show, I was wondering what the point of having someone narrate through the entire show was, but by the end of the show, that narration is revealed to be not only crucial but an incredibly satisfying element of the show. There are so many little details in the images and subtle sound design cues and information reveals that make this show absolutely worth coming back for a second watch.

While I will admit this show struggles a smidge more with narrative and believability than Hill House did for me, it ultimately still gets my perfect score because of how personally impactful the story was to me. The tension is perfectly executed and the writing and acting are absolutely phenomenal, but at its core, what I appreciated the most out of this show is that it explores anxiety through a supernatural lens. Without getting into any spoilers, this show explores the literal and metaphorical demons that haunt every single person throughout their lives and show how prevalent they truly are throughout their lives. This show beautifully demonstrates that just because anxiety can go away doesn't mean that once it disappears it's gone forever. It can come back when you least expect or want it, and that is absolutely terrifying. I think that's why so many people had nightmares binge-watching this show: the story becomes so legitimately relatable that combined with its genuinely creepy imagery and build-up, it becomes scary. This is the kind of horror or thriller that I personally love: the horror that builds on the fears of individual people and finds the truly supernatural in the everyday worries of those individuals. The Haunting of Bly Manor feels wholly unique, exciting, terrifying, and thrilling all at once. Please, if you haven't already, check this show out. It is worth it, especially if you're a horror, Mike Flanagan, or Haunting of Hill House fan. I'm gonna have to check out Flanagan's movies at this point.

Letter Grade: A+