The Haunting of Bly Manor: a review BY MICHAEL TAGGART
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The Haunting of Bly Manor” is Netflix’s follow up to the critically acclaimed horror series “The Haunting of Hill House”. This time around, show creator Mike Flanagan (known for his horror films, which he has directed, wrote, and edited) beguiles us with his vision of the 1898 Henry James horror novella “The Turn of the Screw”. Unlike its predecessor though, Bly Manor trades in jump scares for captivatingly haunted storytelling. So be prepared for devastating revelations and heartbreaking tales of love and woe in this exceptional ghost story. (Shhhhhh!)
The Review “But I think you set it up wrong.You said it was a ghost story. It isn’t. It’s a love story.” This line from the series perfectly encompasses the entire twisting plotline as the story flips all your preconceived notions about the show on their head. If you go into this series expecting the same level of freight as you did in “The Haunting of Hill House”, you will be disappointed… at first. Then that disappointment washes away quickly as more and more of this gripping narration unfolds. While there are ghosts that pop up throughout the series, the show isn’t really about that. Instead of the high-intensity horror of Hill House, Bly
Manor slowly spoon feeds you creepy and unsettling tension. The story revolves around a young American woman named Dani Clayton played by Victoria Pedretti. Who, while on vacation in England, takes a job as an au pair to two orphaned children named Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) who live in the English countryside. Creepy kids, a giant manor in the English countryside…I know it sounds like a plot for disaster. And you would be right, but it’s not the horror that will get you, it’s the stirring chronicles of those who stay in Bly Manor that will leave you absolutely gut-punched. As you would imagine, things start to get terrifying for Dani as the children begin acting weird, and she soon begins to see people that aren’t really there…people that shouldn’t be there. Pedretti’s portrayal of Dani shines as the heart of this dread-filled tale and the chilling performances by Ainsworth and Smith will have you running to turn on the lights while diving under your favorite blanket. Other returning cast members from Hill House include Henry Thomas who gives an exceptional performance as the uncle COOGLIFE // November 2020
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