Is The Haunting of Bly Manor on the Same Level as its Predecessor?
Netflix’s follow up to The Haunting of Hill House is available now for streaming.
3.5 out of 5
The Haunting of Hill House was one of Netflix’s best received original series when it launched in 2018. Roundly praised for its story, production, and overall spookiness — Hill House left viewers wanting more. So Netflix turned once again to Mike Flanagan (creator of The Haunting of Hill House), who used Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw (among other James’ works) to create The Haunting of Bly Manor.
While perhaps not as scary as its predecessor, Bly Manor certainly has its moments and the story and characters are compelling enough to hope that Netflix will continue with Flanagan in order to create another entry into The Haunting series.
The show begins with Carla Gugino (known only at this point as The Storyteller) arriving at a rehearsal dinner prior to a wedding. As she slips in almost unnoticed — one gets the impression that she is there as an acquaintance of someone in the wedding party, but not necessarily close to the bride and groom themselves, as few seem to recognize her. After the dinner is over, a handful of people retire to a living room area next to a fire to chat and continue the evening. The old house they are in leads to people joking about it being haunted, which sparks a few small ghost stories. Gugino’s character listens intently, and at a break in the chatter offers that she has a ghost story to tell — though it isn’t a short one. All in attendance agree they want to hear it, and then settle in as the Storyteller begins to set the stage for The Haunting of Bly Manor. She fades to the background of the story now as a narrator, and we are taken back to the late 80’s to meet our main characters and the setting of the story: Bly Manor.
To start, and just to clear up what might be confusing to you (as it was to me) — if you have seen the first series, many of the same actors and actresses from Hill House are in Bly Manor, which led me to believe the two series would be connected in some way — but they are clearly different people, in a different time, in completely different circumstances. So I hit pause real quick and did a google search to see if they were indeed intertwined somehow. They are not. If you haven’t seen it yet — and you’re getting ready to watch it — just know Bly Manor is a standalone series — there’s no need to see Hill House first. Once I figured that out — I was able to settle in better and really focus on the story being presented.
We are introduced to two of the aforementioned actors right off (outside of Gugino’s Storyteller), in Henry Thomas’ Henry Wingrave and Victoria Pedretti’s Dani Clayton. Wingrave is a very successful business man and he is in need of an “au pair,” or nanny, for his niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with a cook, gardner, and caretaker. Dani visits Mr. Wingrave in his office in London to interview for the job. Mr. Wingrave is short on details for the children, other than to mention they have “challenges,” as their mother and father were killed in an accident while abroad. The interview doesn’t go all that well initially, but eventually Dani convinces Mr. Wingrave, and is hired for the job. Prior to leaving for Bly Manor, we see Dani phoning home to her mother in America, stating that she has a job and that she will be staying for a bit longer. As the call ends, she also mentions that she is not running away from her issues — alerting the viewer that there is something in Dani’s past she is obviously dealing with as well.
When she arrives at Bly, Dani meets Flora (Amelie Smith), the young niece of Mr. Wingrave, who is quite fond of saying things are “perfectly splendid,” and it is hard not to love her character immediately, as she seems like a sweet little girl excited to meet her new au pair. Shortly after, we meet Miles (Benjamin Ainsworth), who like his sister seems very kind, but has what appears to be something churning underneath the surface that isn’t quite right. We are also introduced to the rest of the main cast in Owen, the cook (Rahul Kohli), Hannah, the caretaker (T’Nia Miller), and Jamie, the gardener (Amelia Eve). As the newly acquainted group begins to settle into their routine, it becomes more and more apparent what Mr. Wingrave was talking about when he referred to the children having “challenges.” Miles has moments when he doesn’t seem like a 10-year-old boy, but a grown man as he converses with Dani, and Flora’s obsession with her dollhouse and the dolls she’s created seem creepy at best. While the other adults in the home seem adjusted to their behavior, Dani finds it strange — especially, when she’s told by the children to never leave her room at night (which of course she ignores), and muddy footprints consistently showing up in the house leading to the children’s parents’ room. All of this while she deals with her aforementioned issues, which often entails seeing an apparition of a man in any reflective surfaces, with glasses that burn bright with light.
Over the first few episodes of the series, pieces of the story start to form, as we learn more about each character, their past and are consistently left wondering about the children who seem to have some knowledge of things that the adults are not aware of. Dani learns about the previous au pair, Rebecca Jessel (Tahira Shariff), who committed suicide at the manor’s lake over her love, Mr. Wingrave’s former assistant Peter Quint (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). We learn that Mr. Quint didn’t have the highest of character, and what he had done in breaking Miss Jessel’s heart apparently led to her death. And though Peter Quint is thought to have robbed Mr. Wingrave of a hefty sum of money and fled, Dani sees him several times around the estate, and calls the police on a few occasions to investigate, putting everyone in the house on edge — with the exception of the children.
It would hard to go much further in summing up the story — as it would give too much away. But it continues to sink into creepiness, as we learn more and more about the children, the history of Bly Manor, the “tucking away in memories,” and the reasons behind the strange events that keep occurring. While all of the acting in the show is on point — it is the children who really shine and bring it all together. Though they are younger than all of those around them — they have an uneasiness about them that belies their age. They’ve seen behind the curtain, so to speak, and they way they both portray this knowledge in the series, is reminiscent of the portrayal Henry Thomas (Mr. Wingrave) gave as a child in E.T.: Extra-Terrestrial. Speaking of Henry Thomas (and this is a bit off topic), but the talents that were on display when he was a child are still intact. I would love to see him in more films and series, and I’m glad he’s doing well with these two Netflix shows.
As with most series of any length, there are entries into the story that seem like they are just time fillers, or feel inconsistent with the previous episode — until episodes 7 and 8 (there are nine episodes in the series). As you would expect, this is when all the time invested is made worth it and the story hits its peak. Everything comes into clear view, and you instantly recall seeing things throughout the show which seemed out of place, or awkward, that now complete the story, as all is revealed. Several “oh yeah!” moments happen in your mind, as the dots are connected, and it is all put together.
Episode 9, is the last chapter of the series, and it is the one entry that was a bit thin for material. It is in this episode that we come back to the living room where the Storyteller is wrapping up her story, and eventually, we learn who she is in relation to the tale she has told. It’s not that this episode is bad, the production and acting is still strong — but it felt as though it could have been neatly added to episode 8 in a much shorter amount of time. So a small critique to be for sure. It just seemed like a lot of time was used to show the same sort of scenes over and over, which ended nicely — but again — could have been told in ten minutes.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Haunting of Bly Manor, and though the reviews of this one have been a little lower compared to those of Hill House — I must say I liked it better. The story seemed more compact and contained than the one told in the previous entry, and the acting in Bly Manor was just better as everyone seemed more sure of what they were doing this time around. As I mentioned earlier, the scares are fewer and further between, but the arch of the story and the way it unfolded just seemed more organized, and better told.
I’ll be anxious to see what Mike Flanagan and Netflix come up with next for The Haunting series. It’ll also be interesting to see if he continues to utilize the same talent, as he did for the first two entries. After understanding that the stories and actors weren’t connected, it actually made for a sense of familiarity. Almost like you were returning to a local theatre company who utilizes the same crews for their productions. At first, I didn’t think I’d like it — but I must admit it didn’t take long to set aside the performances the actors and actresses gave in Hill House, and really enjoy their efforts in Bly Manor. If you liked The Haunting of Hill House, you’ll like The Haunting of Bly Manor — and again, I’ll be waiting to see where we’re taken next!
The Haunting of Bly Manor is now streaming on Netflix, and is rated TV-MA or rated R, for adult language, adult situations, scary themes, and some sensuality.
