When Netflix released “The Haunting of Hill House” in 2018, it didn’t take long for people to pick up the 10 episode short series. Highly-rated amongst critics and audiences alike, Netflix subsequently struck a deal with director Mike Flanagan and brought us a sequel, “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” on Oct. 9. Like its predecessor, “The Haunting of Bly Manor” found instant success and became the No. 1 show on Netflix’s Top Ten just a few days after release.
“The Haunting of Bly Manor” centers around Dani (Victoria Pedretti), an American au pair for two children at a manor in the English countryside. The large home is occupied by only the two children, Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), and Hannah (T’Nia Miller), a live-in caretaker, as the children’s parents died in an accident. The compassionate cook Owen (Rahul Kohli) and quippy gardener Jamie (Amelia Eve) reside off the property but make daily appearances as well.
Unlike “The Haunting of Hill House,” the popularity of “The Haunting of Bly Manor” doesn’t come from its scares; it’s actually quite lacking in that department. As for the scares that are interwoven into this plot, the show relies too heavily on one of the most worn out horror cliches: the mirror jumpscare. Similar to the previous series however, its best scares stem from horrors unseen by the characters. Instead of in-your-face confrontations, the series’ most effective scares are the ones that lurk in the background with no attention drawn to them: a shadow standing in a distant doorway, what you thought was a lifeless statue shifting its head towards you and quick visuals that keep audiences on their toes. Whether or not this is a reward for attentive viewers or a detail for the wandering eyes of the nervous viewer, this style of scares is not only the most effective but the most rewarding. Lingering camera shots force your eyes to frantically search the screen, only for them to meet with another pair in the corner.
The production design cleverly aids to the scares as well, with small details creating the atmosphere needed to set the mood for the scene. Back-lit windows down long dark hallways draw your eye, leaving you expecting to see somebody cross the hall. A statue garden outside filled with human figures makes you double take while an attic full of dolls has you swearing you saw one move. The location of a large English manor itself already has a spooky connotation, so all that’s left is to add the ghosts.
However, as the series moves along, it progressively becomes less and less frightful. This is only natural, as the creepy happenings in the manor begin to be explained, thus losing their mystery. Instead of presenting new plot twists, the series starts to delve into character development and reveal their battles with the past. The series uses ghosts to explore the idea of memories and the way one can become unknowingly consumed by them. The artistic choice to use literal ghosts to embody figurative ones proves to be a recurrence throughout several episodes, namely, with our main character Dani, who constantly sees a tall shadow figure appear behind her in reflections.
As we come to find out later, Dani feels responsible for an accident that cost someone’s life, believing it could have been avoided had she just repressed her feelings. This person takes the form of the ghostly shadow figure that appears to her so often. Associating this event with her sexuality attaches a strong sense of shame and guilt to it. Dani’s silent struggle with her sexuality is likely the most contemporary and widely relatable of the different themes explored on the show. Although most of us probably don’t feel the weight of someone’s death on us, the guilt of letting down those around you and failing to live up to expectations is still felt by many.
While “The Haunting of Bly Manor” fear factor is a step down from its forerunner, it isn’t a complete removal from the horror genre. Best described as spooky rather than terrifying, if this series keeps you up at night, it’s probably because you’re doing some of your own self-reflection; not because of scary shadow people.
Hilary Gil is an Entertainment Intern for the fall 2020 quarter. She can be reached at hsgil@uci.edu.
