I have just finished the Netflix television series The Haunting of Hill House that Esquire coined as a spookier version of This is Us. Not exactly how I would describe it!
I should also note that it is available to
watch on Amazon Prime in the US (not sure about other markets), so if you don't have Netflix you can still watch it.
The series is based on the 1959 Gothic horror novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. I had actually watched the 1999 movie
The Haunting that was also based on this book and although the critics panned it, I enjoyed it as I love psychological horror movies. By the way, the series is very different to the film so it doesn't matter whether you've seen it or not.
It has been very hard to get my husband to watch any suspenseful or psychological horror films with me over the past couple of decades so when I saw this series I knew I would have to watch it by myself. I stayed up late at night watching it and I loved it.
The series runs through two timelines (which is where the connection to This is Us comes from), the first is of the Craine family's childhood as they live in Hill House as children before their mother commits suicide in the house.
The second timeline is of them as adults and they are brought together when their youngest sister goes back to Hill House to commit suicide.
Each episode reveals to us how the different family members were impacted by their childhood in the haunted mansion. I found I was eager to keep watching the next episode. The youngest twin Nell was haunted during her childhood by the bent neck lady and in the episode aptly named the Bent-Neck Lady there is a surprising twist that I wasn't expecting as to the identity of this lady.
I was a little disappointed by how the season ended, but if I'm honest I'm not sure that I would've been happy with any ending.
I think the actors were perfectly picked for their characters and acted their roles really well, I found myself completely drawn into the series. I recommended it to my daughter and my husband told her that he didn't need to watch it as he'd listened to my commentary, ' don't go, oh you had to go there didn't you?', I do not recall having that conversation with the television, but it is very plausable!
If you can sleep after watching supernatural dramas that are full of suspense then I thoroughly recommend this one. Apparently they are bringing out a second season based on another family and another house. I'll be honest I probably won't watch that one as I feel like this was a one season show.
Definitely worth a quiet night in and a big bag of popcorn.
More Television Series | Mini Series to Enjoy
If you don't fancy this television series I can also recommend the following shows (although please note I've only watched one season of Shetland):
Thirteen (2016 TV Mini-Series)
This mini-series starts with a young 26 year old woman running out of a house for a payphone and claiming to be a girl called Ivy who was last seen 13 years ago. Is it really her and what has happened over the last 13 years?
Good Omens 2019 TV Miniseries
David Tennant and Martin Sheen are absolutely outstanding in this adaptation of Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman's book Good Omens. Even if you've never read the book you will love the writing and the chemistry between these two characters representing good and evil.
Reviewing the Amazon Prime TV Series Upload
This dark comedy is based in the year 2033 where death doesn't always mean it's all over. If you have the money you can choose to upload your consciousness and memories into a virtual 'afterlife' where you can stay forever
Shetland Series Reviewed
Shetland is a crime drama set in the picturesque Scottish Shetland Islands, the main character is DI Jimmy Perez who's also a single father. The scenery is beautiful and the plots are full of twists which make them very watchable.
Reviewing Agatha Christie's the ABC Murders
The ABC Murders is definitely one of Agatha Christie's best novels, this adaptation does take some liberties that a purist may not like, but it is still an enjoyable mini series to watch.
The Widow Series Reviewed
This series starts with English widow seeing a news article where she believes she spots her late husband alive and well in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Of course this leads to her flying out to DRC in search of him, the series has twists and turns, suspense and action and is thoroughly recommended.
Reviewing Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan - The TV Series
Jack Ryan is a character who was born in a novel by Tom Clancy, the son of a Baltimore cop and a nurse who serves as a marine before becoming a history teacher and finally joining the CIA. A few of the books were made into blockbuster movies and now we have a television series.
And Then There Were None - The Mini-Series
Based on an Agatha Christie novel this is one of her darker novels and is based in the 1930s around a nursery rhyme called 10 Little Indians/10 Little Soldiers. It will keep you guessing right up to the end.
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