10/25: The Haunting of Hill House (Episodes 1-3)
Horror from two days ago:
10/25
Let me preface this review by saying one thing: American Horror Story is a terrible TV show. It's terribly written, gives horror a bad name, and I hate it. Why am I bringing up American Horror Story in a review for a completely different horror TV show? Yeah, well, I'll get there. Calm yourself and quit jumping the gun. Jeez, you.
For today's horror I went for the TV show everyone's been talking about, The Haunting of Hill House. I've already watched a bunch of Mike Flanagan this month, so it only felt right to jump in on his newest Netflix TV show. Following a family of 7 that moves into an old Victorian home to restore it, The Haunting of Hill House is part family drama, part haunted house horror. It not only shows the mysterious terrors of Hill House but chronicles the life of the family throughout their lives, between childhood and adulthood. It's dark and brooding, but says something deeper about the nature of family too.
I'll just say it: in so many ways, The Haunting of Hill House is everything I've ever wanted from a horror TV show. It's genuinely scary but creates a deeper tale as well. Which brings us around to the beginning of this review: if American Horror Story is everything wrong with horror TV, The Haunting of Hill House is everything right. I've only fully watched one season of AHS, but that, plus scattered other episodes from the series, have been plenty to tell him how shoddy of a show it is. It's the epitome of the kitchen sink syndrome: throw everything remotely scary you can imagine at the screen and hope something sticks. There's no cohesion, no story, just horror-wrapped nonsense.
Yeah, I get it, this isn't a review for AHS. Trust me, though, this is, albeit in quite belabored fashion, getting me to my point about HHH (I got tired of typing it. And the show, not the wrestler).
Not you, get outta here man!
HHH is a horror show that clearly understands horror. It's nuanced, doesn't rely on gore or an overabundance of cheap jump scares, and actually has a story and characters you care about. I may only be three episodes in, but I'm already in love and can't wait to see where things are going. I have a feeling that, with the trajectory so far, this is going to be something that redefines how horror TV is made.
I'll just say it: in so many ways, The Haunting of Hill House is everything I've ever wanted from a horror TV show. It's genuinely scary but creates a deeper tale as well. Which brings us around to the beginning of this review: if American Horror Story is everything wrong with horror TV, The Haunting of Hill House is everything right. I've only fully watched one season of AHS, but that, plus scattered other episodes from the series, have been plenty to tell him how shoddy of a show it is. It's the epitome of the kitchen sink syndrome: throw everything remotely scary you can imagine at the screen and hope something sticks. There's no cohesion, no story, just horror-wrapped nonsense.
Yeah, I get it, this isn't a review for AHS. Trust me, though, this is, albeit in quite belabored fashion, getting me to my point about HHH (I got tired of typing it. And the show, not the wrestler).
HHH is a horror show that clearly understands horror. It's nuanced, doesn't rely on gore or an overabundance of cheap jump scares, and actually has a story and characters you care about. I may only be three episodes in, but I'm already in love and can't wait to see where things are going. I have a feeling that, with the trajectory so far, this is going to be something that redefines how horror TV is made.
9/10
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