I really liked it! I thought the modernisation really worked, I really got a sense of how humiliating the pigs blood was for her.
However the prom deaths disappointed me… it was over fast and I didn’t get much sense of the terror. I REALLY did when I read the book. Also unsure of the overall Avengers style storyline
I liked it. I admit to being biased in favor of Flanagan. I have critiques, but net enjoy every single thing he’s made that I have seen so far.
I was fine with the alteration to the end with how the deaths came about, diverting from the book and setting up a second season. I’ll stop there to avoid spoilers.
What other things by him are worth a watch?
If you want ensemble small town mystery that unravels into horror, Midnight Mass is my favorite. The island setting is perfect and the characters were so memorable, even if they LOVE to monologue 🤣 it’s ridiculous at times but I still cried
Haunting of Hill House and Haunting of Bly Manor. Despite the similar names they are two distinct stories, first an adaptation to Shirley Jackson’s book and the second of Henry James’ Turn of the Screw.
HH is horror, Bly is more of a gothic romance; there are ghosts and scares but not as intense as HH.
I had nightmares watching HH I had to sleep with the light on one night. I’m not joking. How scary is bly compared to it?
I haven’t seen anything from him that compares with HH for scares. The bent neck lady in particular really stays with you. Bly Manor really doesn’t get there. House of Usher is closer.
Oh god the bent neck lady reveal was something g else
Agreed, thank you for weighing in as well.
I would also note that Flanagan likes to reuse actors. So the actor (Victoria Pedretti) who plays Nell in HH also plays the primary character in Bly, named Dani. Depending on how HH scares you and whether you would have associations to the actor and not just the character, I could see that amping up the emotions of Bly versus someone watching it who had not seen HH first.
Pedretti is a top notch scream queen and I will probably always sees a bit of HH Nell in her in any roles she plays. I do rewatch both on occasion and like to hold several months in between them so I can try to clear my mind of associations to the repeat actors.
Maybe 60-70%. Some jump scares but milder than the one in HH in the car scene. Some children get possessed but that’s not terribly graphic in how it’s portrayed. The ghosts have faded, washed out faces because they’ve forgotten the details of their lives so worse for people who dislike ranging about the uncanny valley, but mild for folks who watch a fair bit of horror.
Sounds too scary for me but thanks 😊