TV Review: The Haunting of Bly Manor

Review of Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor.

A Bright-eyed American au pair hopes to make a difference caring for two orphans in a grand English manor. Yet the feeling of dread is undeniable. 

Review by Astilbe

Rated: 5 Stars

The Haunting of Bly Manor is an American supernatural horror drama that is loosely based on Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw as well as some of his other supernatural stories.

I previously reviewed the first season of this series, The Haunting of Hill House, for Long and Short Reviews. Each season is a standalone work, but I highly recommend checking out Hill House to anyone who enjoys Bly Manor. They share many of the same themes and even actors.

The second season of this show was set in the 1980s and follows a young au pair named Dani Clayton who was hired by a busy lawyer to move to Bly Manor, his remote estate, and look after Flora and Miles, his orphaned niece and nephew.

Soon after she arrived, Dani began to experience paranormal phenomenon that had no logical explanation. There were muddy footprints in the hall every night, strange noises that no one else heard, and apparitions that appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

What made these experiences even odder were the reactions of the children and other Bly Manor staff to them. Things that frightened Dani were often treated as business as usual by her other residents of this lonely, old estate.

Yes, there were excellent reasons for that, but you’ll have to discover them for yourselves.

Anyone who is already familiar with Henry James’ work will have a few clues to work with in the beginning when everything is mysterious, but the narrator will explain it to viewers who haven’t read his stuff yet.
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Dani was a curious but sensible woman. It’s always nice to meet characters who strike a relatable balance between wanting to figure out what’s really going on in their new home and being wary of getting too close to entities they don’t understand and have no control over.

The best paranormal tales in my opinion are the ones that are written about people who are neither the bravest nor the jumpiest person around. There wouldn’t be much of a story all if Dani had run away shrieking the first time she heard a bump in the night, but she also wouldn’t have survived more than a few nights there if she’d had no fear of the unknown at all.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the relationships among Dani, Flora, Miles, and the other staff members. They were so isolated from the outside world that their friendships grew much deeper than they might have ordinarily. After all, this happened during a time when they didn’t even have the Internet to keep them company on a dark and stormy night!

While it took a while to get to know everyone well, I liked all of the characters once they started revealing their true selves to the audience. These were the sorts of genuine folks I’d love to invite over to play board games, drink tea (the proper, British kind), and share stories with.

One of the biggest differences between Bly Manor and Hill House that I can share in this review without giving away spoilers is that I was much more frightened of the ghosts this time around. They made me shudder in a good way. This was something I was only willing to watch in broad daylight, and even then it scared the dickens out of me a few times.

If you love getting scared as much as I do, The Haunting of Bly Manor might be the perfect Halloween activity this autumn.

 

The Haunting of Bly Manor Trailer 

TV Review: The Frankenstein Chronicles (Season One)

Review of season one of Netflix’s The Frankenstein Chronicles.

Inspector John Marlott investigates a series of crimes in 19th Century London, which may have been committed by a scientist intent on re-animating the dead.

Review by Astibe.

As a longtime fan of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, I couldn’t wait to see how this film interpreted some of those ideas in a new way.

No, this isn’t a retelling of the original Frankenstein. Think of it instead as something that happened in a universe where people were aware of that tale and often horrified by the thought of interfering with the natural processes of life and death.

One of the biggest strengths of this TV show was the thorough way it explored the parts of 19th century London culture that clash with how people in western societies live today. Back then the thought of using cadavers to show medical students how the human body works was extremely controversial because any folks believed that anyone who was dissected after death would be denied entry to heaven.

These glaring cultural differences continued with the treatment of children in this time and place. Some of the crimes Inspector Marlott investigated involved kids, but because they were poor, and often orphaned or abandoned, it was difficult for him to convince his fellow officers that investigating these disappearances was worthwhile. The callous attitudes that many in the upper classes held about the fates of these kids was disturbing, but it was also historically accurate.

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Inspector Marlott’s backstory provided plenty of opportunities for the audience to get to know him better and to understand why he was so willing to risk permanently damaging his career and reputation by investigating the deaths of people that polite society liked to pretend didn’t exist. He had excellent reasons for making this choice!

Finally, the mystery was handled beautifully as well. There was an excellent reason why Inspector Marlott kept uncovering suspicious deaths and disappearances among people who didn’t seem to know each other or have much in common at all other than their poverty and tender ages. It was a great deal of fun to come up with my own theories about who the killer or killers might have been as I waited for the next clue.

I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys science fiction or mysteries.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qiV2p825HY]

TV Review: The Haunting of Hill House

Review of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House.

Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

Review by Astilbe.

The Haunting of Hill House was originally a book written by Shirley Jackson about a family who moved into a haunted house. I have not read that book yet, so this review will only talk about things that happened in the TV series.

In the TV series, the Crain family moved into Hill House in the summer of 1992. Mr. and Mrs. Crain earned a living by, among other things, flipping old houses, so their plan was to live in Hill House while they fixed it up before hopefully selling it for a nice profit.

The only problem with this plan was that their new house was haunted, and not necessarily by friendly spirits. Since the Crains had five children who were approximately between the ages of six and fourteen when they first moved it, they had a lot of opportunities to meet the spirits who already lived there.

The Crain Family. Photo source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6763664/mediaviewer/rm1972466432

Each episode contained two main storylines. One of them showed what happened to the family in 1992, and the other gave updates on what the characters were doing in the present day.

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One of the things I loved the most about this series was how many ghosts were in it. There had been a lot of untimely deaths at Hill House over the decades, and not all of the spirits who had been trapped there were necessarily interested in interacting with their newest roommates. Sometimes they simply lurked in the background of a shot and watched what was going on.

At times, that was scarier to me than the ghosts who were more active and violent! There wasn’t a single room in this house that didn’t have someone haunting it, and that makes it this a series I’m planning to rewatch in order to find as many of these scenes as possible.

This isn’t to say that all of the spirits were passive or harmless. Some of them roamed the halls of the house at night, and others could be very dangerous for any living being who crossed their paths. One of my favourite ghosts was a man who floated through the air and opened doors in search of something. While I can’t say who or what he might have been looking for, I did shudder every time I heard the tap of his cane against the wood floors.

I have not heard yet if there is going to be a second season, but I hope it will happen. This was a deliciously frightening series that I deeply enjoyed watching, and I’d love to learn more about the Crain family and the spirits who live in Hill House in the future.

This show does include acts of violence and references to the deaths of children and animals, so consider yourself warned if those are topics you find difficult to watch.

TV Review: Dumplin’ – a Netflix original movie

Review of Dumplin’ – a Netflix original movie

The plus-size, teenage daughter of a former beauty queen signs up for her mum’s pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow in her footsteps, revolutionizing the pageant and their small Texas town.

Review by Poppy

Willowdean Dickson is a larger sized Texas teen who has a girl crush on all things Dolly Partin and who lives in the shadow of her pageant winning mother, Rosie, former Miss Bluebonnet. She’s been pretty much raised by her Aunt Lucy, a fun-loving but obese woman who teaches Will how to love, laugh and fangirl over Dolly Partin. Sadly, as the movie begins, her Aunt Lucy has passed away, leaving Willowdean one more thing to weigh her down.

On the outside, Willowdean (aka Will or, aka the unfortunate nickname her mama gave her, Dumplin’) seems confident and well adjusted, but things happen which make it clear that’s not true. When the “hot boy” at work shows interest in her, she doesn’t believe he’s genuine. When her mama calls her Dumplin’ in front of the entire school, unsurprisingly it leads to bullying from kids at school. The final straw is listening to her mom getting ready to co-host the upcoming pageant and all but ignoring Will. As a protest, and because she stumbles across some items from Aunt Lucy’s things that inspire her, she signs up for the pageant. So does her best friend, Ellen, as well as another large and insanely upbeat girl from school, Millie (who is my favorite character in this movie) and an emo/goth feminist named Hannah.


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With a little help from from drag queen friends of her late aunt, these unlikely candidates prepare for the pageant.


I won’t give any more of the story away, but while it might be a bit predictable and clichéd and occasionally cheesy, it’s fun and it’s sweet and it makes a heart happy. It’s not something I’d watch over and over again, but it was so touching and adorable. I loved the character development in Will and Hannah in particular, but also Rosie. Rosie never meant to make her Dumplin’ feel poorly, she just got wrapped up in other things.

I admit, I cried a tear or two… yes, I’m a crier at movies, it’s true. But it genuinely touched me. This movie is worth a watch. Here’s the trailer, if you’re interested in a peek:


TV Review of: Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia – a Netflix Original Series

Review of: Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia – a Netflix Original Series
Created by Guillermo del Toro in conjunction with DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You Productions.

Review by Xeranthemum

My youngest is the one responsible for this Netflix obsession. He was watching it while we were busy making plans for New Year’s Eve and, instead of focusing on what needed to be done, my husband and I were both sucked into the story. Three hours went by without notice. We finished this particular story loop about Merlin and Morgana, and good versus evil trolls, the next day.

What made this series so compelling? The characters, the plot and its intelligence. Yes, it’s a cartoon but computer generated or not, the presentation is filled with action, battles, lessons, growth in maturity and fantastical creatures, and the most compelling aspect, friendship. There are so many elements to take in that I more than likely will re-watch it from the beginning. It’s that detailed and good.

There are so many characters that flavor this series; good and bad trolls, regular humans and humans on a quest with a destiny, namely Jim. He’s not comfortable with the burden he will bear but with his friends at his side, he is forced to stand tall and accept his role. The troll hunter’s mom does not come across as dumb or disrespected. She has strength, she loves her son and she acts like a grownup should. Her unconditional love is a joy to behold. Jim’s respect for his mom and his clear love for her garners my respect.

Morgana was presented as convincingly evil but Merlin isn’t exactly a benign character. He’s more acerbic, canny, and Machiavellian. Actually, there were tried and true fantasy tropes sprinkled throughout the episodes and yet, they were made fresh and riveting within Jim’s role in the series. All 52 installments are amazing. Each show ends with a cliffhanger or a shocking revelation, or a threat from which there seems to be no chance of escape. That is how easy it is to keep watching show after show after show. The hours effortlessly fly by. It must be magic, LOL.

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For fantasy lovers this series is like candy, or potato chips – you can’t watch only one episode. I certainly couldn’t.

If you’re not sure yet, watch the trailer and be amazed.

If you are curious about 3 Below, the sci-fi fantasy sequel, then this trailer is for you:

Jim reminds me of Johnny Quest, but instead of his best friend being Hadji, it’s a troll with 6 eyes named Blinky, short for Blinkous Galadrigal, and humans Claire and Toby. Their friendship is a huge asset to the story. I heartily recommend watching the Troll Hunter series. It’s like a great epic YA fantasy book come to ‘life’.