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Post by HorrorMetal on Nov 4, 2018 14:24:09 GMT
Really liking the TV series Haunting of Hill House so far. It strays pretty far from the Shirley Jackson novel and isn’t as faithful an adaption as the excellent 1963 movie or even the forgettable 1999 version but I really like what they did with the story.
It did take me a little while to actually start getting into it as it didn’t start off all that strong. The first episode was rather boring, generic, and full of clichés. It was all the same “haunted house movie” content I had seen a hundred times. It didn't suck me in and I wasn't hooked. So I watched the next episode and had the same reaction. I was somewhat confused about all the different characters and had a tough time telling who was who and couldn't easily differentiate the past from the present at first. I probably shouldn’t have watched It Follows before starting this series because, in my opinion, that was a very interesting and original horror story that gave me something new. Just a very creepy premise that was executed very well with no jump scares, stupid twists, or unnecessary explanations.
Anyway, I was about to give up on Hill House but then I kept watching out of curiosity and am happy to report that it gets a whole lot better. I'm on the seventh episode now and I'm really invested. The characters actually get really fleshed out and the performances, which at first I thought were too dramatic and like a soap opera, actually end up being great and compliment the storyline extremely well. I'm happy to report that my initial impression was wrong and overall I'm glad I continued watching. I recommend any horror fan do the same. I haven't finished the whole season yet, so it could possibly still go down hill from here, but I highly doubt it. I'll reserve my full judgment upon the completion of the remaining episodes.
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Post by politicidal on Nov 4, 2018 17:24:51 GMT
7/10. Much better than I expected.
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northernlad
Sophomore
@northernlad
Posts: 898
Likes: 620
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Post by northernlad on Nov 4, 2018 21:22:16 GMT
I recently gave it a rewatch, wasn't into it too much on my first watch. This time I focused and enjoyed it a little more right up until episode 5 and then after that episode I started losing interest again.
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Post by HorrorMetal on Nov 5, 2018 3:26:31 GMT
I finished it. Still not sure how I feel about the ending. It was creative, I'll give it that. But it wasn't exactly a wholly horror show when looked back upon. I started watching for the horror and scares but stayed for the engaging characters, complex storylines, and past revelations, which were all done extremely well. The last episode was good, but I think I would have slightly preferred more scares with something evil happening. One last punch, if you will. I enjoyed the way it ended for the most part but I would have appreciated to have it close on a creeped out ad sinister note than a heartwarming and bittersweet one. Still very good though, 8/10.
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Post by kuatorises on Nov 6, 2018 17:09:30 GMT
I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It grabbed me pretty quickly and I was hooked for while, but then I felt like the acting got very soap operay all of a sudden. I believe it was the episode where they all met at the funeral home. It kind of remains that way off and on through the remainder of the series. I don't mind something being melodramatic, but something about it felt a little off.
I didn't mind happy ending at all, but I didn't really understand how or why the ghosts simply stopped tormenting the family. They drove the mother and Nell to suicide, Luke to addiction, and then just suddenly stop? And the mom and dad go on living as ghosts in the same house with the ghosts responsible for their misery?
And why didn't anyone in this family talk to each other? The mom openly tells Theo that she has some sort of psychic/empathetic abilities, and her husband supposedly knows this, yet Theo doesn't make anyone else aware of this? Various people see ghosts throughout this series, sometimes together, and they don't make anyone else aware? Theo has her abilities, but can't believe Luke saw the torso ghost in the basement? Come on. Or the father and Theo seen the ghost in the funeral home, but don't mention it to anyone else at all? Or what about the tall man with the hat? He follows Luke his entire life, but then just stops? Stuff like that was driving me nuts.
I was genuinely creeped out by the torso dude in the basement, the first time we saw the ghost with the cane in the hat, and several other scenes – and I feel like I liked the show, but it seems like I'm criticizing a lot.
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Post by HorrorMetal on Nov 6, 2018 22:02:04 GMT
I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It grabbed me pretty quickly and I was hooked for while, but then I felt like the acting got very soap operay all of a sudden. I believe it was the episode where they all met at the funeral home. It kind of remains that way off and on through the remainder of the series. I don't mind something being melodramatic, but something about it felt a little off. I didn't mind happy ending at all, but I didn't really understand how or why the ghosts simply stopped tormenting the family. They drove the mother and Nell to suicide, Luke to addiction, and then just suddenly stop? And the mom and dad go on living as ghosts in the same house with the ghosts responsible for their misery? And why didn't anyone in this family talk to each other? The mom openly tells Theo that she has some sort of psychic/empathetic abilities, and her husband supposedly knows this, yet Theo doesn't make anyone else aware of this? Various people see ghosts throughout this series, sometimes together, and they don't make anyone else aware? Theo has her abilities, but can't believe Luke saw the torso ghost in the basement? Come on. Or the father and Theo seen the ghost in the funeral home, but don't mention it to anyone else at all? Or what about the tall man with the hat? He follows Luke his entire life, but then just stops? Stuff like that was driving me nuts. I was genuinely creeped out by the torso dude in the basement, the first time we saw the ghost with the cane in the hat, and several other scenes – and I feel like I liked the show, but it seems like I'm criticizing a lot. Yeah I had a lot of the same issues with it. I liked it overall, but it seems like the producers of the show weren't sure exactly where to go with it. All the subplots and recurring themes that didn't go anywhere, which you already pointed out, would support that. It's like they had two or three different ideas as to what direction to take it in and they sort of clumsily threw them all together. But I still enjoyed it a whole lot despite being somewhat confused as to what the true intentions and motivations behind the ghosts were.
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Post by kuatorises on Nov 8, 2018 16:21:16 GMT
I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It grabbed me pretty quickly and I was hooked for while, but then I felt like the acting got very soap operay all of a sudden. I believe it was the episode where they all met at the funeral home. It kind of remains that way off and on through the remainder of the series. I don't mind something being melodramatic, but something about it felt a little off. I didn't mind happy ending at all, but I didn't really understand how or why the ghosts simply stopped tormenting the family. They drove the mother and Nell to suicide, Luke to addiction, and then just suddenly stop? And the mom and dad go on living as ghosts in the same house with the ghosts responsible for their misery? And why didn't anyone in this family talk to each other? The mom openly tells Theo that she has some sort of psychic/empathetic abilities, and her husband supposedly knows this, yet Theo doesn't make anyone else aware of this? Various people see ghosts throughout this series, sometimes together, and they don't make anyone else aware? Theo has her abilities, but can't believe Luke saw the torso ghost in the basement? Come on. Or the father and Theo seen the ghost in the funeral home, but don't mention it to anyone else at all? Or what about the tall man with the hat? He follows Luke his entire life, but then just stops? Stuff like that was driving me nuts. I was genuinely creeped out by the torso dude in the basement, the first time we saw the ghost with the cane in the hat, and several other scenes – and I feel like I liked the show, but it seems like I'm criticizing a lot. Yeah I had a lot of the same issues with it. I liked it overall, but it seems like the producers of the show weren't sure exactly where to go with it. All the subplots and recurring themes that didn't go anywhere, which you already pointed out, would support that. It's like they had two or three different ideas as to what direction to take it in and they sort of clumsily threw them all together. But I still enjoyed it a whole lot despite being somewhat confused as to what the true intentions and motivations behind the ghosts were. Damn, when I saw the notification that someone responded to my comment I was kind of hoping that someone was going to explain some things that I missed. I was hoping that it was me.
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Post by HorrorMetal on Nov 8, 2018 16:25:45 GMT
Yeah I had a lot of the same issues with it. I liked it overall, but it seems like the producers of the show weren't sure exactly where to go with it. All the subplots and recurring themes that didn't go anywhere, which you already pointed out, would support that. It's like they had two or three different ideas as to what direction to take it in and they sort of clumsily threw them all together. But I still enjoyed it a whole lot despite being somewhat confused as to what the true intentions and motivations behind the ghosts were. Damn, when I saw the notification that someone responded to my comment I was kind of hoping that someone was going to explain some things that I missed. I was hoping that it was me. Nope, I felt the exact same way. I feel like I’d missed something too but maybe that something just isn’t there.
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rogerthat
Sophomore
@rogerthat
Posts: 734
Likes: 478
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Post by rogerthat on Dec 3, 2018 0:32:16 GMT
Just started watching this and on episode 4. Really enjoy it so far and find it a nice mix of atmosphere horror and the way it affected the family since.
Hoping remaining episodes are as good as what I've seen so far.
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