8.8 /10
Creator Mike Flanagan is back with his new ghost story The Haunting of Bly Manor. It's the second instalment in The Haunting Anthology after The Haunting of the Hill House and is based on the most famous novella, The Turn of the Screw, and some other prominent works of the author Henry James. Although both series belong to the same universe, they do not have any relation with each other at all.
Background: Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) is looking for a governess for his niece Flora and nephew Miles, who lives in Bly. Soon he finds, a young and gorgeous lady, Dani (Victoria Pedretti), who herself is searching for some inner peace and is running from her haunted past.
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| Bly Manor |
The first episode starts with a group of people attending a wedding and discussing haunted places and ghosts. “I've got a ghost story but it's not short and also it's not about me.”, says a lady among them. This is where we are drawn into the story of Bly Manor where she narrates the whole story to the guests as well as to us, the viewers.
The story isn't straightforward. The viewer needs to keep track of events happening in each episode which are justified in the final episodes of the show. The non-linear presentation of the story forces you to keep on guessing to find the reasons behind all the incidents happening. There isn't any use of cheap jump scares and none of the decisions made by characters seem illogical which we usually get to see in movies/series of this genre. Grief and remorse are the real horrors in this show.
The dialogues are so well written. They perfectly deliver the intentions & emotions of the characters. Some of them are placed as a clue for us. “The people here, most of them, they’re born here, they die here.” says, Owen (Rahul Kohli). It's hard to understand the depth of this line initially but it gets stuck with you till the very last episode.
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| Benjamin Evan (left), Victoria Pedretti (centre), and Amelie Smith (right) in The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) |
The show is helmed by an exceptional cast. Henry Thomas, Victoria Pedretti, Kate Siegel, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen return from The Haunting of the Hill House to play a totally different role this time. T'Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, and Tahirah Sharif give stellar performances. Pedretti and Amelia Eve's performance shines throughout the show. Child artist Amelie Smith and Benjamin Ainsworth's seamless dialogue delivery will steal your heart and will leave you in awe of them.
The background music, costume design, set design, and locations work perfectly. The darker tone contributes to the eerie atmosphere.
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| Tahirah Sharif as Miss Jessel in The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) |
Like every show, some things don't go in their favour. The Haunting of Bly Manor is not as haunting as its predecessor. It takes its time to set a strong and emotional base, which makes it too slow-paced and isn't easy for everyone to cope with. You literally feel the length of some episodes. Sometimes scenes get repeated multiple times which may result in some viewers getting unpleased.
Overall, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a perfectly splendid and perfectly engaging show. Do have patience and you will be rewarded with an amazing & more than a satisfactory ending. “I liked your story. But I think you set it up wrong just in the beginning. You said it was a ghost story. It isn’t. It’s a love story.” says the bride at the end of the final episode. To find the real meaning of this quote you need to watch this series. So what are you waiting for? Go check it out now, if you haven't yet.
Wait, before that please leave your valuable feedback in the comments and mark your reaction below. 👇
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