The Haunting of… + Midnight Mass

[IEngineered]

Also not me thinking I saw a lot of the hidden ghosts but then it turning out I was blind as a bat and missed almost all of them

Me too! Let’s put it down to us being too engrossed in the narrative...

 

[AstronautMikeDexter]

Yikes, I missed 99% of those hidden ghosts! I think making them more obvious in this series would've upped the scares considerably and that would've been a good thing.

 

[Dan!]

The plague doctor ghost in every scene

 

[ratedr]

I cant believe I was watching some of those episodes completely oblivious to the ghosts hiding in plain sight.

The faceless child's hands crawling out from under the table...no ddd

 

[Andrew]

The dumb-waiter scene in Episode 3 of Hill House, just left me dry mouthed in a bit of terror

 

[Lander]

Honestly the uncle’s storyline could’ve been cut from Bly Manor completely, it completely dragged and they could’ve replaced it with more Hannah and/or incorporated Peter getting naked.

 

[Uno]

Imagine caring about seeing Peter naked when Owen is right there.

 

[Lander]

Imagine caring about seeing Peter naked when Owen is right there.

I wasn’t keen on the moustache!

 

[dekivu]

When I Shall Believe started playing, it brought back memories of the original Roswell show and Max & Liz.

 

[Lander]

I’ve binged The Haunting Of Hill House and just started the last episode, and I do prefer it as I think Bly Manor lost some of the horror as the show went on.

 

[Chris_P]

I haven't found either particularly scary. The bent neck lady was the only scary thing in either for me, and that was until she started popping up too often (and of course once we understood who/what she was it wasn't scary in the slightest). Both worked as mere 'fantasy' stories to me and I was glad they did away with trying to be scary in the second story because there was less disparity in tone (where there was lot in the first one) among various parts of the season and it did not feel like it was trying to force a reaction that it failed to genuinely evoke in me which was a major issue I had with season 1...

 

[IEngineered]

I think we look for different things in horror. Some elements resonate more with us than others. Mike F’s creations work for me because of his willingness to invest in his characters, therefore making the horror more real. As many have noted, the demons, at the end of the day, are humans, not ghouls.

Some horror fans are more into jump scares and gore, while others prefer a good mix of different elements. It’s rare to come across horror films/series that come close to appealing to different types of horror fans. I think Hill House comes close, but perhaps less so for Bly. That doesn’t mean it’s inferior though - and I’m not suggesting that some here are suggesting that it is. It’s just a different type of horror.

I look forward to season 3.

 

[Trousers]

Not Katy Perry soundtracking the season. Shocked they didn't finish on this song, or use it as the theme tune teebs.

 

[steste]

I died when Oliver had possession of Miles and told Hannah, TWICE, "you dream up new outfits, new earrings!".

You that pressed that she was killing it with a lewk every scene?

 

[stuaw]

He was probably a little inconsistent at times, but doesn’t sound terribly far from a couple of my colleagues from Scotland.

Sorry, this isn’t what we sound like. He was terrible.

 

[johnny_tsunami]

The last episode sold it for me but the middle of the season did really drag.

 

[Remyky22]

Episode 5 is cinematic masterpiece. It's edited beautifully, and engaging and scary in all the best ways. I loved the season, even though it was a bit uneven. I think I might even prefer it to the first one.

 

[johnny_tsunami]

Some thoughts on the last episode:

Spoiler

It was very heart-wrenching to me in a way that I did not expect. The whole idea of the good things in life, and in particular love, being temporary was a gut punch. It's something that we obviously know on an intellectual level, but to see that concept realized so fully, in a way I haven't seen since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, was powerful. How memories become formless and susceptible to perception more and more over time was also a great theme to tie in with this. This ending was definitely stronger than the first season, if the season as a whole was not. However, I didn't really need the actors at the wedding fading into their younger counterparts. Like, we get it. Leave some things to suspicion.

 

[IEngineered]

Like, we get it. Leave some things to suspicion.

Totally agree. But Hollywood (using the term loosely here) rarely trusts its audience.

 

[kingbm]

I finally started this, up to episode 4... it’s not had me scared at all it’s very tame so far but a great thriller style drama. I hate that perfectly splendid thing that’s going on and that girls voice, did a google and she voices on on Peppa Pig, explains everything!