The Haunting of Hill House (TV series)
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''The Haunting of Hill House'' is an American
supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
horror
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
created and directed by Mike Flanagan, produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television, for
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, and serves as the first entry in '' The Haunting'' anthology series. It is loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by
Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...
. The plot alternates between two timelines, following five adult siblings whose paranormal experiences at Hill House continue to haunt them in the present day, and flashbacks depicting events leading up to the eventful night in 1992 when the family fled from the mansion. The
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...
features
Michiel Huisman Michiel Huisman (; born 18 July 1981) is a Dutch actor who has acted in both Dutch and English-language TV series and films. Huisman began his career in the Dutch soap opera ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (1998). He later played in the Dutc ...
,
Elizabeth Reaser Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films ''Stay'', ''The Family Stone'', '' Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' Ou ...
,
Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of ''The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netflix ...
,
Kate Siegel Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel ( , born 9 August 1982), is an American actress and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films ''Oculus'' ...
, and
Victoria Pedretti Victoria Pedretti (born March 23, 1995) is an American actress. Her accolades include an MTV Award and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and a Saturn Award. Pedretti rose to prominence for her work in the Netflix anthology series '' ...
as the siblings in adulthood, with
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001 ...
and
Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...
as parents Olivia and Hugh Crain, and
Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...
appearing as an older version of Hugh. The series premiered on Netflix on October 12, 2018. ''The Haunting of Hill House'' received critical acclaim, particularly for its acting, directing, and production values. A follow-up series by Flanagan titled ''
The Haunting of Bly Manor ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' is an American gothic romance drama streaming television miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, and released on October 9, 2020 by Netflix. The second entry in Flanagan's '' The Haunting'' anthology series, it mostl ...
'', with most of the same crew and some of the same cast but a different story and characters, was released on October 9, 2020.


Synopsis

In the summer of 1992, Hugh and Olivia Crain and their five children—Steven, Shirley, Theodora (Theo), Luke, and Eleanor (Nell)—move into Hill House to renovate the mansion in order to sell it and build their own house, designed by Olivia. However, due to unexpected repairs, they have to stay longer, and they begin to experience increasing paranormal phenomena, resulting in a tragic loss and the family fleeing from the house. Twenty-six years later, the Crain siblings and their estranged father reunite after another tragedy strikes them, and they are forced to confront how their time in Hill House has affected each of them.


Cast and characters


Main

*
Michiel Huisman Michiel Huisman (; born 18 July 1981) is a Dutch actor who has acted in both Dutch and English-language TV series and films. Huisman began his career in the Dutch soap opera ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (1998). He later played in the Dutc ...
and Paxton Singleton as Steven Crain, the eldest son of the family. He became a famous author after writing about his family's experiences at Hill House, despite his siblings' disapproval. *
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001 ...
as Olivia Crain, the matriarch of the family, who designs houses. She, along with her youngest daughter Nell, is among the most affected by the paranormal activity in the house. *
Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...
and
Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...
as Hugh Crain, the patriarch of the family, who
flips Flip, FLIP, or flips may refer to: People * Flip (nickname), a list of people * Lil' Flip (born 1981), American rapper * Flip Simmons, Australian actor and musician * Flip Wilson, American comedian Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * ...
houses. He becomes estranged from his children after the events at Hill House. *
Elizabeth Reaser Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films ''Stay'', ''The Family Stone'', '' Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' Ou ...
and
Lulu Wilson Lulu Wilson (born October 7, 2005) is an American actress known mostly for the horror films '' Ouija: Origin of Evil'' (2016) and '' Annabelle: Creation'' (2017), as well as the television series adaptation of ''The Haunting of Hill House'' (2018) ...
as Shirley Crain Harris, the eldest daughter of the family. She owns a mortuary with her husband Kevin. They have a son and a daughter. *
Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of ''The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netflix ...
and Julian Hilliard as Luke Crain, older twin of Nell and one of the two youngest members of the family. He struggles with addiction as an adult to push out his memories of Hill House. *
Kate Siegel Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel ( , born 9 August 1982), is an American actress and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films ''Oculus'' ...
and Mckenna Grace as Theodora "Theo" Crain, the middle child of the five, and a
child psychologist Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult developmen ...
. " Sensitive" like her mother, she wears gloves to prevent touching other people and experiencing
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
knowledge about them. *
Victoria Pedretti Victoria Pedretti (born March 23, 1995) is an American actress. Her accolades include an MTV Award and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and a Saturn Award. Pedretti rose to prominence for her work in the Netflix anthology series '' ...
and
Violet McGraw Violet Elizabeth McGraw is an American child actress. She began acting at the age of five, with her debut credited role being a recurring role in the 2016 television series ''Love'' as Nina, and her first feature film being in 2018's ''Ready Pla ...
as Eleanor "Nell" Crain Vance, Luke's younger twin and one of the two youngest members of the family. She has never fully recovered from the haunting she experienced while living in Hill House.


Recurring

*
Annabeth Gish Anne Elizabeth "Annabeth" Gish (born March 13, 1971) is an American actress. She has played roles in films ''Shag'', ''Hiding Out'', '' Mystic Pizza'', ''SLC Punk!'', ''The Last Supper'' and ''Double Jeopardy''. On television, she played Special ...
as Clara Dudley, she and her husband are the caretakers of the house and help the Crains in their efforts to revamp the mansion. * Robert Longstreet as Horace Dudley, married to Clara Dudley. They both live close to the mansion while the act as caretakers for the property. *
Anthony Ruivivar Anthony Michael Ruivivar (born ) is an American actor. He is known for playing Carlos Nieto on ''Third Watch'' and Alex Longshadow on ''Banshee''. He also voiced Batman on ''Beware the Batman''. Early life and education Ruivivar was born in Ho ...
as Kevin Harris, Shirley's husband. *
Samantha Sloyan Samantha Sloyan is an American actress. Sloyan is best known for her roles in ''In the Key of Eli'', ''Scandal'', ''Hush'', ''Midnight Mass'', and ''Grey's Anatomy''. Early life Samantha Sloyan was born in Los Angeles County, California. S ...
as Leigh Crain, Steven's wife. *
Levy Tran Levy Tran (born November 16, 1983), born as Vy Le Tran, is an American actress and model, best known for her role as Roenick in the 2018 film '' The First Purge'', Desi Nguyen in ''MacGyver'', the guest hostess to MTV's ''Guy Code'', for her app ...
as Trish Park, Theo's lover. *
James Lafferty James Martin Lafferty (born July 25, 1985) is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/ CW teen drama television series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012). Early life Lafferty was born ...
as Ryan Quale, an apparition from Shirley's memory. * James Flanagan as Funeral Director * Jordane Christie as Arthur Vance, Nell's sleep technologist and later husband. * Elizabeth Becka as Aunt Janet, sister of Olivia Crain. * Logan Medina as Jayden Harris, son of Shirley and Kevin. * May Badr as Allie Harris, daughter of Shirley and Kevin. * Anna Enger as Joey, a recovering addict that Luke tries to help. * Fedor Steer as William Hill, former owner of Hill House who went insane and bricked himself behind a wall; appears as Tall Man / Bowler Hat Man. * Olive Elise Abercrombie as Abigail Dudley, the daughter of Clara and Horace, and young Luke's friend from the woods. * Catherine Parker as Poppy Hill, one of the ghosts inhabiting Hill House, wife of William Hill and considered insane when alive. * Mimi Gould as Hazel Hill, one of the ghosts inhabiting Hill House


Episodes


Production


Development

On April 10, 2017, Netflix announced that it had ordered a 10-episode adaptation of the classic horror novel ''The Haunting of Hill House'', with Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy as executive producers, and Amblin Television and Paramount Television as co-production companies. It is the first scripted series to be made for Netflix by Amblin. Production on the series began in October 2017 in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia, with
location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...
in the city and its environs. Bisham Manor, former name of the property located in LaGrange, served as the exterior of "Hill House." The house's interior settings were filmed at EUE/Screen Gem Studios in Atlanta.


Music

The soundtrack was composed by
The Newton Brothers John Andrew Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart, known collectively as The Newton Brothers, are American film score composers, record producers, conductors, and multi-instrumentalists. Their works include scores for several films with director Mike ...
. On October 31, 2018,
Waxwork Records Waxwork Records is an American independent record label. It has released film scores and movie soundtracks on vinyl as well as comics. History Waxwork Records was founded in 2013 by Kevin Bergeron and Sue Ellen Soto. By 2015, it had re-re ...
released the soundtrack on a double LP.


Track listing


Reception


Critical reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''The Haunting of Hill House'' has a 93% "certified fresh" rating based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Haunting of Hill House'' is an effective ghost story whose steadily mounting anticipation is just as satisfying as its chilling payoff." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, it has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Corrine Corrodus of ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' graded the series with a 5/5 rating, calling it "the most complex and complete horror series of its time." Brian Tallerico of '' RogerEbert.com'' gave unanimous praise to the Netflix adaptation, describing it as "essential viewing," and stated that "
he show He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
contains some of the most unforgettable horror imagery in film or television in years." David Griffin of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the series a rating of 9.5 out of 10, calling it "a superb and terrifying family drama," and Paul Tassi of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' described it as "absolutely fantastic" and stated that "it may actually be Netflix's best original show ever." Horror author
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
, who holds considerable admiration for Jackson's novel, tweeted about the series, "I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure." In January 2020, filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
said, "My favorite Netflix series, with no competition, is ''The Haunting of Hill House''."


Awards and nominations


Home media

In August 2019, it was announced that ''The Haunting of Hill House'' would be released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
from
Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
on October 15, 2019. The release includes extended director's cuts of three episodes ("Steven Sees a Ghost", "The Bent-Neck Lady" and "Silence Lay Steadily"), all of which also have audio commentaries from Flanagan, and an additional audio commentary for "Two Storms".


Follow-up series

In October 2018, Flanagan said that a possible second season would not continue the story of the Crain family, specifying, "it's done." On February 21, 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second season as an
anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
, titled ''
The Haunting of Bly Manor ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' is an American gothic romance drama streaming television miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, and released on October 9, 2020 by Netflix. The second entry in Flanagan's '' The Haunting'' anthology series, it mostl ...
'', and based on ''
The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmil ...
'' by
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
. It was released on October 9, 2020. The second season features the return of several ''Hill House'' actors portraying new characters, including
Victoria Pedretti Victoria Pedretti (born March 23, 1995) is an American actress. Her accolades include an MTV Award and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and a Saturn Award. Pedretti rose to prominence for her work in the Netflix anthology series '' ...
,
Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of ''The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netflix ...
,
Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...
,
Kate Siegel Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel ( , born 9 August 1982), is an American actress and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films ''Oculus'' ...
, Katie Parker and
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001 ...
.


See also

* Other adaptations of ''The Haunting of Hill House''


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * Wetmore, Kevin.
The Streaming of Hill House: Essays on the Haunting Netflix Adaption
'.


External links

* *
''The Haunting of Hill House''
at Amblin Television
''The Haunting of Hill House''
at Paramount Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Haunting of Hill House (TV series), The 2010s American drama television miniseries 2010s American horror television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2010s American mystery television series 2010s American supernatural television series 2018 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings Adaptations of works by Shirley Jackson Adultery in television English-language Netflix original programming Television series about ghosts Horror drama television series Lesbian-related television shows Nonlinear narrative television series Television shows about psychic powers Television series by Amblin Entertainment Television series by Paramount Television Television series set in 1992 Television series set in 2018 Television shows based on American novels Television shows filmed in Atlanta Television shows set in Boston LGBT speculative fiction television series Works set in country houses