Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor Early Review

I loved Mike Flanagan’s, The Haunting of Hill House. It was a densely-layered piece of art that was patient with its narrative pacing and relentless with its jump scares and focus on things that go bump in the night. Well after its premiere, it continues to offer new revelations as fans discovered over 40 ghosts that were strategically placed within the background of scenes throughout the entire season. Of course, that incredible funeral parlor episode that resembled an entire one-shot was just the icing on the cake. With the announcement of another installment, one can’t help but be excited at the prospect of another frightful ghost story.

It is understandable that fans from The Haunting of Hill House would venture into The Haunting of Bly Manor with extremely high hopes and expectations given all of the successes of the former. However, not only is the story this time around a bland experience overall but its characters are unworthy of any emotional investment. On its surface, Bly Manor is a straightforward ghost story that in its early episodes uses its predetermined hype to its advantage by slowly unfolding the story and resigning any form of frights to a slow drip per each episode which fails to satisfy even the most patient viewer.

The main narrative follows a British family that is no stranger to tragedy as the children, Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora (Amelie Bea Smith), have lost their parents and most recently their nanny who was entrusted to them by their only surviving family member, Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas). At the manor, Miles and Jamie are joined by a chef, groundskeeper and house manager respectively who all do their part to help the children from day-to-day but it is with the addition of their new American au pair, Dani (Victoria Pedretti), that well-hidden secrets within the house begin to slowly come to light. The keyword here is “slowly” as the narrative almost wears its lack of pacing as a badge of honor over the course of its 9 episodes. As someone who doesn’t mind plots that thrive off of slow burns, this did not come as too much of a surprise as the series had to establish its own presence in a way that wasn’t connected to its predecessor while still commanding the viewer’s attention. However, that goodwill erodes well into the middle episodes, leaving the audience hoping that it will stick the landing.

The most glaring issue of this series lies with the lack of empathy or investment with any of the characters. From the beginning, viewers are shown that Miles and Jamie’s life is devoid of happiness and while it is extremely unfair for children to endure such pain, it does little to establish bright moments between the pair that help viewers connect with them emotionally. Meanwhile, the house staff all have their own secrets and minor plotlines that may seem intriguing at first, however, they fizzle out the further they are explored. Dani is the exception to this as she is the lens from which we first experience the children and the manor. Like the others, she has her secrets that help build mystery around her character and motivations but much like the others when this mystery is finally revealed all that is left is a sigh of disappointment for what could’ve been.

Watching The Haunting of Bly Manor was difficult. Of course, one can’t help but have higher expectations than most going in because of the good will created by The Haunting of Hill House while the hype surrounding this season was at such a fever pitch, it couldn’t possibly fail. However, attempting to encapsulate that disappointment into words for this review has proven much more difficult. By the story’s end, the mounting disappointment of not being invested in the characters or their development and thus simply going through the motions hitting “Next Episode” each time was more painful than the previous.

While The Haunting of Bly Manor did some things well – casting, cinematography, sound – it’s setbacks far outweighed its accomplishments leading to a season that can otherwise be forgotten. Hopefully Mike Flanagan is allowed to return to another large haunted mansion for a third attempt because the series still has potential and it’s just hard to not want more. This review may be in the minority but overall, its lukewarm story leads to it becoming boring for long stretches with little payoff in its final moments.

still courtesy of Netflix

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