welcome to watch mojo
and today we're counting down our picks
for the top 10 early reactions to the
haunting of bly manor i know what losses
it's time to wake up sweetheart
for this list we're sharing some of our
initial thoughts about the second season
of netflix's the haunting anthology
series
what was your favorite moment from the
haunting of hill house tell us in the
comments below
number 10. it's about family when mike
flanagan and netflix unleashed the
haunting of hill house on us in 2018
few people could have predicted just how
strongly it would resonate with
subscribers
a new horror series of this caliber is
always welcome but the series was so
compelling that even those who generally
shy away from scary content found
themselves drawn in by the interpersonal
drama
for all its terrifying moments the first
season was first and foremost about
family
season two continues to make this a
central theme albeit approached from a
different angle
the occupants of bly manor are all
orphans and misfits in their own ways
as mike flanagan explains it quote blind
manor is about strangers
a family that is created they get to
know each other through
friendship tension conflict and love
number nine the characters the haunting
of hill house was a great ghost story
but what distinguished it from so many
other horror series and films was the
strength of its character development
you're drunk pharaoh's drunk i'm just
pissed and this is the part of the show
where you break out my goddamn
book the crane family was more than just
cannon fodder for the supernatural
forces of hill house
they were extremely relatable in this
sense blind manor does the first season
proud
the occupants of the titular estate each
have their own desires and struggles
it's impossible not to be charmed by
owen the sweet pun loving chef
people here
they're born here
the guy here groundskeeper jamie and
housekeeper hannah both stand out in
their own ways
and tying this ensemble together is our
protagonist danny
and her charges the wingrave children
all three
feel wonderfully complex one can't help
but fall in love with this
unconventional family
number eight the production design
horror has a history of being a low
budget genre
many a filmmaker has gotten their start
in their own backyard or basement
armed with little else but a camera
amateur actors and some ketchup to serve
his blood
the haunting of bly manor however is
incredibly polished
there isn't much in the way of expensive
big in-your-face special effects
but the sets are sumptuous from the
gardens and grounds of bly manor to the
furniture and wallpaper it just feels
very rich
what really makes the production design
shine however is the cinematography
depending on what's happening at a given
moment in the show
the environment can feel warm and
inviting dreary and foreboding
or to be transformed into a space of
absolute terror
number seven the framing narrative and
narration
like the hunting of hill house fly manor
is inspired by a classic piece of horror
literature henry james is the turn of
the screw
henry james is the turn of the screw is
one of the most influential ghost
stories ever written
and like the hugely influential novella
the story of blind manor is told in
loving detail by a narrator
this proves to be something of a
double-edged sword for the show i have a
story
a ghost story when the narrator inserts
themselves in the form of a voiceover
it can sometimes rob the story of its
immediacy and take the audience out of
the moment
that being said the narration does add
to the show's gothic qualities
the narration lends a certain
timelessness to the story which helps
balance out the effects of the late 19th
century story being transposed into the
1980s
number six the subtle details like in
the first season
there are a ton of little details to
pick up on in fly manor
the haunting of hill house delivered a
compelling story that kept us engaged
from start to finish
you guys coming
yeah the story was so riveting in fact
that it was easy to miss the many spooky
things happening in the background
well we've got some good news for you
fly manor is another terrifying game of
i spy that demands repeat viewings
even more so than in the first season
though it feels like
every little gesture on-screen detail or
line of dialogue
was carefully crafted to serve the story
your parents loved you so so much
in a way they'll always be here as the
layered secrets of blind manor are
revealed
character actions and motivations
repeatedly take on new retroactive
meaning
number five the new cast taking a page
from american horror stories casting
book the haunting of blind manner has
brought back a number of familiar faces
from the previous season
considering the success of hill house we
don't envy the pressure that the new
cast members must have felt
thankfully they all deliver this
ensemble may actually work even better
together than the crane family
because there are fewer characters in
the mix the residents of bligh manor all
get more time in the spotlight
without giving anything away tania
miller is utterly magnetic as the
enigmatic hannah gross it's going to
sound strange but i'm having somebody
else's dream
newcomer emilia eve plays groundskeeper
jaime as tough and
fiery but also perceptive and kind raul
coley often steals the show however
and is sure to become a fan favorite
number four
the child actors wc fields is often
credited with having said
never work with animals or children well
based on the performances given by
benjamin evan ainsworth and omilee smith
we actually have to agree
because they were total scene stealers
though both of these young
actors are relative unknowns we expect
to be seeing a whole lot of them
following the release of blind manor
they feel destined to join the child
actors in horror hall of fame
as the wingrave children miles and flora
they are absolutely captivating
they play off their adult co-stars with
skill well beyond their years
it's tough to say much more about their
performances without giving anything
away but
suffice it to say they make quite the
impression
number three the returning cast even
playing alongside a talented ensemble
cast
victoria pedretti managed to distinguish
herself in the haunting of hill house
nell was the beating heart of the show
and the crane family
now you stand there and you talk about
ghosts
and spirits and you sell tickets
for the privilege and yet you don't
believe in any of it as such fans were
generally quite pleased when it was
announced that she'd been given the
leading role in the second season
we're happy to report that she more than
earns it a ghost story
pedretti plays danny clayton as a
hopeful assertive but haunted young
woman
there are some similarities to nell
crane but dany is too fully fleshed out
to feel like a retread
pedretti fully inhabits the role horrors
and all
she's joined by henry thomas oliver
jackson cohen and kate siegel all of
whom played fundamentally different
roles from the previous season
showcasing their range in the process it
starts with victoria pedretti
oliver jackson cohen henry thomas and
kate siegel who
are really wonderfully woven into the
fabric of this season in a way i think
fans will like
number two less frequent scares don't
worry
when the scares do come they pack a
punch
they're just fewer and farther between
than in the first season and
while undeniably terrifying the haunting
of hill house already had fewer scares
per episode than your average horror
series
as such some fans may occasionally feel
frustrated by the lack of conventional
horror moments
what blind manner does instead however
is create a lingering sense of dread and
discomfort
it toys with the audience an episode
will go so long without an overt scare
that we start to feel as if we're just
watching a drama when something
horrifying suddenly occurs
the scare is that much more jarring as a
result
this season takes a more subtle
psychological and
old-school approach to horror before we
continue
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number one the love story love comes in
many shades and is also kind of hard to
separate from fear
or rather love stories plural you see
while the haunting of blind manor might
not be as conventionally scary as the
hill house
that's only because it dedicates so much
of its running time to developing
real relationships between its
characters love is the foundation upon
which blind manor is built
but it's also woven into the very fabric
of the narrative and dna of our
characters
as mike flanagan explained it in the
lead-up to the show's release quote what
sets blind manor apart is that at its
heart
it's a love story it's a gothic romance
story gothic romance means something
very very different seeped in mystery
and
doom incredibly passionate emotions and
when judged as exactly that
rather than against the expectations set
up by hill house the haunting of blind
manor undeniably succeeds
i hope that that intermingling of a
ghost story in a love story
is really impactful for people do you
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