The Haunting Of Hill House Review: Three Episodes In And I'm Loving It

The new NetFlix series "The Haunting Of Hill House" is based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel. I have been anxiously awaiting it's arrival since her book is widely regarded as the preeminent haunted house story in literature.

There have been two previous movie adaptations of the work-- 1963's "The Haunting" starring Julie Harris (as Eleanor/Nell) and Claire Bloom (as Theodora) and 1999's "The Haunting" starring Lili Taylor (Eleanor) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (as Theodora). Liam Neeson and Owen Wilson round out the cast. This is NOT to be confused with 1959's "The House On Haunted Hill" starring Vincent Price. There's also a 1999 remake by the same name with Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen and a few others. All these similar movie titles are WAY confusing.

Three episodes into "The Haunting Of Hill House" and so far I'm loving it. Sure the movie is about a haunted house. But it's also about a family in crisis. We meet characters we care about and can root for. Real life family drama is often scarier than anything a horror movie could whip up.

The flashbacks between the adult Crains and their child counterparts is a great storytelling device. All of the actors are excellent. Below are those playing the adults roles:

Hugh Crain (father)- Played by Timothy Hutton in the current time line.
Olivia Crain (mother)-played in both timelines by the always wonderful Carla Gugino. Note: "THoHH" director Mike Flanagan also directed her in "Gerald's Game" (currently streaming on NetFlix).
Steve- played by Michiel Huisman. You may remember him from "Orphan Black" and "Game Of Thrones". Steve wrote a book about the happenings at their childhood home (even though he doesnt believe in the supernatural). The other siblings are estranged from him.
Shirley- played by Elizabeth Reaser (of "Twilight" fame). Shirley, along with her husband Kevin, runs a funeral home. Looks like Kevin has a few secrets of his own. Shirley finds evidence of a separate bank account.
Theo- played by Kate Siegel- She also wrote and starred in NetFlix's "Hush" and is married to director Mike Flanagan."Hush" has an interesting spin on home invasion movies and is well worth a watch.
Luke- played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen. You may remember him as Lucas/Scarecrow on NBC's short lived series "Emerald City". Such a shame since I loved that show. See my reviews here.
Nell- twin of Luke, played by Victoria Pedretti.

At this point we dont know exactly what happened with mother Olivia except it wasnt good. The kids have bad feelings towards father Hugh because he didnt tell them the truth about the situation.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). LOVING IT! This is a very interesting reworking of the original story. Showcasing the effect the house has on this poor family might be a stroke of genius. I'm steadfastly staying away from spoilers that might give away the ending.