We were treated to the horror show of 2020 last week when The Haunting of Bly Manor arrived on Netflix, just in time to distract us from another possible lockdown.
Mike Flanagan’s new series, loosely based on the Henry James novel The Turn of the Screw, provides a classic setting for a good old-fashioned ghost story; a haunted mansion in the middle of the English countryside with a dark history, two children orphaned in tragic circumstances and an unsuspecting American au pair. After watching the first episode of this nine-part saga, you would be within your rights to expect a predictable and cliché-ridden tale.
However, it soon becomes clear that Flanagan’s perfectly executed, non-linear narrative has created a contemporary masterpiece guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Each character has their own intriguing backstory which never detracts from the overarching sense of fear and dread that comes from the constant ghostly spectacles that are ever present at Bly.
Each characters’ story seamlessly feeds into the others, leaving the viewer constantly guessing what is going to happen next. The unpredictability of the series ensures that it is more gripping than your regular Netflix horror flick. In fact, the genius of this series is that Flanagan has succeeded in creating characters that are so undoubtedly and remarkably human that sometimes it is easy to forget you are watching a ghost story.
Of course, this spellbinding series is not without its flaws...
The first and most obvious flaw would be the terrible British accents that the largely American cast occasionally put on: the Narrator is supposedly a Northerner, though the specific accent American actress Carla Gugino is trying to achieve remains a mystery. Furthermore, it would be fair to say that some of the flashback sequences can be a little hard to follow, making it difficult to decipher what is supposed to be real and what is imaginary.
Each minor issue is forgivable, however, given that every question you could possibly think of is satisfyingly answered by the end of the ninth episode, tying up each strand of the story in a neat little bow. The series leaves you wanting to watch every episode again to see what clues you may have missed. But the thing I found most striking when I had finished watching was that I no longer felt scared or uncomfortable but eerily calm and content. This is because Mike Flanagan’s brilliant mind has managed to create an equally heart-wrenching and life-affirming love story under the guise of a well-known classic ghost story.
The Haunting of Bly Manor is a series perfectly fitting for the turbulent times we are currently living in. So settle yourself down this spooky season (with a cushion to hide behind and a box of tissues for your inevitable tears) and be prepared to enjoy one of the best horror series released in recent years.
Edited by Hannah Youds