I am such a fan of Shirley Jackson’s book The Haunting of Hill House, it’s required reading for any self-respecting horror fan. So when I heard that when a TV show adaptation was happening, I was excited. Until I saw that it wasn’t an adaptation it was a remake, a complete re-imagining of the original book. I resentfully watched the show and in what must have been 20 minutes, I was hooked. There were so many easter eggs for fans of the original 1959 movie and the book, that I was satisfied the filmmakers cared for Jackson’s vision and weren’t trying to disrespect her.
By episode 6, I was so invested in the show and the characters, but also the filmmaking which was so much more in-depth than most tv shows. The movement backward and forward in time in a narrative sense is hard to do, nonetheless with child actors. See the video below for how the cinematographers and filmmakers pulled it off.