The Haunting of Bly Manor | Series Review

From the creator and director of The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan delivers a hauntingly enchanted twist on Henry James’ 1898 horror novella “The Turn of the Screw“, with The Haunting of Bly Manor. This is not a sequel to The Haunting of Hill House, but it does encompass some of its cast, while adding to its talented repertoire, and is – of course – about ghosts.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is a story within a story, so to speak. At a wedding rehearsal set in 2007, a group huddles around the fireplace to tell stories, as an older woman offers up one of her own… A ghost story. She tells the tale of a rumored horror that occurred only a mere 20 years ago. It is indeed a ghost story, but it is so much more than that; in many ways, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a tragic love story.

Located at the English Bly Manor are the two Wingrave children, Flora (8) and Miles (10). With them is the housekeeper Mrs. Grose (T’Nia Miller), the magnificent cook Owen (Rahul Kohli), and Jamie (Amelia Eve), the cynical and sassy groundskeeper. Flora and Miles’ Uncle Henry has placed an ad for a live-in governess to tend to his orphaned niece and nephew. The position has been listed for six months with no hire, which is especially unusual for such an opportunity. And then, in walks Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedrettri), an American who appears to be running away from something, and now running towards Bly Manor. When Dani arrives, she has trouble explaining away some of the disturbing encounters and is left with more questions than she arrived with. What happened to the former governess and the driver? Who else is in the Manor? And who is the Lady in the Lake?

If you’ve seen The Haunting of Hill House, you probably loved it. If you didn’t, you’re wrong. And if you’re expecting Bly Manor to be just like Hill House, you’d be wrong again. The atmospheric tension, the beauty that lies within each harrowing fright, and the score that elevates the scene to a perfect crescendo – yes, these are all elements you’ll find from Flanagan once more. However, Bly Manor is less about the scare and more about the story.

One of the pitfalls of The Haunting of Bly Manor is the pacing. While the composed narrative has its charm, the structure of the episodes leads to a feeling of lag in the beginning. It is worth noting that “The Turn of the Screw” has a level of slow-burn to it on its own, but Bly Manor struggles to find the balance in stride between the two story parts.

While this loose adaption resembles “The Turn of the Screw” in some ways, Flanagan definitely takes the core of it and molds it into his own property. As a big fan of the novella, it was impressive to see what had been done with the story and just how much love was poured into it. However, the ending might not appeal to all fans as there is a much-less ambiguous ending. There are moments you feel just as lost and confused as Dani, but by the end you realize how categorically magnificent the bread crumbs laid out are. “The Turn of the Screw” evoked a main theme of the corruption of innocents and Bly Manor does not relinquish this concept, rather enhancing it, but within the context of a drama.

It is well established that Flanagan has a delectable taste for horror, but the continuous perfection in casting is remarkable all on its own. It should be noted how diverse the choices are here, in both the casting and of the characters themselves, even naturally showing an LGBTQIA relationship – something that I found myself quite pleased with. Pedrettri as our lead has a performance that is hypnotizing and compels the audience to keep eyes on her, despite what lurks in the background. Unlike the novella, Mrs. Hannah Grose is kind and nurturing, likely a benefit of changing the time period the story occurs in, and Miller exhibits a remarkable heart-rending performance not to be missed. But of course, I’d be remiss if I did not take an opportunity to talk about our creepiest of folk, Amelia Bea Smith as Flora and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Miles. The pair emit a curl of one’s lip in dismay but have no trouble flipping the script and acting seemingly normal and adorable. Impressive.

Introducing characters that were never in the novella (like Owen and Jamie) only improved it with the direction it went. Kohli’s Owen presents a nice escape from the other more troubled characters, but also made the story feel more grounded in reality as he cares for his ailing mother and everyone else around him very openly. Then, in total contrast, we have Amelia Eve’s Jamie, who has a very off-putting initial impression, but quite obviously has love within her, as she delicately tends to the flowers and plants. These two characters were never needed in James’ novella, but work so perfectly for Flanagan’s vision.

Indeed, Bly Manor has a much larger variety of genres within the script (drama, romance, and horror), which is poised admirably. And while Bly Manor is no Haunting of Hill House, it is a perfectly splendid loose adaptation of a grueling horror that reaches deep into our ethers of emotion.