Television The Haunting Of Hill House - Netflix Original

Mockney

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He’s 47, and the guy playing him “26 years later” is only 10 years older, which is completely pointless. Cast an older actor or just give him some grey hair or something*....

*I realise there’s a very technical reason they didn’t, but still...
 
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Spoony

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After watching something like this I love trawling the internet looking for fan theories and so on. Just a bit of fun to read.

I'll spoiler just in case.

There's a confirmed, I believe, theory that the children represent the 5 stages of grief, in order. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Luke was born just before Nell.

Another question I found myself asking through the show was "Why women?" Why was it only Olivia being torn apart by this? And Poppy before her? And Mr Dudley only talks about the women going mad, doesn't he.
I did read something interesting about the house not turning people crazy. They were already going mad, the house just keeps them there after. Poppy was "clinically insane", according to Mrs Dudley. Olivia was clearly stressed and suffering mental health issues.


Apparently, that theory has been confirmed.
 

Bubz27

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Apparently, that theory has been confirmed.
It makes a lot of sense. The show has a huge focus on dealing with grief and inevitability.

Something else that has been on my mind is the black mold. The red room was full of it and it did everything it could to keep people in there. Could it drive them crazy?
 

Spoony

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It makes a lot of sense. The show has a huge focus on dealing with grief and inevitability.

Something else that has been on my mind is the black mold. The red room was full of it and it did everything it could to keep people in there. Could it drive them crazy?

Are you saying it's the black mould that's causing hellucinations rather than the parnanormal? To be be fair it did seem to centre around the Red Room - the heart of the house. Also do you remember Olivia talking about a storm and stones hurling when she was grieving the death of her father? It's as if the house magnifies people's issue. Poppy and her husband were both clinically insane before they even set foot in the house.
 
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Bubz27

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Are you saying it's the black mould that's causing hellucinations rather than the parnanormal? To be be fair it did seem to centre around the Red Room - the heart of the house. Also do you remember Olivia talking about a storm and stones hurling when she was greiving the death of her father? It's as if the house magnifies people's issue. Poppy and her husband were both clinically insane before they even set foot in the house.
I think it's both. It has to be, right? There are dozens of ghosts in the show. However, the shows definitions of ghosts at the beginning might have something to say about that. Steven says ghosts can be memories, wishes etc.

I think the combination of the ghosts and the mold drives people insane and forces them to think the only way to be okay is to "wake up" and stay in the house ie. kill themselves.

William Hill took a gamble (ayyy) and buried himself in a wall in an effort to keep things out, but they just stayed in there with him. He clearly was in no decent mental state to think that was a solution. Poppy Hill looks like she killed her own children and was convincing Olivia to do the same in an effort to keep them safe.

Olivia was in a deteriorating mental state and the house and ghosts preyed on that.

Two things which I'm still questioning are the hypersensitivity of the girls. Theo's gloves and Olivia's feelings. What part do they play? I see how they fit in the story, but what's the explanation of them?

And the house seemed to affect women more. Poppy, Olivia, Nell. Nell was the one who went missing during the storm. Nell and Olivia were killed by the house. Maybe Hugh was tricked as well, or did he choose himself.
 

Spoony

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I think it's both. It has to be, right? There are dozens of ghosts in the show. However, the shows definitions of ghosts at the beginning might have something to say about that. Steven says ghosts can be memories, wishes etc.

I think the combination of the ghosts and the mold drives people insane and forces them to think the only way to be okay is to "wake up" and stay in the house ie. kill themselves.

William Hill took a gamble (ayyy) and buried himself in a wall in an effort to keep things out, but they just stayed in there with him. He clearly was in no decent mental state to think that was a solution. Poppy Hill looks like she killed her own children and was convincing Olivia to do the same in an effort to keep them safe.

Olivia was in a deteriorating mental state and the house and ghosts preyed on that.

Two things which I'm still questioning are the hypersensitivity of the girls. Theo's gloves and Olivia's feelings. What part do they play? I see how they fit in the story, but what's the explanation of them?

And the house seemed to affect women more. Poppy, Olivia, Nell. Nell was the one who went missing during the storm. Nell and Olivia were killed by the house. Maybe Hugh was tricked as well, or did he choose himself.


Actually the back mould makes sense, it caused folk going loopy. Let's be honest they all had issues, even the Dudley's weren't full shillings. The ghosts were probably representations of fear, guilt and any other mental demons. Perhaps that toxic mould brought on anxiety in people or in Olivia's case exasperated issues, as you said Poppy killed her kids, good ol'William bricked himself up hoping it'd stop his mind, and Olivia not only had previous issues but she became acrophobic amongst other things. As for Theo's gloves... didn't Olivia say her mother used them as well? Perhaps hereditary mental health issues? How sure are we that she actually had psychic powers and not just good intuition?
 

Bubz27

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Actually the back mould makes sense, it caused folk going loopy. Let's be honest they all had issues, even the Dudley's weren't full shillings. The ghosts were probably representations of fear, guilt and any other mental demons. Perhaps that toxic mould brought on anxiety in people or in Olivia's case exasperated issues, as you said Poppy killed her kids, good ol'William bricked himself up hoping it'd stop his mind, and Olivia not only had previous issues but she became acrophobic amongst other things. As for Theo's gloves... didn't Olivia say her mother used them as well? Perhaps hereditary mental health issues? How sure are we that she actually had psychic powers and not just good intuition?
Yeah, with Theo's 'powers' they may just have been intuition. Being able to tell the little girl was sexually abused by her foster father and knowing it was on that sofa as soon as she touched it was pretty amazing. But things like knowing Mrs Dudley was scared when she touched her could just be intuition.

Do we still have to keep spoilering? The shows been aired now for a while. Couldn't we just put spoilers in the title?

@Damien
 

Spoony

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Yeah, with Theo's 'powers' they may just have been intuition. Being able to tell the little girl was sexually abused by her foster father and knowing it was on that sofa as soon as she touched it was pretty amazing. But things like knowing Mrs Dudley was scared when she touched her could just be intuition.

Do we still have to keep spoilering? The shows been aired now for a while. Couldn't we just put spoilers in the title?

@Damien

She was probably very good at her job. A lot of people have hunches most of the time without any proof. Sometimes folk are right other times completely wrong.
 

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While talking about the mould, I thought it was interesting that they specifically showed us a shot of the mirrored drawer from the underneath (the one Steve painted up for his Mom). It had mould under it. I think that was done to suggest to us that the entire house including furniture was infected and they were disgesting it from the get go. A slow poison. Although if that drawer was taken from the Red Room it may not have existed at all. I can't 100% remember where he took it from.
 

Cnaiür urs Skiötha

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Great stuff. I wanted to watch only 1 or 2 episodes each day to save the final for Halloween but we rushed through.

Anything else like this?
 

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The 'bent neck lady' hanging sequence from the end of episode 5 is one of the best things I've ever watched. And the show is sprinkled with moments like that (the Abigail twist, the end of the first episode, the funeral ep), but overall the show sometimes veered into crappy oversentimental 'This is Us' level of emotional manipulation that's cringe.

The trapped ghosts in the house at the end looking like they were at peace was also a sticker. The house is malevolent, why does it look like a cosy summer vacation for spirits? Considering one of the themes of the show was how we can death look 'pretty' so we can tell ourselves the deceased is at peace, I'm hoping that we seeing the spirits being in a 'good' place was what the characters wanted to see to tell themselves they were at peace, but they're actually in hell

After watching something like this I love trawling the internet looking for fan theories and so on. Just a bit of fun to read.

I'll spoiler just in case.

There's a confirmed, I believe, theory that the children represent the 5 stages of grief, in order. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Luke was born just before Nell.
Is Shirley (the 2nd child) meant to represent anger? Yeah she's tightly wound, but she doesn't seem any more angry to me than all the other children? If anything, Theo & Steve seem like the most angry
 

Bubz27

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The 'bent neck lady' hanging sequence from the end of episode 5 is one of the best things I've ever watched. And the show is sprinkled with moments like that (the Abigail twist, the end of the first episode, the funeral ep), but overall the show sometimes veered into crappy oversentimental 'This is Us' level of emotional manipulation that's cringe.

The trapped ghosts in the house at the end looking like they were at peace was also a sticker. The house is malevolent, why does it look like a cosy summer vacation for spirits? Considering one of the themes of the show was how we can death look 'pretty' so we can tell ourselves the deceased is at peace, I'm hoping that we seeing the spirits being in a 'good' place was what the characters wanted to see to tell themselves they were at peace, but they're actually in hell



Is Shirley (the 2nd child) meant to represent anger? Yeah she's tightly wound, but she doesn't seem any more angry to me than all the other children? If anything, Theo & Steve seem like the most angry
I guess we'll have different opinions on that one pal. Steve is definitely more denial than anger. Shirley always seems to be scowling as well.
 

Mockney

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The last ep was really all kinds of terrible though.

I personally love my horror stories ending with the living and the ghosts all sitting round discussing their feelings in 70s porn soft focus for an hour to sad piano. And that ending was definitely the spookiest OC season finale ever!
 
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Episode 8 has the worst jump scare I have ever seen in my life. I seriously thought I had a heart attack and actually had a tear in my left eyeball :lol:

Other than that, it's not as amazing as the critics say. Mostly because all the characters are fecking arseholes.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Episode 8 has the worst jump scare I have ever seen in my life. I seriously thought I had a heart attack and actually had a tear in my left eyeball :lol:

Other than that, it's not as amazing as the critics say. Mostly because all the characters are fecking arseholes.
:lol: Was that the bit in the
car
? Got me and the missus too.

Yeah I know what you mean about the characters being arseholes, especially the older 2 siblings. It's especially jarring when it flashes back to them being ridiculously well behaved goody two shoes children. Stevie "Daddy can I help you with anything else?" does not exist in the real world.
 

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:lol: Was that the bit in the
car
? Got me and the missus too.

Yeah I know what you mean about the characters being arseholes, especially the older 2 siblings. It's especially jarring when it flashes back to them being ridiculously well behaved goody two shoes children. Stevie "Daddy can I help you with anything else?" does not exist in the real world.
Yeah it was. Fecking terrible. My wife actually paused it to get herself together for a minute :lol:
 

afrocentricity

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The last ep was really all kinds of terrible though.

I personally love my horror stories ending with the living and the ghosts all sitting round discussing their feelings in 70s porn soft focus for an hour to sad piano. And that ending was definitely the spookiest OC season finale ever!
Oh feck! Let me quickly finish this before Mockney destroys it for me.... Bbl.
 

Smores

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I caught the last half of the last episode on this as my missus was watching it. Genuinely the worst TV I've ever seen, why does everyone talk like batman?

I assumed this woule be a thread mockingnit based of that experience.
 

Bubz27

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I caught the last half of the last episode on this as my missus was watching it. Genuinely the worst TV I've ever seen, why does everyone talk like batman?

I assumed this woule be a thread mockingnit based of that experience.
You watched 30 minutes of what, 9 hours of TV and made your judgement?

It was a very good show with a slightly below par ending.

The characters being 'arseholes' is kind of the deal, isn't it. How they were all affected by the house and the events of their time there.
 

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Luke did sound like Batman to be fair.

Oh feck I've got black mould in my bedroom wardrobes. Will I be okay?
 

Spoony

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You watched 30 minutes of what, 9 hours of TV and made your judgement?

It was a very good show with a slightly below par ending.

The characters being 'arseholes' is kind of the deal, isn't it. How they were all affected by the house and the events of their time there.


I don't think they were that bad. Now Mad Men's Ayn Rand loving characters were to difficult to stomach - they broke me eventually.

And I'd love to see Resident Evil TV series based in a mansion. The storm smashing the windows of the corridor scene in THHH reminded me of RE.

As for the show it's was engrossing entertainment - and that'll do me, if I want something deep and meaningful I'll read Brothers Karamazov or The Hobbit.
 

buckooo1978

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as well as the finale I thought the episode in the funeral parlour was strange - all the characters walking around to different parts of the parlour, making strong statements and filmed in a strange style - it felt very unnatural - not believable for a family to lose their baby sister and act like that

another griped had was the fact they keep seeing stuff, sometimes as pairs yet they don't really accept it or share it- in light of their past this was dumb I thought
 

Smores

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You watched 30 minutes of what, 9 hours of TV and made your judgement?

It was a very good show with a slightly below par ending.

The characters being 'arseholes' is kind of the deal, isn't it. How they were all affected by the house and the events of their time there.
Well that's all i watched, never said it was a fair judgement.

It wasn't them being arseholes as much as wierd cinematography, who told them all to whisper talk ffs. There was one woman who at one point forgot to do it and spoke normally, which seemed even wierder.
 

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Whoa, the author guy was (the new) Daario from Game of Thrones.

I had no clue...
Hard to recognize him honestly, he looks a bit nerdy in this.

Think Michiel Huisman is the only internationally bankable TV star from The Netherlands. Well him and Carice van Houten I suppose.
 

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I don't think they were that bad. Now Mad Men's Ayn Rand loving characters were to difficult to stomach - they broke me eventually.

And I'd love to see Resident Evil TV series based in a mansion. The storm smashing the windows of the corridor scene in THHH reminded me of RE.

As for the show it's was engrossing entertainment - and that'll do me, if I want something deep and meaningful I'll read Brothers Karamazov or The Hobbit.
Breaking Bad for me was a real struggle due to every character being a total an utter twat. This show they were just pissed off siblings rather than hateful characters.

as well as the finale I thought the episode in the funeral parlour was strange - all the characters walking around to different parts of the parlour, making strong statements and filmed in a strange style - it felt very unnatural - not believable for a family to lose their baby sister and act like that

another griped had was the fact they keep seeing stuff, sometimes as pairs yet they don't really accept it or share it- in light of their past this was dumb I thought
They didn't share it because they didn't want to admit they were like their mother who they all thought committed suicide because she went fecking bat shit crazy. I can understand why they'd keep quiet about seeing things as they didnt want to accept that they could be becoming like their mother. Hence why the oldest son kept banging on about about bad genes.
 

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For anyone who's seen the acclaimed 1963 film: how does this series compare?
Anyboy seen the 1963 film?
Surely somebody else has seen the 1963 film?
*blubs*

http://www.veoh.com/m/watch.php?v=v21132113NrH7BWCm
The ongoing lack of responses is so deliciously meta, you kind of almost don't want to mess it up. (There's a momentous scene where someone is...overlooked)

Hmm, how to say this...it's not a direct remake of the movie or the book, but it is very faithful. Additional characters and swapped plotline.

But theme-wise it's pretty faithful. Overall, there are a couple of additional themes on top of the original ones ('was-she-crazy vs omg-real-ghost?' and social isolation)

The bones of the show are taken en-masse from the book/movie so you'll definitely be clapping in delight at all the callbacks.

I've enjoyed so far. Theo's powers are out of place...but I don't think it detracts from the entertainment. I actually think the show's well crafted, but not particularly scary.
The powers are 'explained'. Not particularly well at all, but they are.
 

Bubz27

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I don't think they were that bad. Now Mad Men's Ayn Rand loving characters were to difficult to stomach - they broke me eventually.

And I'd love to see Resident Evil TV series based in a mansion. The storm smashing the windows of the corridor scene in THHH reminded me of RE.

As for the show it's was engrossing entertainment - and that'll do me, if I want something deep and meaningful I'll read Brothers Karamazov or The Hobbit.
They all had cracks in their personality, but that's generally good TV. Who wants to watch nicey nice characters all the time.

And absolutely yes, it's entertainment. People just generally like to moan.
 

buckooo1978

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Breaking Bad for me was a real struggle due to every character being a total an utter twat. This show they were just pissed off siblings rather than hateful characters.



They didn't share it because they didn't want to admit they were like their mother who they all thought committed suicide because she went fecking bat shit crazy. I can understand why they'd keep quiet about seeing things as they didnt want to accept that they could be becoming like their mother. Hence why the oldest son kept banging on about about bad genes.
yea I understand that - I just don't believe it when the possible delusions are so regular/vivid
 

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I'm on episode 4 now - enjoying it so far. Only disappointment for me is the acting from the dad - the only weak spot.
 

SteveJ

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Thank you, hungrywing. I was beginning to feel like a ghost. :D
 

SteveJ

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I've also seen it, chief. I was hoping someone else had watched both, and then tell me how the new series compares in term of quality. :)
 

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Finished episode 4, enjoying it so far.

Kinda hard to take the "junkies" seriously though. Not expecting Bubbles from The Wire but Luke is a ruggedly handsome fecker and Joey "I've been on the streets since I was 13" looks like a normal pretty woman in her late 20's.