Halloween is almost upon us; the best time of year for fans of the gothic and the spooky. A time where we all dress up, or go trick-or-treating, or binge a few spine-chilling films with our closest friends. But if you're looking for the scariest new thing out there to watch, then your best bet is to go to Netflix and check out the streaming platform's original series, The Haunting of Hill House.
Based on the classic 1959 horror novel by author Shirley Jackson, his latest TV drama is already getting some rave reviews. Indeed, the modern master of horror himself, Stephen King, has heaped loads of praise upon the show, which means that it must be pretty damn creepy. After all, if it can give the guy who wrote The Shining, Misery, IT, Carrie, and countless other chillers the willies, then it's definitely something you shouldn't watch with the lights off.
Taking to Twitter on October 16, King wrote: "THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodelled by Mike Flanagan. I don’t usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure. [sic]"
A number of Twitter users seemed to agree with King's review. One person wrote: "Who is watching The Haunting of Hill House because I need to talk about it, potentially in the middle of the night when I can't sleep because I'm now afraid of the dark," while another added: "Did I just finish the best Netflix series ever? Yes. Yes I did. If you like horror you have to watch The Haunting Of The Hill House. It scared the sh*t out of me but it wasn't like any other horror movie/series. It also had a wonderful story and it was absolutely amazing."
Netflix's official synopsis for the series states: "26 years ago, residential contractor Hugh Crain and his architect wife Olivia decided to try to remodel and flip a century-old mansion known as Hill House. They moved in early in the summer along with their five children (Steve, Shirley, Theodora, Luke, and Nell), and that's when things immediately started to get bizarre. Because it turns out that the House has a history of deaths and disappearances..."
The first season consists of ten episodes, and was created by Mike Flanagan, who also made the horror movies Hush, and adapted the Stephen King novel Gerald’s Game - so maybe that's why King is such a fan. The show stars Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Victoria Pedretti. Personally, as a horror buff, I'm really excited about this show, and I can wait to race back home and check it out ... you know, just as long as I can leave my night light on ... and fast-forward through the scary parts.
