The Haunting of Bly Manor 2020 Mike Flanagan

 

The Haunting of Bly Manor 2020
Mike Flanagan


Just for something different I’d like to review a Netflix series this week, I honour of the Spooky Season that is upon us. A ghost story about two little children, the adults that care for them and the ghosts that haunt them

The Haunting of Bly Manor is the second instalment in the Haunting series created by Mike Flanagan for Netflix and is loosely based on Henry James novella The Turning of the Screw. It stars quite a few of the cast members from The Haunting of Hill House, so you’ll see some familiar faces but not familiar characters.

The Haunting of Bly Manor disguises itself and a ghost story but is filled with character development, relationship development and beautiful design. The set itself is gorgeous, mostly on the house and grounds of a large estate in England.
The costuming is wonderfully 80s, with high pants, high hair and pastel pinks.

We follow Danielle as she lands a job as an Au Pair to two children in a beautiful British manor. The story progresses slowly at the beginning of the series scare wise. Bits and pieces of context are fed to us slowly but once it gets going it is truly an interesting and entangled web of ghosts, love and murder.

For me, the character development really kept me interested while the jump scares were scarce (although there are definitely jump scares galore). The housekeeper Hannah and the Cook Owen almost steal the show. Overall the enigma of who the various ghosts were as well as how the two children, Flora and Miles, seemed to fit into the puzzle keeps you watching to the fairly climactic end.

As a warning, the ending of this series has me balling like a baby. An unexpectant relationship between two characters and the life they live after the Manor is beautiful but tear jerking.

Also, the little girl Flora is voiced by the same actor who voices Peppa Pig and it is hard to not hear Peppa when she’s saying ‘Perfectly Splendid’ a bunch

As a whole this is a binge worthy series. Each episode has more clues to the puzzle and the conclusion when you learn the story of the No Faced Lady and Child is worth the slow first few episodes.

Stay Spooky my friends!