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The Haunting of Hill House: On Netflix (1 Viewer)

El Floppo said:
I first thought of it being like a play, and wondered if the funeral home and hill house might have been all one big set- allowing them to continuously track between them (with younger and older actors having to carefully jump in and out of frame). but there was a moment a ways into it when it seemed pretty clearly an editing/post-production thing... can't remember when. and then it clearly ends- camera stops moving and we edit to another location. regardless of whether it was continuous or not, I thought the whole thing was amazingly crafted.

and you're absolutely right about the family. the dialogue is purposely written imperfectly- the way people actually talk to their families, with hot-button items, things always misunderstood or taken the wrong way, or things just said wrong or left unsaid. I referenced the "three's company" plot device earlier, where furley hears "king kong's balls" instead of "ping pong balls" and wala- 30 minutes of HIGH-larious hijinx. but here, the misunderstandings and dialogue all felt natural and well written- even if frustrating. wife and I kept saying to each other- if our kids repeatedly told us there were creepy things happening, we wouldn't keep dismissing them (like ... chris rock?...  the house tells me to get out, I'm getting the #### out). but that seemed core to the family dynamic, so it kind of worked....  and also allowed the story to happen
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https://ew.com/tv/2018/10/23/the-haunting-of-hill-house-mike-flanagan-post-mortem/

Speaking of that, tell me about episode 6 which is an incredible achievement in camera technique.
It was part of our pitch for the show that whenever we got the kids back together, we wanted it to feel like an unbroken shot, basically, for the whole episode. Everyone loved that idea in the pitch stage, and then when we got into prep it suddenly became like, “Oh God, now we have to actually do this,” which was so daunting.

We wrote all of the camera choreography into the script for the episode, back before we started production. So, when we started designing the house, we were designing elements of it specifically to the requirements of episode six. Hill House was on one stage, the funeral home was on another, and we had to build this hallway between the two stages so we could physically walk from one stage to the other and step into Hill House without cutting.

We rehearsed it with our second team stand-ins, who basically performed the entire episode as actors for about five weeks straight, every day. We had shut down production and we just rehearsed with them, with the crew, and kept running it and running it and running it. After a month of that, we brought the cast in and we were able to show them the episode. We had shot it with the second team. So we said, “Here it is and this is what we’re doing,” and then the cast had two weeks with us in rehearsal. We kind of looked at it like live TV. Ultimately, it’s five long shots and we did one a day for five days. It almost killed us. It almost killed everybody. 

 
Fiddles said:
https://ew.com/tv/2018/10/23/the-haunting-of-hill-house-mike-flanagan-post-mortem/

Speaking of that, tell me about episode 6 which is an incredible achievement in camera technique.
It was part of our pitch for the show that whenever we got the kids back together, we wanted it to feel like an unbroken shot, basically, for the whole episode. Everyone loved that idea in the pitch stage, and then when we got into prep it suddenly became like, “Oh God, now we have to actually do this,” which was so daunting.

We wrote all of the camera choreography into the script for the episode, back before we started production. So, when we started designing the house, we were designing elements of it specifically to the requirements of episode six. Hill House was on one stage, the funeral home was on another, and we had to build this hallway between the two stages so we could physically walk from one stage to the other and step into Hill House without cutting.

We rehearsed it with our second team stand-ins, who basically performed the entire episode as actors for about five weeks straight, every day. We had shut down production and we just rehearsed with them, with the crew, and kept running it and running it and running it. After a month of that, we brought the cast in and we were able to show them the episode. We had shot it with the second team. So we said, “Here it is and this is what we’re doing,” and then the cast had two weeks with us in rehearsal. We kind of looked at it like live TV. Ultimately, it’s five long shots and we did one a day for five days. It almost killed us. It almost killed everybody. 
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THANKS!!

that is ####### amazing... All the work really paid off.

 
Fiddles said:
https://ew.com/tv/2018/10/23/the-haunting-of-hill-house-mike-flanagan-post-mortem/

Speaking of that, tell me about episode 6 which is an incredible achievement in camera technique.
It was part of our pitch for the show that whenever we got the kids back together, we wanted it to feel like an unbroken shot, basically, for the whole episode. Everyone loved that idea in the pitch stage, and then when we got into prep it suddenly became like, “Oh God, now we have to actually do this,” which was so daunting.

We wrote all of the camera choreography into the script for the episode, back before we started production. So, when we started designing the house, we were designing elements of it specifically to the requirements of episode six. Hill House was on one stage, the funeral home was on another, and we had to build this hallway between the two stages so we could physically walk from one stage to the other and step into Hill House without cutting.

We rehearsed it with our second team stand-ins, who basically performed the entire episode as actors for about five weeks straight, every day. We had shut down production and we just rehearsed with them, with the crew, and kept running it and running it and running it. After a month of that, we brought the cast in and we were able to show them the episode. We had shot it with the second team. So we said, “Here it is and this is what we’re doing,” and then the cast had two weeks with us in rehearsal. We kind of looked at it like live TV. Ultimately, it’s five long shots and we did one a day for five days. It almost killed us. It almost killed everybody. 
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one of the next question/answers was equally interesting...

So, for example, when old Hugh (Timothy Hutton) enters the funeral parlor, he sees his adult children. Then, the camera circles around him and he sees them as children. Are actors just running in and out of rooms when the camera moves?

Yep, that’s exactly what it is. To watch this episode, it was hysterical. If you step out of frame, it’s hilarious, and the kids were all crouched down and hiding in the intake room right next to them, and they would just sprint into place. And while they’re doing that, in the background you’re watching crew frantically pull out this dummy of Victoria Pedretti from the casket to help little Violet climb in her place. So we were doing all these off-camera switches.

There’s a big gag when Olivia’s going through the halls and the statues are tracking her. When you come back their heads are all in different positions, which looks really cool except that when you see the crew members hiding behind the wall carrying statues that all have different head positions and frantically diving into frame to get them there before the camera turns back around, it’s funny.

So yeah, it was a circus, and it was the weirdest thing for me and for Michael, because typically we’re really involved in a given take. But with this, all of our work was up front and all we could do was sit at the monitor and watch, and there was just nothing we could do anymore. Usually about halfway through a take, if it looked like we had a chance to get it, we would just grip the armrests and I think I held my breath for the last three minutes of that third segment, which is our longest.

But it was helpless. It was just like, “Well, anything could happen.” And you’d see a crew member dip into frame, running out with a bounce cart or something, and we’d look over to our visual effects and just stare at them, pleading silently like, “Can we take that out? Can you fix that? Can you fix that? Because if you can fix that, we’ll keep going.” Yeah, it was just panic, but it really worked out.
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incredible stuff.

 
Just finished really enjoyed it.  I must say I am a little confused about the ending so I'm going to google it.  But other than me being a little slow on the uptake really liked it.

Thing that confused me a little was at the beginning of episode 10.  It shows the kids outside the red door room.  Then it shows what is actually on the other side.  I don't know how to do the hidden comment thing so I don't want to say much more.  It just looked like they were going one way then got away from it.

 
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rustycolts said:
Just finished really enjoyed it.  I must say I am a little confused about the ending so I'm going to google it.  But other than me being a little slow on the uptake really liked it.

Thing that confused me a little was at the beginning of episode 10.  It shows the kids outside the red door room.  Then it shows what is actually on the other side.  I don't know how to do the hidden comment thing so I don't want to say much more.  It just looked like they were going one way then got away from it.
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type the word spoiler, surrounded by brackets [ ].... wala.

I took from it that each kid found for themselves what they needed/wanted in the red room. not really sure what the point of that is in a scary movie... and it took away most of the creep factor for the room in retrospect. as did the- oh, the house is actually just a place to go visit your dead loved ones- angle. that's not scary, that's comforting and cool. other than whackadoodle redhead flapper broad. IMO, the dead/ghosts should have remained either nebulous/unknown or pissed off and with a grudge against any living that enter the house.
 
When the two girls were trying to get into the red room and it flashed to the other side and showed the other sister.  I thought maybe it was like the other side of the door was real and the side the two girls were on was  limbo or a place for dead people and they just didn't know it.  Still a little confused by that scene
 
El Floppo said:
type the word spoiler, surrounded by brackets [ ].... wala.

I took from it that each kid found for themselves what they needed/wanted in the red room. not really sure what the point of that is in a scary movie... and it took away most of the creep factor for the room in retrospect. as did the- oh, the house is actually just a place to go visit your dead loved ones- angle. that's not scary, that's comforting and cool. other than whackadoodle redhead flapper broad. IMO, the dead/ghosts should have remained either nebulous/unknown or pissed off and with a grudge against any living that enter the house.
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Thanks.

When the two girls were trying to get into the red room and it flashed to the other side and showed the other sister.  I thought maybe it was like the other side of the door was real and the side the two girls were on was  limbo or a place for dead people and they just didn't know it.  Still a little confused by that scene
 
notoriousbill said:
Just finished it.  Ending kinda sucked....

If I had a do-over, I wouldn't have watched it.   I just didn't think it was that good.  
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How would you rate it on a scale of 1-10.  I'm on the fence about starting it because there have been a fair amount of poor reviews.

 
fochs13 said:
How would you rate it on a scale of 1-10.  I'm on the fence about starting it because there have been a fair amount of poor reviews.
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On a scale of 1-10, maybe  a 5-6.   The ending really brought the show down imo.  I am not a horror show fan either.

 
Huh. I usually don't like most stuff, but thought this was really well done and would recommend to anybody to watch it. It's not Transformers.

 
El Floppo said:
Huh. I usually don't like most stuff, but thought this was really well done and would recommend to anybody to watch it. It's not Transformers.
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Most people seem to enjoy it. It's just not my thing and my wife is definitely out. I know it's only two episodes but it looks to be what I was afraid it would be. A family drama with some horror elements. As I've seen in multiple reviews that I've read this morning, it's like This Is Us with ghosts. I doubt I'll go back to it.  

 
Definitely not a 5-6. That’s ridiculous imo. Easy 8 for me. Will definitely watch at Halloween time again. 

 
jamny said:
Most people seem to enjoy it. It's just not my thing and my wife is definitely out. I know it's only two episodes but it looks to be what I was afraid it would be. A family drama with some horror elements. As I've seen in multiple reviews that I've read this morning, it's like This Is Us with ghosts. I doubt I'll go back to it.  
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That's exactly how I described it:  This is Us meets Tales from the Crypt.

 
jamny said:
Most people seem to enjoy it. It's just not my thing and my wife is definitely out. I know it's only two episodes but it looks to be what I was afraid it would be. A family drama with some horror elements. As I've seen in multiple reviews that I've read this morning, it's like This Is Us with ghosts. I doubt I'll go back to it.  
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Lol. Yeah- I don't think it's anything like this is us, other than having good writing. But no point watching something you don't like.

 
Horror version of This is Us is exactly how I described it to my wife. Yeah ending was cheesy but I enjoyed. Lots of hidden ghosts hidden throughout the show. I caught a few and rewind it to make sure what I saw was there. Pretty well done. 

 
FWIW I agree with the person who said the ending sucked. Very reminiscent of original IT or Lost. Lotta buildup for not enough payoff. First nine episodes were good though. 

 
Just finished this after my daughter watched it and recommended it.  Here's something I hadn't picked up on that she told me:

The kids are supposed to each represent the stages of grief, in order of age.   So Steve is denial, Shirley is anger, Theo is bargaining, Luke is depression (he's 9 seconds older) and Nell is acceptance.
 
-fish- said:
Just finished this after my daughter watched it and recommended it.  Here's something I hadn't picked up on that she told me:

The kids are supposed to each represent the stages of grief, in order of age.   So Steve is denial, Shirley is anger, Theo is bargaining, Luke is depression (he's 9 seconds older) and Nell is acceptance.
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Huh. Never would've figured that out... Interesting stuff.

 
-fish- said:
Just finished this after my daughter watched it and recommended it.  Here's something I hadn't picked up on that she told me:

The kids are supposed to each represent the stages of grief, in order of age.   So Steve is denial, Shirley is anger, Theo is bargaining, Luke is depression (he's 9 seconds older) and Nell is acceptance.
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Thats pretty damned good.  Thanks for spotlighting that.

 
I'm halfway through the series and really enjoying it thus far.   Very few horror films/shows do it for me but the story and suspense is well orchestrated.  It doesn't come across as cheesy.  Love the transitions between time periods.  The child actors are great.  Looking forward to Episode 6 given the great reviews.  Appreciate the recommendation FBGs  :thumbup:

 
I believe someone mentioned it here but I love all the Easter eggs they give us with various ghosts lurking in the background.  Pretty thorough list here. 

https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/the-haunting-of-hill-house-hidden-ghosts.html

If you guys have any other notables you'd like to add I'd love to see them.  One I can think are those white statues in the hallway.  Occasionally their faces would change directions and look at the person next to it.  I remember doing a double take early on in the series and had to rewind to confirm.  

 
Major said:
I believe someone mentioned it here but I love all the Easter eggs they give us with various ghosts lurking in the background.  Pretty thorough list here. 

https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/the-haunting-of-hill-house-hidden-ghosts.html

If you guys have any other notables you'd like to add I'd love to see them.  One I can think are those white statues in the hallway.  Occasionally their faces would change directions and look at the person next to it.  I remember doing a double take early on in the series and had to rewind to confirm.  
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The blond in the basement and the boldest ghost were the only two I saw when i watched it. 

 
shadyridr said:
The blond in the basement and the boldest ghost were the only two I saw when i watched it. 
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Same here. I totally freaked my wife out when I asked if she saw the lady in the back of the basement and then went back and paused it. 

 
Wow, you guys were right.  I didn't think it'd be that bad but the finale was garbage.  Felt like I was watching Dawson's Creek.  The Red Room was a disappointment.  Oh well, it was a great ride for the first 9 episodes.  Hope to see more from this team.  

 
i  didn't notice any of them but got the feeling throughout the entire series that there was stuff i was missing.   like that creepy feeling you sometimes get when the hair on your neck or arms goes up but for no obvious reason.   

 
tommyboy said:
i  didn't notice any of them but got the feeling throughout the entire series that there was stuff i was missing.   like that creepy feeling you sometimes get when the hair on your neck or arms goes up but for no obvious reason.   
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Same

 
Capella said:
One of the best jump scares scenes I’ve ever seen later in the season. 
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I threw my arms up and yelled "JESUS F'N CHRIST!" in my manliest voice

My wife is still making fun of me. 

I'm kinda dumb. How did the dad die? I swear I saw Steve looking down on dead Hugh by the staircase. Something with the heart medication?
 
strykerpks said:
I threw my arms up and yelled "JESUS F'N CHRIST!" in my manliest voice

My wife is still making fun of me. 

I'm kinda dumb. How did the dad die? I swear I saw Steve looking down on dead Hugh by the staircase. Something with the heart medication?
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Re, the spoiler....you kinda answered your own question.

 
Just started this one.  Not 100% sold after one episode, but intrigued enough to keep going.  I echo a couple comments I skimmed about jump scares being cheap, but I despise cgi scares more, so my guard is up.  I will try to watch a couple more tomorrow night.  

 
KarmaPolice said:
Just started this one.  Not 100% sold after one episode, but intrigued enough to keep going.  I echo a couple comments I skimmed about jump scares being cheap, but I despise cgi scares more, so my guard is up.  I will try to watch a couple more tomorrow night.  
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Fwiw, ep6 is one of the better done episodes of TV recently. So I'd say to stick with it until then at least.

And while there are jump scares, I never felt like they got I'm the way of a very well done show. 

 
El Floppo said:
Fwiw, ep6 is one of the better done episodes of TV recently. So I'd say to stick with it until then at least.

And while there are jump scares, I never felt like they got I'm the way of a very well done show. 
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I usually give a drama (or whatever this is) series 1 season.  There has been a few times that I have not loved a couple episodes, but ended up loving he series after the first season.  Comedies I pull the plug quicker b/c I think I can tell if it's going to click with me after a few episodes.  

I learned from Buffy that you can't fully judge a show after 1 season.  

 
Got through 3 episodes now.  My son reminded me I can use my earphones with the PS4, so I did that last night and freaked myself out, so I guess it did the job.  Wasn't loving the little kid trapped in the dumbwaiter or the creepy ghost spooning with the other kid.  Will try to get in a couple tonight, so the talked about Ep6 will be Friday night fun.  

 
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