The Haunting of Bly Manor

Netflix | Release Date: October 9, 2020

6.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 123 Ratings

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Mr_BigotedOct 14, 2020

Holy hell. Definitely a downgrade from the tight direction and creative scares presented by Hill house. One thing I will say, however, is that this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the lesbian plot.

It seems a decent number of the reviewsHoly hell. Definitely a downgrade from the tight direction and creative scares presented by Hill house. One thing I will say, however, is that this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the lesbian plot.

It seems a decent number of the reviews here cite the lesbian plot as the crux of the show's problems, which kind of boggles my mind. The lesbianism is totally unrelated to the show's failings. Sure, that relationship is handled in a pretty ham-fisted way, but I fail to see how the same-sex nature of the relationship is relevant to the faults in its presentation.

My main problems with the show are with certain dialogue choices and plot decisions, uncreative and repetitive scares, as well as an emotionally constipated lead performance from Victoria Predetti. Oh, and the accents. My God! Are there no Brits available? Do they cost too much? Are they too busy drinking tea? Which, by the way, the writer seems to have a major fixation on the tea-based elitism of certain Brits.

Some more comments on Predetti's performance: Predetti, who plays Dani, was GOOD in Hill House. This is why it's such a shock to watch Predetti's face and it's doomed attempt to squeeze the entire spectrum of human emotion into a single expression. And squeeze is the word. She looks like she's performing kegel exercises. And all of this isn't helped one bit by the director's penchant for close-ups, which seem to take Predetti's performance's biggest flaws and magnify them for the audience.

Anyway, the main reason I wanted to comment was because some of these 'anti-PC' takes are just downright dumb. I'm not the kind of guy to stand on soapboxes and wave the progressive flag, but I really feel I need to stress that any problems with the show's lesbian relationship have nothing to do with the lesbianism and everything to do with the acting, the directing, and the writing. I'm almost 100% sure that the 'preachiness' some people seem to have taken issue with is just a scapegoat for the general discomfort certain audience members feel when exposed to scenes and storylines that are non-representative of their own experiences.… Expand

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

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akshatmahajanOct 15, 2020

I enjoyed the Haunting of the Hill House and was looking forward to this. In my opinion, the creators didn't gave their best here. The first 4 episodes were drawback for the series. They were so slow and borderline boring, to the point whereI enjoyed the Haunting of the Hill House and was looking forward to this. In my opinion, the creators didn't gave their best here. The first 4 episodes were drawback for the series. They were so slow and borderline boring, to the point where I almost lose the interest. But I had to end it as I started it. Surprisingly, the 2nd half was way better. But all together it didn't hit a home run for me. I am not saying that it was bad, I am just saying that it was not great. Overall, you should give it a try especially when you have watched the first one.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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JLuis_001Oct 18, 2020

Overlong. Quite boring in several passages and mostly inert. I know it is unfair to judge it in relation to what the first anthology made, but personally I believe this story stayed, very far from what was achieved by its predecessor.

TheyOverlong. Quite boring in several passages and mostly inert. I know it is unfair to judge it in relation to what the first anthology made, but personally I believe this story stayed, very far from what was achieved by its predecessor.

They are little more than 9 hours of material, so be forewarned.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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VhulkOct 18, 2020

The show is a lesbian love story (yes, another one) dressed by a ghost story that happens in the 80’s. The plot is a confused patch of episodes jumping sometimes through memories of a single character and some other times from one characterThe show is a lesbian love story (yes, another one) dressed by a ghost story that happens in the 80’s. The plot is a confused patch of episodes jumping sometimes through memories of a single character and some other times from one character to the other. The intention to build an eerie nest of relations across natural and supernatural remains unfinished, lost in the desperate attempt to keep up the attention on any moment of the show, which is the real haunting of the Netflix era.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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TVJerryNov 14, 2020

This followup to The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting places two children in the titular manse with an assortment of caretakers….some of whom may be phantoms. The dull pacing makes the occasional moments of fear less effective,This followup to The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting places two children in the titular manse with an assortment of caretakers….some of whom may be phantoms. The dull pacing makes the occasional moments of fear less effective, although there are some worthwhile moments. Standout performance is Henry Thomas creating an enjoyably weird benefactor. Otherwise, it’s a lot of slow going for a few minor frights. (9 one-hour episodes)… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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TheQuietGamerNov 15, 2020

This second entry in Mike Flanagan's The Haunting anthology series is a significant step back from what we got with Hill House. Stylistically it's a bit too British for its own good. The wide array of grating accents, the irritatingly properThis second entry in Mike Flanagan's The Haunting anthology series is a significant step back from what we got with Hill House. Stylistically it's a bit too British for its own good. The wide array of grating accents, the irritatingly proper way everybody speaks, and the ever present narrator designed to give the tale a more storybook feel do Bly Manor no favors. Essentially making the whole thing come off as Hill House, but annoying.

If this really is supposed to be a love story, it's a rather poor one given the lengths it goes through to ensure everyone ends up alone by the end. It does feature some great lessons about love however. The way it critiques possession over genuine affection and things like toxic masculinity among others works because it's not preachy or insulting in its delivery. It never points the finger, just reveals that these things do unfortunately exist and can cause real harm. The pacing can be downright atrocious. The early episodes are almost painfully uninteresting outside of the promise of the mystery at hand as not much happens in them, and things darn near crawl to a halt in the final two after the show runners boneheadedly decided not to capitalize on a particularly intense cliffhanger by continuing the action from where it left off right away. Instead choosing to dive right into the ghost's backstory which proves to be story's dullest chapter and robs the menace of a lot of its fear factor. As a matter of fact, this is really disappointing as a work of horror altogether. The attempts to frighten viewer amount to little more than a repeated jump scare where the main character sees someone standing behind her in reflective surfaces, a trick that ends up being as overly used as the words "perfectly splendid," and the appearance of the occasional specter lurking at the back of the screen. The latter of which was also featured in Bly Manor's infinitely superior predecessor and suffers from diminishing returns here.

For all of its faults though there are moments of shear brilliance. The way it gives its ghosts a motive for tormenting the living by locking them in a hellish cycle where they themselves are haunted by moments from their past is probably the most memorable and standout aspect of the whole thing, while also serving as a nice twist on one of Hill House's more interesting wrinkles as well. Plus, the entire middle portion is pretty fantastic as that is where the emotions are at their highest, the tension is at its max, and the reveals are flowing. I even liked how not every entity the character's encounter actually exists at all. Some are just figments of their imagination spawned from past regrets.

Unfortunately, questionable decision making from Flanagan and crew make this mini-series feel messy, uneven, and poorly thought-out. Like how there's a major villain swap right at the conclusion that makes both foes feel inconsequential in a way or how none of the supporting character's subplots go anywhere so you're left wondering why they were included in the first place. As engrossing as it can be at times, these cracks in Bly's foundation keep it from ever being a truly satisfying watch. Especially considering it's following an act that was practically flawless.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Voodoo123Jan 19, 2023

Distracting accents aside, the production quality and casting are superb with a fascinating mystery at the centre of it. Worth a watch for Flanagan fans.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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geewahDec 30, 2020

Still a well written show but lacks the scares of the first series to it's detriment

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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