While there is a lot of competition for the title,Mike Flanaganearned the accolade of the greatest horror miniseries of all time six years ago when the director released Netflix’sThe Haunting of Hill House. The horror miniseries rarely receive as much attention as horror movies or horror TV shows in terms of format, but the format offers directors an opportunity to tell a bigger, more immersive story without necessarily committing to multiple seasons. From 1978’sSalem’s Lotto 2017’sTwin Peaks: The Return, the horror miniseries has a unique place in cultural history.
Mike Flanagan Is So Right About This 2024 Horror Movie With 95% On Rotten Tomatoes
Horror legend Mike Flanagan singled out a 2024 Irish horror movie for praise, and the director was right to praise this acclaimed indie hidden gem.
Within this space, Mike Flanagan is one of the masters of the miniseries.Flanagan’s horror TV showshave not all been miniseries, withThe Midnight Clubsetting up a multiple-season arc before its unexpected cancelation. However, the director’s four self-contained horror miniseries for Netflix,The Haunting of Hill House,The Haunting of Bly Manor,Midnight Mass, andThe Fall of the House of Usher, were all critically acclaimed. WhileMike Flanagan’s upcoming projectsinclude exciting efforts like the Stephen King adaptationThe Life of Chuckand anExorcistsequel, his first miniseries remains his crowning achievement.
Why The Haunting Of Hill House Is The Best Horror Miniseries Of All Time
Mike Flanagan’s Loose Shirley Jackson Adaptation Set The Standard
2018’sThe Haunting of Hill Houseis the best horror miniseries in the format’s history, despite stiff competition from the likes of 1990’sITand 2008’sDead Set. The series radically alters Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name, borrowing character names and a haunted house setting but otherwise turning an insular story of psychological breakdown into a sprawling tale of inter-generational trauma. Where Jackson’s novel zeroes in on the troubled psyche of its protagonist, Flanagan’sThe Haunting of Hill Housegives every member of the troubled Crain clan a moment in the spotlight.
The Haunting of Hill Houseis notable primarily for the show’s ability to bounce seamlessly between genuinely terrifying horror sequences and emotionally charged family drama.
The Haunting of Hill Houseis a deeply empathetic study of addiction, codependency, infidelity, and parental neglect that manages to humanize its heroes and villains alike. There isn’t a weak link in the cast, although Carla Gugino provides the best work in her long screen career as the alternately terrifying and tragically sweet Olivia Crain. Comfortably thebest horror show of the last decade,The Haunting of Hill Houseis notable primarily for the show’s ability to bounce seamlessly between genuinely terrifying horror sequences and emotionally charged family drama. Neither element feels phoned-in by this masterful miniseries.
The Horror Miniseries Was Followed By Numerous Major Hits
The Haunting of Hill Housewas a huge critical success, and this inevitably rocketed Flanagan to horror superstardom. Before his Jackson adaptation, Flanagan was best known for smaller horror movies likeOculusandHush, as well as the surprisingly solid sequelOuija: Origin of Evil. AfterThe Haunting of Hill House,Flanagan went on to make three more Netflix horror miniseries that almost equaled the critical acclaim of his first. Although his 2019 sequel toThe Shining, Doctor Sleep, was a box office disappointment, Flanagan’s small screen work soon made him one of the genre’s most notable names.
The Haunting of Bly Manorfailed to recapture the rapturous reception ofThe Haunting of Hill Housebut remained critically well-liked.
Now, the director is set to adapt Stephen King’sThe Dark Towernovels as part of his Amazon deal, whileFlanagan’sExorcistsequelis likely to be his biggest movie yet.The Haunting of Bly Manorfailed to recapture the rapturous reception ofThe Haunting of Hill Housebut remained critically well-liked. 2021’sMidnight Masswas a return to form for a director who had barely slipped, almost equalingThe Haunting of Hill House’s success among reviewers. Meanwhile, 2023’sThe Fall of the House of Ushershowed Flanagan’s funny side with a gory, satirically sharp horror-comedy.
Mike Flanagan Came Close To Topping The Haunting Of Hill House Just 3 Years Later
Midnight Mass Was Almost As Incredible As The Haunting of Hill House
Although it was fun to see Flanagan offer a broader, sillier, and more colorful brand of horror withThe Fall of the House of Usher, this isn’t the closest that the filmmaker came to outdoingThe Haunting of Hill House.The Haunting of Hill HouseandMidnight Massare almost as good as each other, and Flanagan’s 2021 miniseries features some of the best writing in his career. Only the fact thatThe Haunting of Hill Houseis much more traditionally scary meansMidnight Massis not quite as well-loved as its 2018 predecessor.
A slow-burn horror story preoccupied with faith, rationality, and religion,Midnight Masstackles small twon communities the way thatThe Haunting of Hill Housepeers into the dark side of the nuclear family. Both shows offer astounding compassion to deeply flawed characters and manage to bring complex moral dilemmas to life via vivid genre storytelling, but Flanagan’s Jackson adaptation remains his standout work. Thus,Mike Flanagan’sThe Haunting of Hill Housestill stands head and shoulders above most horror miniseries.
The Haunting of Hill Houseis available to stream on Netflix.
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House is a 2018 horror drama series that interweaves the past and present narrative of a family grappling with traumatic occurrences from their former residence. The story explores the psychological and supernatural elements of their experiences as they contend with haunting memories and events.
