Happy Horrorthon! Hill House came early this year.  Here we go!

Hill House has been remade many different ways.  This time it’s done by Mike Flanagan of Gerald’s Game (Netflix).  The show splits its time between then and now.  It opens “Then” with Timothy Hutton in a very big and creepy house with a bunch of kids.  We learn through A LOT of exposition that Steven has grown up to be paranormal writer.  The cuts between then and now aren’t too bad, but it does diffuse the tension.

The kids handled the trauma of growing up in a haunted house with varied acceptance.  Steven is a paranormal investigator.  The oldest sister works at funeral home. Luke grew up to be an alcoholic. Nellie grew up to be disturbed.  There’s another sister who’s a sex addict.  I’m halfway into the episode and I am kinda bored.  They try to sell the show as the next Stranger Things, but I’m not sure if this show is even the next Whitney.  This show is a lot of things, but it is not worthy at this point of being in the same sentence as Season 1 Stranger Things.  

This show has 20 minutes left to get good and my hopes are low.

Nellie is one of the many family members who has grown up all messed up.  She is drawn back to Hill House I suppose because she wants to do some lawn maintenance.

The story, once again, shifts to the past and Steven and the dad need to escape the house because they are being pursued by a ghost.  Apparently, their mom was possessed by a ghost and they have to flee and leave mom behind (awkward mother’s day coming up).  Funny how divorce can just creep up on a couple after 20 years of marriage; you look over and realize that you and your spouse are different people; in that, you are a person and she is possessed by a demon.

Nellie has returned to Hill House literally and starts dancing around.  It’s weird.  The show jump cuts to Steven to an explaining session that her house is not haunted, but he’ll make it seem haunted in the book and the lady looks at him with contempt because he’s a fraud.  We learn that Steven is a failed novelist who cashed in on the family drama by writing the Haunting of Hill House.  This caused Steven and his sister to become estranged.

The show flashes back and actually does a good job at showing why Luke is so traumatized.  Apparently, one of the Hill House ghosts was harassing him when he was young and that trauma triggered his lifelong addiction.

The show flashes to Steven again as an adult.  He catches his brother with the substance abuse problem leaving his apartment with all of his electronics.  Steven gets the brother to give him his stuff back.  When he finally goes inside, he finds Nell at his home and the first scary thing happens in the whole show: Steve’s dad calls and says that Nell went to the hill house and she’s dead.  So……the Nell that is in Steve’s house is a GHOOOOOOOST.  BOO!  Nell does some ghosty stuff that’s kinda spooooky.

I don’t know if there will be second review of this show.  I will definitely watch another episode, but I’m not ready to get married to it yet.  I think it could have some potential, but Stranger Things had me the first murder in the first 30 seconds.  So far, this is more slow exposition than slow burn, but I will give it a fair shot.

Cheers!