Happy Sunday, Streamers.
This week: our Rec Room has a throwback horror series from 2018 that is sure to get you in the mood for Halloween and another round of Stream It or Skip It.
Now let’s get to it.
Rec Room: The Haunting of Hill House
What It’s About: A death in the family forces five siblings and their father to face the trauma inflicted by the paranormal events they experienced together years ago.
Why You Should Watch: For melodrama, spooky production design, and horrifying frights.
There are fun horror movies - silly, jump-scare-filled roller coaster rides - and then there are shows like The Haunting of Hill House. Not to say that this show isn’t fun, but guests should be above a certain height to ride. Mike Flanagan’s first of four series for Netflix (more on that later), The Haunting of Hill House is a genuinely terrifying tale that doubles as a moving meditation on family, grief, and shared trauma. Alternating between two timelines, the show weaves flashbacks to the doomed summer that tore the family apart and the present day as they try to overcome the demons (real and paranormal) that still haunt them. It’s the best kind of horror, where schlock or extraneous gore is replaced with ghostly frights that mirror the demons the characters carry within. Each actor is perfectly cast, and the visuals - simultaneously beautiful and terrifying - look like what Carl Laemmle would produce with modern-day tools if he was still around (on that note, all of the early sound Universal horror films of the ‘30s are streaming on Peacock if you’re a sicko like me and into that kind of thing). The Haunting of Hill House put Mike Flanagan on the map as a master of human, emotionally wrenching horror, and is a perfect moody watch in the weeks leading up to Halloween if you’re down to scare the shit out of yourself. Just be warned that four years later, I still think about the bent-neck lady sometimes (you’ll see).
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Victoria Pedretti -The Haunting of Hill House was her first big break, but you probably recognize her fromYou.
Michael Huisman - Most likely as Daario Naharis, the hot-guy-sellsword who first beds Daenarys Targaryen (consensually) on Game of Thrones.
Carla Gugino - Depending on your age, you may recognize her from Spin City, Spy Kids, Entourage, or Watchmen (to name a few). Eagle-eyed streamers may also recognize her as one of the child troop members in Troop Beverly Hills (her big break).
Henry Thomas - He is, and always will be, Elliot from E.T. the Extraterrestrial, a role Spielberg famously gave him on the spot after one audition (a moment we can all witness courtesy of the internet).
Elizabeth Reaser - Grey’s Anatomy, TheTwilight Franchise, The Good Wife, The Family Stone, Mad Men, and Easy.
Timothy Hutton - The Falcon and The Snowman, Beautiful Girls, and being the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his breakout role in Ordinary People.
Annabeth Gish - Mystic Pizza, The X-Files, The West Wing, or Pretty Little Liars.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done: Mike Flanagan wrote and directed this series that marked his arrival as a horror master. He also directed the underrated sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, and three other series for Netflix: The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and the recently released The Midnight Club. You can skip The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Midnight Club, but if you like The Haunting of Hill House, you should absolutely watch the overlooked Midnight Mass (an equally-terrifying tale about the sins we commit in the name of faith).
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
Stream It Or Skip It?
This week we have some prestige dramas, and one of our first glimpses of holiday programming. Let us know in the polls - are you going to Stream It? Or Skip It?
The White Lotus (Season 2)
Returning October 30th to HBO, Season 2 brings us to Sicily with returning cast members and a bunch of newcomers.
Emancipation
Coming to AppleTV+ December 9th, this Antoine Fuqua-directed oscar-bait film was almost shelved after that whole Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock on national television thing.
Spirited
It begins. Our first glimpse into holiday streaming programming courtesy of Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell. This modern take on A Christmas Carol comes to Apple TV+ November 18th.