HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR
A Gothic Romance Inspired by Henry James
Two years ago, Netflix presented us with one of the best horror series of all time: The Haunting of Hill House. Well, Mike Flanagan is back for another season of the anthology with The Haunting of Bly Manor. The spooky home tour continues, and this one might be scarier.
Like Hill House (based on the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name), Flanagan adapted Bly Manor from Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. The author’s other horror stories are melded into the core of the series too. After his au pair’s death, Henry Wingrove (Henry Thomas) hires a nanny (Victoria Pedretti) to look after his niece and nephew on the haunted estate.
Pedretti and Thomas aren’t the only returning cast members. Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Katie Seigel (Flanagan’s wife, who appears in many of his projects) will assume new characters this season. Also joining the cast are Rahul Kohli and T’Nia Miller.
Hill House explored addiction, and Bly Manor is ultimately about love. Flanagan said: “What sets Bly Manor apart is that at its heart it’s a love story. It’s a Gothic romance story. When you look at the word ‘romance’ it conjures up images in your mind. Gothic romance means something very, very different, steeped in mystery and doom, incredibly passionate emotions that swung into the darkness of human nature.”
Flanagan has emerged as a true auteur in the last decade with a laundry list of successful horror projects. With films like Oculus, Hush, Before I Wake, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep, Flanagan has proved to be one of the most successful fright film directors of the century. If the trailer for Bly Manor — watch that above — is any indication, Bly Manor will haunt our dreams for weeks on end.
