You can now enjoy the new Netflix horror series by the same creator of Hill House, Mike Flanagan, now presents another story in another scary house and ghosts.
What is the plot?
It is the year 1987 and Dani Clayton is an American with six months in England, she is running away from her past, she is having visions of someone who seems to be dead and who was important in her life. She is hired by Henry Wingrave, to be the "au pair" of his two nephews: Flora and Miles. The children lost their parents in an accident during a trip to India. Miles was expelled from the religious boarding school because of his behavior and the previous "au pair", Rebecca Jessel, committed suicide at the lake, after Peter Quint, another worker of the Wingroves, abandoned her. Dani Clyton will be delighted with the majestic mansion, and will be greeted by the housekeeper, Hannah Grose, chef Owen and gardening girl Jamie. But the au pair will soon realize that the behavior of the children is a little strange,
Mike Flanagan gained great recognition, both from the public and the specialized critics, with the series The Haunting of Hill House, an adaptation of the book by the novelist Shirley Jackson. The filmmaker was the creator and was in charge of directing all the episodes of this family drama framed in a horror story, with haunted houses and ghosts. Achieving memorable episodes. It has been two years since its premiere and is part of the best proposals of terror, in series format, of recent times.
Netflix wanted to continue taking advantage of this original production of its platform, Mike Flanagan would assume the leadership of another project of terror, another story, he is the showrunner, the main scriptwriter, but he is not the director of all the episodes, of the curse of Bly Manor. Different directors were in charge of the direction, including Flanagan himself, something that, in my opinion, ends up affecting the narrative structure.
In this opportunity, an adaptation of Henry James' novel, The Turn of the Screw, published in 1898, is made. The novel has had several adaptations in film and television, but one of the most successful was The Innocents, 1961, directed by Jack Calyton. That film was successful and focused on the suspense and horror aspect of the story.
Even in Spain there was an adaptation of Henry James' novel, in 1985 the filmmaker Eloy de la Iglesia released the film Una Vuelta de Tuerca, set in the Basque Country. Even, at the beginning of this year 2020, The Turning was released, an adaptation of the same novel, directed by Floria Sigismondi and whose executive producer was Steven Spielberg. The story has also influenced the creation of other productions, such as the spectacular The Others by Alejandro Amenabar.
Making comparisons with the previous story is inevitable, even if we don't want to make them, the public has great expectations after the success of the previous one. In "The Curse of Bly Manor" there are less scares and frightening situations, this could be a disappointment for horror lovers. There are several attempts at "Jump Scare", but in my case, they didn't work. Why? I saw them as too predictable. No scene managed to scare me or shock me, which was the case with the previous story.
I perceived an abuse of the dreamlike and surrealistic resources in three consecutive episodes, where we know more deeply several of the characters, their past, their motivations, etc., but using the same narrative resource bored me, it was very repetitive, it seems that they only wanted to fill the time in the episodes.
That feeling that the story is too long, is very palpable. When we finish watching the whole series (there are nine episodes) we realize that everything could have been told in fewer episodes. This also plays against the production and will inevitably be compared again with the previous story, which also had filler scenes, but in the Bly Manor curse it becomes more evident.
The house where the story takes place is an incredible mansion, in the middle of a thick forest, with a disturbing lake and where I would not stay alone for a million dollars. The recreation of this mansion, full of stories from the past and where its ancient inhabitants rest, is perfectly designed. But unlike Hill House, this time it only serves as a stage. There are ghosts in Bly Minor, but the house itself is not an active protagonist. The curse this time comes from a very specific situation.
For the construction of this story, Flanagan used again most of the actors who participated in Hill House, besides adding new faces. In this aspect, they all do a fabulous job.
The actress Victoria Pedretti takes on the leading role, playing Dani Clayton, the woman who escapes from a past tragedy and who, upon arriving at Bly Manor, feels it is an ideal place to stay for the rest of her life. The character has a great weight on her, she feels guilty for the death of someone very close, that guilt leads her to be overprotective with children and especially with the person she loves, willing to sacrifice herself for everyone else. Henry Thomas, the actor who was a star child in the leading role of E.T., also repeats in this story under the orders of Flanagan. He is Henry Wingrove, the rich businessman who lives in torment for having betrayed his own brother. He also feels guilty, which prevents him from wanting to go or get involved in everything that happens in Bly Manor.
To play the housekeeper Hannah Groves, the role was assigned to the actress T'Nia Miller, who despite being a disturbing presence during several episodes, turns out to be one of the saddest subplots of Bly Manor. The actor Rahul Kohli plays Owen, the chef of the mansion, a very nice character that will at least have a happy ending. Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Tahirah Sharif play Peter Quint and Rebecca Jessel, two people who will love each other until after death and whose souls will be trapped under the curse of Bly Manor.
The two children in the series do an excellent job, proving to be truly disturbing, despite their young age, they managed to give different nuances to their interpretations. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth plays Miles , who with his look, we will realize when he is another of the characters that live in Bly Manor. And little Amelie Bea Smith plays Flora, a charming girl, but who can also be unsettling.
The actress Amelie Eve, who had previously worked in the British comedy Enterprice, plays the gardener Jamie, a character that becomes more and more important as the episodes progress. She is the most normal character of all and will be the protagonist of another of Bly Manor's love stories.
In Bly Manor's curse, the most important thing is the heartbreaking love story told to us, adorned with dark houses and ghosts.
Love is the driving force behind the entire narrative, the first episode beginning today with a rehearsal of a wedding pre-dinner. After that introduction, the voice of the narrator will take us to the past, first in 1987 and then in different times, to show the origin of the curse, whose cause was love.
Peter and Jessel, Hannah and Owen, Hanry and Charlotte These characters will love each other, but at the same time they will have to pay the price for that love. Truncated loves, impossible loves, forbidden loves. When she arrived at Dani, who believed she had known love, it was not until she started living at Bly Manor that she really found herself and felt true love. A love that in order to preserve it, she will have to make a sad but necessary decision.
The curse of Bly Minor is not as excellent as the curse of Hill House, but its dramatic background, its setting and its characters make it a good choice to watch its nine episodes, which could have been less and save us some repetitive scenes.
It is available on Netflix, you can watch it in parts or give yourself a marathon. It all depends on your taste.
My Ranking: 3.9/5
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