The Haunting of Bly Manor

 

TV Anthology Series, Season 2 (9 episodes), 2020

 

Premise - A young, American au pair running from her past takes on a mysterious job in an English manor caring for two young children whose parents and previous au pair have all died. She starts to worry for the children when she finds muddy footsteps covering the house every night, thinking they must be going out to visit the lake where their past au pair killed herself.

Review - There are a lot of storytelling tropes about this that I love. The frame narrative is something that I previously did not have a name for until I looked it up - the idea that we have a story within a a story. An older version of one of the characters, in present day, is reflecting on a story from the '80s. Second, I LOVE the structure of each episode focusing on the backstory of a different character. I've had a soft spot for that ever since Skins. Third, I love all things British (also had a soft spot since Skins and Harry Potter). Fourth, I love exploring the psyche of children. Fifth, I do really like thoughtful scary storytelling. And lastly, I like mind games. There are a lot of those, a lot of "What time are we in?" "Is this real?" "Are we in a memory?" You have to pay attention while watching to understand how the story pieces together. I actually plan on watching this again one day to pick up on all of the details I would have missed not knowing the full context. I also did my fair share of reading theoretical interpretations of what had happened, that color my understanding.

 

I was first attracted to watching it because of the main actress as Dani, who plays Love in You. She has such compelling facial expressions that can convey the deepest of emotions. We see terror, panic, love, emptiness, everything, in one incredibly well-rounded character. They are all well-rounded characters to be fair, but I was first brought into the story by her. I'm realizing now that the first anthology series by the same creator, The Haunting of Hill House, contains a lot of the same cast which motivates me to try that one next.

There is a lot to be said about the nuances of the story, but one thematic interpretation I really enjoyed is the criticism of heterosexuality and heteronormativity. For Dani, as a closet lesbian, she sees true love as an equal relationship. She never could fully connect with her late fiance because of that imbalance. When he haunts her, he's haunting her with the memory of who she could not force herself to be. Other heterosexual relationships in the story, similarly, are doomed. Viola (the Lady of the Lake) was forced into marriage for financial reasons, despite her independent nature. And as for Peter and Rebecca... ugh, well, that goes without saying. Absolute toxicity and abuse. This is not to say that abuse does not or cannot exist in homosexual relationships, but the societal framework of heteronormativity is what gives so much rise to these power imbalances. 

 

By the end of the story, the older Flora confirms that this is not a ghost story - it's a love story. Dani sacrificed the autonomy of her body to save Flora, and sacrificed the life that remained to save Jamie. While I spent the entirety of the last episode tense, and fearing that Dani's possessed body going on a murder spree, seeing her instead end the cycle by dying in the lake was oddly uplifting and peaceful.

I also have to say, I really appreciate that the children did not turn out to be evil. Creepy children are great horror tropes, but there is so much realism to them being manipulated by the real forces of evil in the house. (94/100)

Quote - "People do, don't they? Mix up love and possession. I don't think that should be possible. They're opposites really: love and ownership."

What to watch for - Okay, I know Peter Quint is the bad guy, but GODDAMN I would listen to his accent all day long. Make him read me the dictionary while he wraps me in expensive furs.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Horns! (Not too similar in tone, but I'll give any excuse to recommend Horns as another horror romance with lots of motifs and flashbacks).

Based loosely on the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Created by Mike Flanagan

Distributed by Netflix