‘Haunting Of Hill House’ Director’s Cut Coming To Blu-Ray
By Chris Evangelista/Aug. 16, 2019 3:30 pm EST
Well this news got out there a LITTLE earlier than we wanted… but yes, it’s true! More details to come, but it was a blast restoring several episodes to their original form. Hope you all enjoy! https://t.co/svyPirSIMi
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) August 16, 2019
As Flanagan says above, the director’s cut will feature several episodes restored to “their original form.” While there’s no indication of which episodes will feature longer cuts, I’m almost positive one of them will be episode 6, which was memorably framed to look like it was shot in one long take. Beyond that, though, your guess is as good as mine.
It’s interesting that there’s going to be a director’s cut at all. Netflix shows aren’t pressed for time, so Flanagan could have included longer episodes in the finished product – but perhaps the filmmaker felt it would throw off the pacing. Whatever the reasoning, restoring deleted scenes will enable fans to experience the series in a whole new way. It’ll also offer us a reason to check out a physical copy of a Netflix property, something that doesn’t happen too often.
The Haunting of Hill House is “a modern reimagining of Shirley Jackson’s legendary novel of the same name, about five siblings who grew up in the most famous haunted house in America. Now adults, they’re reunited by the suicide of their youngest sister, which forces them to finally confront the ghosts of their own pasts… some which lurk in their minds…and some which may really be lurking in the shadows of the iconic Hill House.” While the show strayed heavily from Jackson’s iconic source material, it ended up creating a rich legacy of its own. I loved it from start to finish, particularly the way it blended supernatural scares with familial trauma.
Since Hill House was a self-contained story, Netflix decided to turn the show into an anthology series. Season 2, titled The Haunting of Bly Manor, will turn to Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, and debut sometime in 2020.
