It really does for me, especially that woman in episode 1 of hill house talking about her husband’s crash. The entire show so far is like all the adult actors are competing for best monologue, but all at once - there’s no convincing back and forth.
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you may not get on with Mike’s other work either then …
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What episode does hill house start getting good?
Haunting of Hill House review:
The end of episode 5 was decent, liked some bits of episode 7, lots of bad acting, lots of weird eyes, oh look one guy is a writer now, one is an emotionally guarded lesbian. Not a single bit felt scary or even creepy, was so overproduced.
I liked how the older dad looked a lot like the younger ET actor, but also like Tom Hanks and Fred Armisen.
The overall best bit was the actress from the Bon Jovi video’s dressing gowns.
Absolutely baffled by how well this has been received but I’m glad for people who enjoyed it.
1/10
Skip bly manor and house of usher but give Midnight Mass a go
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Oh, I’ll probably watch them all regardless 
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Bly Manor is nowhere near as good as hill house and the acting is a lot worse
Midnight Mass is the best by far
House of usher is the weakest story
I really liked hill house though 
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i mostly just like the emotional engagement of his stuff, feel he writes good character connections
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Finished Bly Manor.
So bloated, definitely should have been a film. Felt like loads of characters were there because he’d promised them a job but really served no purpose whatsoever (peter or whatever that British ryan gosling fella is called, their story was so daft and despite all those hours they didnt find time to properly flesh out their arc to make me care). Confusing, inaccurate, annoying kids and accents.
BUT, regardless i enjoyed watching and found the maon characters far more interesting and less chliched than in Hill House, I loved the last couple of episodes. Those two really work as a couple.
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Midnight Mass.
Love the Nick Cave priest. ET elliot looks good as an old moustache wearing type. Finding Flanagan’s wife really very irritating by now but this was decent. Some absolutely made no sense whatsover but overall this was enjoyable.
Fuck me though. The monologues. The fucking monologues. The way everyone talks during them in that way that they think is good acting and must seem natural and is the exact opposite. Stop being so fucking reflective and wise and get spooky.
Tried 3 mins of House of Usher. Don’t think I’ll be pursuing that one.
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don’t think they’re meant to be natural at all, always seems very stagey to me! (and I love it)
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Watched Absentia via YouTube (not really recommended, the audio was shit) but was decent enough based on a $70000 budget and using friends to fill roles before Netflix started throwing money at him.
Good film. Special shout out to Courtney Bell who plays Tricia in the film, who was actually pregnant with Mike Flanagan’s son during filming and also worked as the line producer. Hardcore…
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yeah, I was going to say good luck with House of Usher. I quite liked it in the end, but fuck me, he turns this up to 11 in that. And they don’t just think they’re being wise, they think they’re being bitingly satirical which just makes it worse
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also the way the dickhead kid pronounces berghain
I quite liked Midnight Club. Some of Flanagan’s shoehorning in his emo bullshit makes a bit more sense when the show is ostensibly a sort of young adult / horror thing. Doesn’t excuse them referencing Radiohead tracks from OK Computer while also having a terminally ill kid who is sad becuase he’ll die before the release of the Sony PlayStation in 1995 FOR FUCK’S SAKE FLANAGAN WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THE MA-YATH WITH THAY-AT ONE CAHBOY YEEHAW GET OUT OF MY FUCKING FACE
DON’T SMIRK AT ME YOU LITTLE BOLLOCKS
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It’s because it’s supposed to be “generically mid 90s”. I’ve seen that pulled off so much better.
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Singing a 1997 Green Day song on the beach too
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And @Scout
Feels like, the job of a writer now is to draw attention to their own writing rather than actually tell a compelling story. I believe I have discussed the scourge of the Prestige Monologue elsewhere. You are no longer a serious writer unless you have a character deliver a three page monologue that can be clipped for socials, when four words would suffice. I also said that in real life nobody outside of church or the lecture hall is ever allowed to speak in long winding parables without being interrupted, and I was right to say so. Snooze!
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One egregious example is the judge in Fargo 2 who starts talking about the Book of Job at Kieran Culkin in the diner. Liked Fargo 2 very much but this was so irritating. Like, Culkin’s character is clearly tweaking and twitchy so a) why would she do this and risk setting him off and b) why would he let her.
Ensuing bloodbath somewhat redeems it but still don’t believe he’d sit there and listen to that for so long