Tonight on Netflix: The scariest and most sublime series on the platform

“Some things cannot be said. We either live them or we don’t. But they cannot be said”: The Haunting of Hill House is one of them. It would be nice to describe its brutal beauty, but you won’t fully understand until you see it.

Never has a fantasy horror series made us smile and cry, while leaving us permanently traumatized: Welcome to Hill House. Between the past and the present, the show tells the story of a broken family who are confronted with the haunting memories of their former home and the terrible events that drove them away. Indeed, in the summer of 1992, Hugh and Olivia Crane and their five children – Stephen, Shirley, Theo, Luke and Nellie – moved into Hill House, a mansion they wanted to renovate and sell in order to build their dream home.

But when they have to stay there longer than expected, they begin to witness increasingly paranormal phenomena that lead to a tragic loss and the family’s escape from this haunted house. Twenty-six years later, the Crane family is reunited after another tragedy strikes them, a tragedy that then forces them to confront the true demons of their past.

Loosely adapted from Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name, published in 1959. The Haunting of Hill House Moves and shines on every level. And it’s not Stephen King who would say otherwise! Indeed, if he refers to the book as one of the best horror novels of the late 20th century, the master of horror also admired its serial adaptation, qualifying it as “a work close to genius”.

And behind this work is another master of horror for whom this is the first series: Mike Flanagan (Mirror, No Noise, Ouija: Origins), who here combines the credits of creator, screenwriter, director, executive producer and editor. . And if his script is perfect, his realization is only equal to it.

Wanting “a time when horror had a deeper purpose than fear,” the showrunner and his team favored practical effects over computer graphics, giving the show its authentically menacing aspect.

And scared, there’s a reason for that. The Netflix original series truly combines psychological and physical horror, intelligent and well-placed emotions, from angst to love, genuine and affecting. And before that, a macabre family tragedy unfolds that will make your heart flutter with delicacy and shivers: a shudder of horror when it is determined to frighten you, and a thrill when it reveals its secrets in shocking and inventive ways. This is complemented by dark, virtuosic and sublime photography that accentuates the horror and decay with grace, skill and tension.

And what about the pitch-perfect acting? They are delivered by an adult and child cast that we have to welcome: Henry Thomas, Carla Gugino, Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and the incredible Victoria Pedretti, who makes her real screen debut here. A very young and wonderful Violet McGraw, Julian Hilliard or McKenna Grace to name a few.

Know that some episodes will remain engraved in your memories. We’ll give you some clues: the woman with the twisted neck, the ghosts in the hidden way where is charlie, The Giant in the Black Hat , a certain entire episode shot in a grand and incomparable sequence shot and the Red Room to explain. “The rest is confetti“. After this, The Haunting of Hill House will never stop chasing you. you will fall in love

Want to check out another must-watch series on Netflix? He is here ! And if you want more after all that, know that Hill House is the first installment in a small anthology saga: when you’re done, try The Haunting of Bly Manor if you dare.