The second season of Netflix original series, The Haunting of Hill House has a second season based on a different spooky tale coming next year, but it also has a direct competitor by way of a film that’s set to be released in January 2020, The Turning.
Director Mike Flanagan has already proven himself to be more than capable of delivering scares to audiences and telling a good story, so it’s a definite that Bly Manor will be another breathtaking example of his deft skill. The Turning is directed by Fiona Sigismondi, who has a lesser-known body of work overall, but brings a different area of expertise to the fold. Sigismondi built her portfolio by directing music videos for artists that included Katy Perry, David Bowie, and Rihanna, but has also directed major commercials and even lent her skills to television by directing two episodes of popular Hulu original series, The Handmaid’s Tale.
While Flanagan’s name is all but synonymous with horror, both directors seem to be fully capable of delivering a frightful tale that’s based off the Henry James’ 1898 novella, “The Turn of the Screw”. James’ novel is about a manuscript that is found and read by an unknown narrator which tells the tale of a young governess who was hired to care for two children, Miles and Fiona, after their parents’ death. Her boss, the children’s uncle, is wholly disinterested in leaving his home in London to care for them, and seems to prefer that they stay with their familial home and care for the property. As the governess begins her new position at Bly Manor, she begins to uncover the horrible secrets that permeate the grounds. The novel is a work of gothic fiction, a ghost story from the Victorian era that is loaded with mystery, intrigue, and deeper meaning.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Flanagan teased that Bly Manor will be scarier than Hill House, which, considering how terrifying the first season was, bodes well for the second season being well-received by horror fans. Much about the next season is still under wraps, with Netflix and Flanagan working in tandem over various social media platforms to tease just enough to keep people interested without giving too many key details away. We know the basic plot of the season because its original source is relatively well-known. There are so many directions it could be taken, which could give an advantage depending on whether it differs from the film adaptation, and by how much.
Similar to other anthology series such as American Horror Story, Flanagan also is planning to bring back actors from the first season to play different roles in his new story. Confirmed cast for Bly Manor include Victoria Pedretti, Henry Thomas, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Kate Siegel. Since Hill House had such a strong ensemble cast, having so many alumni contributing to the second season will surely elevate it in a similar fashion, and audiences are already familiar with these actors’ abilities to deliver on the small screen. Pedretti has been cast as the potentially doomed governess who goes to care for the mysterious children of Bly Manor, but the other roles of season one alumni are currently unknown.
The Turning
The film adaptation comes from Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Studios and stars Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2049). The Turning follows new nanny Kate to the remote countryside of Maine to care for two “disturbed” orphans (Wolfhard and Brooklynn Prince). According to the official synopsis, Kate quickly starts to realize that “both the children and the house are harboring dark secrets and things may not be as they appear.”
The Turning is scheduled to be released on January 24, 2020, which means audiences won’t have to wait very long to solve the mystery behind this version of Bly Manor. The original script was re-written and pre-production has gone through other issues, including a revolving door of directors and actors which have all contributed to holding this project up since it initially started back in 2016, but the final version looks certainly looks creepy.
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