Creepy, gothic, atmospheric drama/horror story about a family who briefly lived in a haunted house and the far reaching effects it has on each of their lives.
There are a lot of really great elements to this show. The casting is excellent. The women all look like family to the point it takes a few episodes to keep them straight, The casting of Timothy Hutton as the elder Hugh was inspired. He easily passed as an older version of Henry Thomas . The acting was good and the character development was outstanding. Everyone was multidimensional and believable as real people. The story telling style of jumping between past and present is used very effectively and keeps you on your toes.
There are several very well placed jump scares, but the majority of the horror comes from the building of anticipation and dread . I watched more than one scene with my hands covering my face and peeking through my fingers. The writers also liberally employed the use of fleeting images that you aren't quite sure you saw, but add to the overall atmosphere,
This all hollds up rather well for the first eight episodes. Then the whole thing gets a little shakey, and finally collapses under the weight of itself in the final episode. Every character has a drawn out melodramatic monologue. The former restraint is abandoned and after 9 hours of detailed character development and story telling, all the storylines are neatly and happily wrapped up in the last 15 minutes.
The series is absolutely worth watching, but for me the ending is what keeps it from being a perfect 10.
There are a lot of really great elements to this show. The casting is excellent. The women all look like family to the point it takes a few episodes to keep them straight, The casting of Timothy Hutton as the elder Hugh was inspired. He easily passed as an older version of Henry Thomas . The acting was good and the character development was outstanding. Everyone was multidimensional and believable as real people. The story telling style of jumping between past and present is used very effectively and keeps you on your toes.
There are several very well placed jump scares, but the majority of the horror comes from the building of anticipation and dread . I watched more than one scene with my hands covering my face and peeking through my fingers. The writers also liberally employed the use of fleeting images that you aren't quite sure you saw, but add to the overall atmosphere,
This all hollds up rather well for the first eight episodes. Then the whole thing gets a little shakey, and finally collapses under the weight of itself in the final episode. Every character has a drawn out melodramatic monologue. The former restraint is abandoned and after 9 hours of detailed character development and story telling, all the storylines are neatly and happily wrapped up in the last 15 minutes.
The series is absolutely worth watching, but for me the ending is what keeps it from being a perfect 10.