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kathleenkatmary · 5 years

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Favorite Stuff from 2018: The Haunting of Hill House

I tend to avoid horror movies. I scare pretty easily, and I generally find horror movie to not be particularly interesting enough in terms of things like character story to make me want to push past being scared to watch them. So when I saw Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, I didn't even really think of watching it. Now, the 1960s adaptation is one of the few horror films I will watch because it truly is an excellent film, but given the kinds of horror movies being made these days, I didn't think it would be worth my time.

Then I saw everyone talking about it. So I wanted to see at least what the fuss was about. By the end of the first episode I was immediately pulled in. As far as scares go, those first three episodes really did lull me into a false sense of security, with what seemed to be just a few blatantly scary-to-look at moments. I mean, upon rewatch, I started noticing the background ghosts and realized how false that sense of security was, but at the time I was thinking that maybe this would be more in line with the 1960s version and that we wouldn't actually SEE much of anything.

By the time the third episode happened and it became clear just how false that sense of security was, I was far to interested in the characters for me to quit.

Characters are usually the thing to grab me the most. I've sat through many movies and shows where I found the story lacking because I found even just one character so fascinating. Obviously, the ideal situations is a good story and good characterization, both of which feed off of one another to create the best overall product. I do think that's what we get with Haunting of Hill House, but the thing that grabbed me so hard and didn't let go was the characters, they way these five kids and their parents were being written explored, they way there was such clear and understandable development, even when we didn't know exactly what happened, between the children we start with and the adults they become.

There's a lot to identify with in each character, and using them to explore these ideas about grief, what it does to is, and how we live with it is really the thing that makes this show so special. The idea of ghosts and hauntings being used as metaphors for the ghosts of the pasts, the mistakes the characters made, the things they want to forget, is hardly revolutionary, but The Haunting of Hill House explores those ideas so brilliantly in how much it really focuses on these characters and their story. The episodes, for most of the first half of the season, unfolds in a Lost-esque way, with each episode focusing on one of the siblings, flashing back to their childhood in the house and the things that happened to them there, and then taking us through their present, showing us how those events from their childhood has shaped who they are now. We get a deep, deep dive into these characters and who they are, and why they are who they are, and all of that characterization is so precise, so delicately handled.

Beyond just how well each character is drawn and explored, we get to see these incredibly complex relationships within the family, and each one of those relationships, even when we don't get to see every single relationship in as much depth as others, is so interesting and so clearly shown for what it is and what it means. Relationships between families, and siblings in particular, can be some incredibly complicated, and The Haunting of Hill House doesn't just know that, it rolls around in it, making so much of the basis of the entire story in how these siblings relate to each other, how that effects each one of them, and how those relationships can change

I'm definitely a fan of long running series and the ways that characters can develop over years (I grew up on soap operas, for heaven's sake), but there is something to be said for a series with a limited run, where the writers KNOW it's going to be a limited run, where that characterization and character and relationship development can be fully realized and very carefully plotted to a natural fulfillment point. There's nothing superfluous. It's all very precise and careful. That's definitely one of The Haunting of Hill House's greatest strength, the way the character and relationships developments are paced. Story pacing is important as well, and the pacing in that regard is very well done. But this is a piece that relies so heavily on characters. We don't really get all that much mythology or story about the house itself and what's going on to make it so damn haunted, because that's not what the story is. It's not about these characters discovering the secret of the house. It's not about what they do to and about the house. It's about what the house does to THEM. The story comes from them, not the house, so the fact that the way these characters were managed, the way the reveals about them and their development were paced is the things that makes this show so special.

I know there's been some "this show doesn't have the same story as the book at all" complaints about The Haunting of Hill House. I don't agree at all that this is actually a problem. We already have a pretty much perfect adaptation of Shirley Jackson's book (the 1963 film The Haunting). That's a brilliant film, that took what Jackson wrote and produced a very faithful-to-the-text adaptation. So we don't need another adaptation that's just a reproduction of the book. The 1999 movies where Owen Wilson gets his head eaten off by a stone lion. Not every adaptation should be exact reproductions (in fact, really, no adaptation should be an exact reproduction, but that's a musing for another time). Not every adaptation is going to fit the idea of a "faithful" adaptation. And that's fine, as long as it's not purporting itself to be. It's a good thing. Some adaptations are going to be more "inspired by" than "an adaptation of". That's what Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House is. It takes the basis of Shirley Jackson's story, looks at the characters and the themes, and uses them to explore new ideas, and new themes.

This is a show I would recommend to anyone who love stories where the characters are at the forefront, regardless of genre. Even to people who don't like horror. Admittedly, this is a show that can be very spooky, and there are some definite jump scares. But the core of this show is the characters and relationships. For me, it was worth the scares to experience such incredible character work. This show is really something special, and I'm worried it's going to be too easily dismissed by a lot of people (and awards shows, if the Golden Globes is anything to judge by. Hopefully it won't be forgotten by the time Emmy voting rolls around) because it's a "horror" show or a "ghost story" series. Those things, truly, are secondary to what it really is at its heart: a story about siblings struggling with their childhoods, the way that's effected their lives, and how they continue to deal with the grief that's come with it.

#the haunting of hill house #television #favorite stuff #favorite stuff 2018

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jurassicparkpodcast · 4 years

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James Ronan's Top 5 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Film Moments

The second article in this series counting down my Top 5 film moments looks at the 1997 Jurassic film The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The Lost World: Jurassic Park expanded the Jurassic Park franchise in a major way introducing a new Island: Isla Sorna (Site B), adding backstory to the dinosaurs creation as well as how they survived the Lysine contingency. It also showcased the financial state of INGEN after the events of the first film and added further backstory to what was planned before Jurassic Park with Jurassic Park San Diego.

The film also brought back major characters from the first film: John Hammond, Dr. Ian Malcolm, Lex and Tim whilst providing audiences with characters who also appeared in the 1995 Lost World novel: Dr. Sarah Harding, Eddie Carr and Kelly Curtis. Like Jurassic Park 1993, The Lost World: Jurassic Park provided audiences with an engaging story a brilliant soundtrack and some really fantastic dinosaur movie moments. So let’s break down what moments really impacted me shall we?

5. Why would Hammond send two teams? (The INGEN Round Up Sequence)

33 minutes in and we get our second big main dinosaur sequence after the Stegosaurus attack. ILM stepped up their dinosaur movement work from Jurassic Park with more CGI dinosaur sequences of running, flocking and herding. The cinematography in the this sequence is so brilliant. The camera pans up from behind Roland’s jeep to show the running Parasaurolophus, the camera catches the glare of the sun in this scene which also partially covers the dinosaur. After this the camera pans up to show a whole host of different dinosaurs running away from the hunters who intend to capture them. I think this is one of the best filmed shots in the entire franchise.

In the round up sequence we are introduced to two new dinosaurs not seen in the first film, the Pachycephalosaurus and the Mamenchisaurus. The Mamenchisaurus showcases a cool sequence with an INGEN hunter passing under it’s body on a motor bike. We then get an epic scene which introduces us to Pachycephalosaurus with the INGEN hunters trying to subdue the dinosaur before it uses it’s domed skull to smash Carter through the INGEN jeep. I really love how dusty the whole round up sequence is. Dinosaur footprints move dust on the ground and later on when the Parasaurolophus is cornered and pulled down it’s body displaces lots of dirt which is great attention to detail.

4. Life will Find A Way

The Lost World: Jurassic Park has a fantastic ending. Not only does it show various different dinosaurs living on Isla Sorna together (the Tyrannosaurus Rex family reunited, a herd of Stegosaurus walking together with a group of flying Pteranodons overhead) showing Life Finding a Way. But it also bookends John Hammonds story throughout the film as well. The video footage of the late Richard Attenborough as John Hammond on the TV interview was the last actual film footage that Richard Attenborough would film for the Jurassic Park series. I think for many Jurassic Park fans the ending of The Lost World is a bitter sweet ending showing the change in character progression for John Hammond who wants to protect the dinosaurs now that Jurassic Park failed and showing that Dr. Ian Malcolm was right that Life would Find a Way, with the audience seeing that a new ecosystem has now developed on Isla Sorna. The movie sequence is shot in one continuous take which is brilliantly done and Hammonds speech ends the film on a really positive note.

3. Don’t go into the long grass! (Velociraptor Attack Sequence)

Number 3 of my Top 5 film moment’s is probably one of the most visually thrilling sequence in The Lost World. After the camp discussion after the Tyrannosaur attack on the trailers that Velociraptors would be a problem earlier on in the film. The hunters and gatherers run straight into the long grass after being chased by the female Tyrannosaur. I think the most striking scene in this film is that of the Velociraptors moving towards the hunters from both sides. We see how tactical and intelligent the raptors are which was already established in the first film, working as a team together. Even though the sequence is very quick and the group scatters quickly due to the ensuring chaos of being hunted it is very well filmed and gives the audience another dinosaur attack sequence straight after the Tyrannosaur chase. This scene is also the first we get a look at the tiger striped pattern of the raptors which we only see briefly (we get a better look at this design in the worker village). I really love the tiger striped raptor design and even till this day it remains my favourite raptor designs behind the Jurassic Park 3 and Jurassic World raptors.

2. Mommy’s Very Angry (Eddie Carrs Death)

Many people would agree that this is one of the most thrilling and tense Jurassic Park film moments in the entire franchise. Just when you think that the Tyrannosaurs have left after finding their infant, both Tyrannosaur parents make a very dramatic return, turning the whole gatherers trailer upside down and trying to push it over the cliff. In true Spielberg style there is no music at all in this sequence, it all just happens before our eyes. Tension is quickly built up when Sarah Harding falls onto the glass window, which starts to crack under her weight. Music is gently brought into this sequence amping up the tension and peril of the situation. The Tyrannosaurs then disappear when Eddie Carr returns to save the day.

What happens in the next sequence is probably one of the most unjust deaths in the entire Jurassic Park franchise, with Eddie Carr succeeding in saving Sarah, Ian and Nick through a rope line from his car but dying at the jaws of both returning T. Rexes. I think one the most incredible things about Eddie Carrs death is just how practical the scene is. Both Tyrannosaur animatronics are right there knocking the car to pieces with the actor inside. When Eddie is lifted out the car the actor (stunt double) is lifted as well and we see this. The film then switches to a CGI shot of the Rexes ripping Eddie in two. Having succeeded with the animatronic performances in Jurassic Park, Steven and Stan Winston Studios really upped the game in terms of what was possible with the animatronics second time around, making the entire trailer attack sequence in the Lost World an exciting, tense and thrilling movie sequence.

1. Jurassic Park: San Diego (Finding the Infant Tyrannosaur)

I think many people will be surprised by this scene being my Top film moment in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. But on much reflection and on watching this entire scene multiple times it really is my favourite moment and here is why. 1. We get to see the Jurassic Park: San Diego facility properly. Having already seen concept images and a model of the facility during the hunter camp sequence earlier on in the film we get to see the still in development and unfinished Jurassic Park: San Diego amphitheatre which has a very cool design and would have been used to display dinosaurs in shows. The amphitheatre would have been the main dinosaur display arena of Jurassic Park: San Diego and from the images we have seen would have probably been multiuse to display a mixture of herbivores or carnivores.

2. The use of a updated (upbeat/Lost World) Jurassic Park theme. In this sequence we get another updated Jurassic Park theme similar to the one we heard when Nick Van Owen sees the Jurassic Park mural in the INGEN operations base. What this does is bring about a huge amount of nostalgia and reminiscence of Jurassic Park as well as set the tone of entering Jurassic Park: San Diego. 3. The third reason why I love this entire scene is that the amphitheatre is a complete model and the car driving through it is as well, it is not a set with actors on stage at all. Clever models like these are used a lot throughout the Lost World, the SS Venture crashing through the dock is another example. I love how detailed the model of Jurassic Park: San Diego actually is though. 4. Context. The fourth and final reason why this scene is my favourite Lost World: Jurassic Park scene is the context Jurassic Park: San Diego has in terms of the overall backstory of Jurassic Park’s creation and the future that Jurassic Park ultimately will have, which is failure.

In the original Jurassic Park novel Isla Nublar is not the only Jurassic Park theme park resort that was planned. John Hammond planned on expanding Jurassic Park to Japan with Jurassic Park: Japan which would have been situated on an island near Guam, he also planned on building Jurassic Park: Europe which would have been built on an island of the Azores. Whilst JP 93 and the Lost World are very different story wise I think it is fantastic that Jurassic Park was planned to be built in San Diego before Hammond got the lease for Isla Nublar. The fact that the facility sits unused and unfinished is not only a mirror reflection of Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, which was abandoned and unfinished but also reflects John Hammond’s dream not being able to be fulfilled. We saw this in the first film with The Petticoat Lane scene and also see it in the Lost World with Nick Van Owen seeing the Jurassic Park Mural in the INGEN operations centre in the worker village. For these reasons the use of Jurassic Park: San Diego is my favourite extension of world building within The Lost World: Jurassic Park and my number one moment from the film.

Written by: James Ronan

#article #james ronan #the lost world #top 5 moments from the lost world #film mom #top 5 the lost world film moments

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