Hooptober 12: 20/31

It’s been a while since I watched Steven Soderbergh’s Presence but I still think about the way it showed the haunting of that house through excellent camera work, and I was reminded of it yet again when I watched The Haunting. Before we enter Hill House, the shots are quite traditional and almost bland, but as soon as the spooky sightings start, the visuals go haywire. It could have done with fewer internal monologues and just let the images speak for themselves, but it didn’t diminish the great atmosphere overall. I was also constantly scanning the background for apparitions thanks to Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of the material. A really good haunted story that feels like it’s half a decade too old for its time but also decades ahead in terms of visual language.