Reviewing "The Haunting Of Bly Manor": It isn't really a ghost story, but it is perfectly splendid.

The 2018 Netflix series The Haunting Of Hill House, created by Mike Flanagan of Hush and Oculus fame, was a massive success, garnering much critical acclaim for being not just a great horror series, but a great family psychological drama, focusing on themes of loss, family and growth. It starred Henry Thomas, Carla Gugino (also in Gerald's Game, a film directed by Mike Flanagan), Kate Siegel (Mike Flanagan's wife and the lead in Hush), Michael Huisman, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and then-newcomer Victoria Pedretti. The performances and the writing were excellent, the scares were brilliant and chilling, the score was magnificent, and everyone (horror fan or not) should give it a watch. It's honestly superb. Its success was so great that the series was then made into an anthology series known as The Haunting, with each season having little to do with each other aside from sharing cast members. The stories would have no connection at all. Hill House was a great self-contained first season, and Flanagan soon began making plans for a second self-contained story.

Thus, The Haunting Of Bly Manor, a story set in an old manor in England, centering on American au pair  Dani (returning cast member Victoria Pedretti), cook Owen (Rahul Kohli), housekeeper Hannah Grose (T'Nia Miller), groundskeeper and gardener Jaime (Amelia Eve), and creepy children Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora Wingrave (Amelie Bea Smith). Flora, who has an unnerving fondness for saying "perfectly splendid", and Miles lost their parents in an accident some time ago, and their previous au pair committed suicide. However, the truth of what actually happened is far, far more complicated.

Bly Manor features some fascinating characters, with every character coming to life thanks to the sincere, believable, and emotional performances from every cast member, with particular praise for Pedretti, playing optimistic yet vulnerable Dani; Miller's portrayal of neurotic Hannah; Eve as crass but well-meaning Jaime; and Ainsworth and Smith's unsettling portrayal of Miles and Flora. Really, everyone gave excellent performances.

The story is interesting, emotional, and filled with unexpected twists, highlighting the tragic nature of everyone who has ever dwelt in the manor, almost as if the house itself generates misery. However, while indeed a tragedy, it is not without a hopeful undertone, a reassurance that somehow, despite all the horrors and the ghosts, everything will turn out relatively fine. Of course, being a horror story, this is not entirely the case, but to say more would ruin the heartrending tale, which deals with the themes of loss, guilt, love, and ultimately, how to move on. Every character's storyline deals with these four incredibly poignant themes, and they are beautifully woven into almost every character interaction.

The pacing can be a little slow at times, it's undeniably a slow burn, but it is ultimately worth it as everything builds towards a cathartic and emotional climax. However, as one character notes, Bly Manor is not a ghost story, and more of a love story about the various relationships and forms of love between the inhabitants of the manor, much like how Hill House was a family drama presented as a ghost story. It is also less overtly scary than its predecessor, but is still just as emotionally effective with its scares.

Just like Hill House, Bly Manor is beautifully shot and the manor is perfectly splendid. It's all the more impressive considering that what we see of the manor was actually added via digital effects in post-production, yet it feels very real with a life of its own. The score is also suitably melancholic, underscoring the tragedy of the events and helping with excellent emotional resonance of every impactful scene.

I've used the words "emotion" or "emotional" a lot in this review, but they are apt words to describe Bly Manor in every way, just an outpouring of emotion and heart in the best, most engrossing way possible. The Haunting Of Bly Manor is, in short, perfectly splendid.