No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
If you have seen the premiere of the American TV series "The Haunting of Hill House" in 2018, there should be a sense of deja vu familiar with the above text -- At the beginning of the series "The Haunting of Hill House", Steven Crain, who grew up and became a writer, read a piece of his own writing. His writing was about him with his family moving into a strange old house "Hill House" many years ago. However, the above text is not from the scenarist-director Mike Flanagan, but the original novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson in 1959. Shirley Jackson, an important writer who was praised by Stephen Edwin King as a horror novel queen, the novel "The Haunting of Hill House" has been adapted into films or series many times before, except that the previous versions mostly retain the original content (A scholar specializing in supernatural events recruited a man and two women who volunteered to participate in the project, and then a series of events occurred.) However, the TV series "The Haunting of Hill House" is more like a recreation to pay tribute to the original, just retaining the scene of "Hill House" and a little detail.
Unbelievable is not just a ghost
Mike Flanagan's "The House of Hill House" may be one of the most highly rated American dramas for me in recent years, in addition to my own special preference for the supernatural theme, the clever shooting techniques and visual narrative are the main reason that let me can't help but watch again and again at midnight (I watched at least three times). This is a great American drama, the key to 'great' is that the director pays attention to details such as color, composition, character shape, and material of the actor's clothing -- for example, Olivia, the mother of five children in the TV series, was wearing in pastel colors and long skirt silky home dress many times, with a flowing hair and shuttle in the old mansion. It's a kind of gentle and beautiful that goes without saying: pure with the worldly, kindness with the resolutely, even when she was seriously injured before death, still maintains an flawless and beautiful posture. Of course, this is undoubtedly an unattainable ideal female image, think about it, it’s a bit unbelievable that she has five children and her body still not get out of shape, not to mention taking care of five lively and restless children, doing housework, insomnia at nights, and work during the day, unexpectedly can always maintain long hair that is smooth and untangled, all kinds of elegant and beautiful will definitely make the reality of the full-time housewives very anger, who have shark clips on the head, busy and unkempt for life. But it doesn't matter. After all, this is a spooky American TV series with a strong surreal meaning. The perfect image of a mother may be as incredible as the ghost in the house.
Surprisingly is to scare you
Another horror film that I personally recommend is the Spanish film "Aterrados" from Argentina in 2017. Different from the beautiful texture and human nature depth of the American TV series "The House of Hill House", this horror film with unexpectedly weird and elaborate, let me, the horror film heavy fan, was really shocked in front of the screen( What's more interesting is that when I was sharing the horror plot with my friends on the escalator of the department store, the timid friend screamed on the spot and almost rolled down the stairs.). The storyline of "Aterrados" is in a community in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where there are some supernatural events in three houses. A team of police, forensic and a team of peculiar experts intervened in the investigation, and then the bizarre events of these investigators and the owner of the house. The most worth part of "Aterrados" is that it is a horror film that with very sincere to scare you. The whole film runs through the atmosphere of horror, the frequency of ghosts is also moderate, if bloody or ugly elements are too much, it is not scary enough for the modern audience of heavy taste. Mystery, suspense and unexpectedly will always be the king of fear. Perhaps because Hollywood-style bloody ghosts have become rampant that makes people numbness, I recently prefer to watch some non-English horror movies, such as the recently-discussed Indian drama "Typewriter" on Netflix; also worth mentioning is the 2017 Spanish inspiring movie "Invisible Guardian", a film adapted from Spain's best-selling criminal suspense novels in recent years. It tells the story of a female police officer involved in the investigation of serial killings. The mysterious events experienced in the investigation process have a complex relationship with her own traumatic experience. The development of the latter part of the film is also unexpected, horrified and the beauty that full of weird.
For me, the charm of the horror film lies in the background of reality, infiltrating more of the imagination of the encounter in the name of the supernatural; although the real life is sometimes more unbelievable, the horror film always provide an angle beyond everyday viewing. In the moment of suspense, there are more possibilities for surprises.
Sun Xiaotong, art critic, writer, currently lives and works in Taipei
Figure 1：《The Haunting of Hill House》 © Netflix
Figure 2：《Invisible Guardian》 © Netflix
