Every once in a while that “one” series comes around that you “absolutely” have to see. Of course, hyped up series are often fired up by the producers and gratefully received by the media in order to write the next sensational headline. This article, on the other hand, isn’t meant to be a review of the series, but rather wants to use the concrete example of “The Haunting of Hill House” to find out what makes horror good — and what in particular makes “Hill House” an immensely important representative of its time.

First to the facts: Over 90% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, nearly 9 out of 10 stars on IMDb — one is used to that kind of positive rating for “Game of Thrones” and Breaking Bad. A second season has not yet been officially confirmed, but is highly likely. The very good series “Dark” strikes a similar note while producing much less traction, but a second season has already been given the green light. “Hill House” rightly deserves the laurels it has received so far, but for a completely different reason.

What makes a series good?

Josef Altin, John Bradley and Kit Harington in Game of Thrones (© HBO)

“Game of Thrones”, for example, combines fantasy storytelling with a believable world, plus an outstanding production with the courage to let important actors die on screen — often without warning. The deaths are not heroic deaths, but they are understandable, unpredictable and above all, exciting. The producers are very self-aware about that specific trait. One marketing strategy concentrated exclusively on the question “Who will die next?” Incorrectly, as the author finds, because “Game of Thrones” creates a stunning universe without the necessity of this marketing grip. Looking at the overall density and filigree within this fantasy epos, you have to head over to “Lord of the Rings” to find something equally atmospherically. John Bradley, the actor who plays Samwell Tarly, was once asked why he hadn’t lost any weight in the series, as the “Night’s Watch” was permanently on the move. Bradley’s response was:

“We’ve got fire-breathing giant dragons, we’ve got ice zombies, we’ve got a woman giving birth to a cloud. Why is it me still being fat that you just don’t buy?”

This response is a fantastic example of how a series works today: There is an intrinsic logic and within that logical frame almost anything is allowed, as long as the universe created by the series is not violated. Fantasy or horror series, like “Haunting of Hill House” open up a topical space with their own set of rules and as long as these are not violated, the plot is comprehensible, solid and makes sense. It is a mistake to measure a fictitious world against the standards of reality. Strictly speaking this is already a contradiction in itself — fiction wants to entertain, fiction is a “what if”, but woe betide he who violates the inner laws of the fictional universe. In this case, you slip into the cinematic uncanny valley, and viewers begin to ask questions — a self-reinforcing effect that gets worse the more the series tries to justify itself.

It’s particularly hard to make good horror.

What secrets Robert Longstreet as Mr. Dudley & Henry Thomas as the young Hugh Crain discuss here, one should perhaps look at oneself (Source: Netflix)

“The Haunting of Hill House” focuses on one core competence: telling the viewer a story — and the series does this without overtaxing, without misleading, without taking the audience for a fool, without open ends, without loose questions and also without explosions.