Tag: the turn of the screw

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) TV adaptation

bly manor

based on the Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Review

This is not a book review. This is a review of the TV adaptation of Henry James’s book, the Turn of the Screw. If you’re looking for the book review, please follow the link at the end of this post. This review will follow a different structure than the book reviews. Similar to the graphic novel adaptations, this review will discuss the portrayal of the characters and scenery, the faithfulness to the original work, and the quality of the film in general.

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK, THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Portrayal:

Generally, the portrayal of characters in this adaptation is spot on. Obviously, seeing as this is a nine-episode-long series based on a book that was less than 100 pages, they took a little liberty. But I think they made the right choices here. In almost every case that is. Just like I saw in the book, the relationships between females characters in the show are so strong and important to this story.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t really a huge fan of Victoria Pedretti in this show. I loved her in the Haunting of Hill House, but I found some of her mannerisms to be a little off-putting here. Her acting is pretty perfect for the role she plays though. She obviously has a lot of issues in her past from the very beginning and addressing those problems was on oof the best underlining bits of the show. Mrs. Grose was absolutely amazing in this. Her role is much more important in the adaptation and I just love the diversity they wound in here.

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Another adjustment they made for the adaptation was to the previous governess and Peter Quint. In the book, these characters are 100% portrayed as bad guys. They were the ghosts and they were there to be feared. In this adaptation, they’re fleshed out with backgrounds and stories of their own. I love that Miss Jessel is a career-driven woman trying to better herself. Peter Quint (although a lot of his actions contradict themselves I think) feels like he’s stuck in life because of where he was born. This really makes you invest and hang on to the characters.

Faithfulness:

I think it’s important to note here that this adaptation and book are telling very different stories. There is so much more information in this show and the inclusion of these details really changes the plot and feel. Where the Turn of the Screw thrives on vagueness, the Haunting of Bly Manor uses explanations and backgrounds to really delve into this idea and dig out what made readers uncomfortable in the original.

I think the biggest adjustment for me was how romanticized everyone was in this adaptation. I don’t think that necessarily made the adaptation bad, but there were really no villains. Peter Quint and Miss Jessel were evil and tainted in the original book, but here we’re seeing them as people who are relatable and flawed. Again, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it was a little jarring to see the change after having read the book.

Quality:

Overall, the quality of this show is phenomenal. The acting is excellent. The scenery and sets are beautiful. The lighting, music, camera usage are all perfectly moody. There are a few discrepancies that don’t fit or sit well with me, but that’s bound to happen when expanding an adaptation to this extent.

I wanted to address the LGBTQ+ inclusion down here in this section. All the relationships felt really natural. I feel like a lot of lesbian relationships are forced in other types of media, but this show didn’t do that. It also really served to bring the show to a great conclusion that was very different from the book. For me, it was a really good addition to the story in general and I love that they added this.

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Rating: 9 out of 10 would play ded™. would watch again.

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The Haunting of Bly Manor is a Netflix original series and can be streamed there.

book review: the Turn of the Screw

links: IMDB

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

turn of the screw

genre: horror. classics.

The Review

This book had been on my list for years. I finally went out to buy it after watching the opening scene of the Haunting of Bly Manor. I was a huge fan of the Haunting of Hill House and I appreciated the adaptation they did of Shirley Jackson’s book. Since I’d wanted to read the Turn of the Screw already, I figured now was as good a time as any! I certainly wasn’t expecting what this book had to offer.

Characters:

The characters in this story are dated, but not to the detriment of the story. In fact, I think because of when this book was written, the characters are all the more impressive. The main character is a woman. Her confidante is a woman. I love that this story was centered around intelligent women who are still aware their feelings. The governess, the main character, is a force to be reckoned with. She is absolutely sure of her conviction. Very rarely, she doubts herself and continually tries to barrel through her situation with logic. Throughout this, she’s dealing with the strong feelings she has for her charges and the insane events that are occurring around her.

The Governess’s relationship with Mrs. Grose is excellent. I think strong relationships between two female characters are so important in literature and media. These two characters fully support one another through the entire ordeal and this is probably what I liked most. They never turn on one another, even when there is evidence contrary to what the other is saying. There is no drama between them. No false fronts. Just support. To me, this was the best part of the book.

Set-Up:

Despite the phenomenal characters, I can understand why a lot of people rate this book low; it is hard to read. This was published in 1898 so the writing is complicated and convoluted. The English is difficult to decipher and very old-fashioned. In fact, the entire situation is old-fashioned and a little weird. A lot of things that happen in this book — or short story, more aptly — would be completely different in present day. The way the Governess behaves with the children; how the “help,” while still older than the children, aren’t really in charge. This is off-putting, but eventually I got used to it. This book was written in a different time and you have to bear that in mind while reading.

As to the most important part of any horror story: this book really did put me on edge. If you can take the time to really decipher what James is saying and what the words are showing you, there are some absolutely terrifying scenes. The writing was more like an unsettling mood for me than a jump-scare worthy fright, but it definitely did the trick. I have a lot of feelings about the ending. I’ll leave it in the spoiler block below if anyone is interested!

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

The end of this story is a whole discussion. I was so caught off guard. This ending is so ambiguous and left such a sour taste in my mouth (in a good way. I’m sure that was entirely the point). The fact that James cuts the book off where he does, just makes the story that much better. Because really, you have no idea what happened. Did you just read a book about an insane governess who sees things and finally loses it? Killing one of her charges? Or was she right all along and poor Miles died of fright? Absolutely crazy.

approx read time: this story is only around 86 pages, but don’t let that fool you. It took me 5 days to wade through this.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I did purchase a copy of this book and it will be going in my bookshelf!

Links: Author. Goodreads.