Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Haunting of Bly Manor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 21, 2021

The Haunting of Bly Manor is the second installment in what now can be labeled, perhaps, the Haunting series from creator Mike Flanagan; this nine-episode Netflix series follows up on, but is not a sequel to, 2018's The Haunting of Hill House. Certainly various similarities follow the programs, but even if they share some core principles, Flannigan has built within Bly Manor an experience all its own, though veteran genre fans experienced in haunted house horror will likely find some of the setup, execution, and resolution to hold firm and fast to some core genre convention.

In 1987 London, American Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti), once a fourth grade teacher in the United States, has fallen in love with a new land and seeks to stay on the European side of the Atlantic. She expresses interest in, and interviews for, a position as an au pair to two English children who live at Bly Manor, an idyllic English country estate. She's looking to make a difference in lives on a personal level beyond the hustle and bustle of classroom teaching, though there may be more to her motivations than simple altruism. Her children: Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) Wingrave. Dani settles into the position but quickly finds herself challenged, but growing both in her career and in love. But it becomes clear to her that there's something more to the manor than an opportunity for a new life.

One of the reasons why Bly Manor plays fairly well in spite of some obvious plot device familiarity and structural repetition is because the program can breathe. When these sorts of stories are crammed into a 90- or 100-minute feature film there's precious little opportunity for deviation from core components because there's a certain order to things to move a story along at that pace. Here, though, with hours upon hours of opportunity for character exposition, location immersion, and narrative formation, even familiar elements are rendered a bit more organic and welcoming with the extra opportunities for deeper dives into the plot.

Of course time itself is not the only factor in the series' success. The writing must be there to carry that length, and indeed it's a strength for its ability to not just paint a stale picture but rather a vivid one, one that fleshes out characters with depth far beyond the usual stock players in these sorts of stories. Even if the foundations are eerily similar to so many others, the opportunity for it all to flourish is a welcome change of pace. Certainly, in addition, the excellent performances are there to support, as are some very rich and well versed plot dynamics specific to this show, and wonderful production design, that elevate what would undoubtedly be a stale tale at feature length into something genre fans are going to enjoy as it plays out over hours of haunted horror excellence.

The following episodes comprise the series. Descriptions are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging.

Disc One:

• The Great Good Place: A bright eyed American au pair hopes to make a difference caring for two orphans in a grand English manor, yet the feeling of dread is undeniable.
• The Pupil: After experiencing a harrowing scare, Dani tries to teach the children a lesson. Still, the kids have an unsettling way of getting under one's skin.
• The Two Faces, Part One: Dani and Miles get an uncanny glimpse of the past. Peter Quint, Rebecca Jessel and their twisted history cast a long shadow.

Disc Two:

• The Way It Came: Racked with guilt, Dani is haunted by her own heartbreaking loss. Flora and Miles find ways to cope, and Bly's staff remember the dead over a bonfire.
• The Altar of the Dead: She's seen it all. The memories come flooding back for housekeeper Hannah Grose as she reflects on the living and dead trapped at Bly Manor.
• The Jolly Corner: In denial and embroiled in his work, Henry Wingrave must reckon with himself. Dani reaches out to Jamie while Flora gets lost in the past.

Disc Three:

• The Two Faces, Part Two: Miles and Flora are pulled into a ghostly game. Faced with the facts, Rebecca comes to an unhappy conclusion, and Hannah makes a shattering discovery.
• The Romance of Certain Old Clothes: Bly's dark origins come to light. Once the iron-willed lady of the manor, Viola becomes consumed by a monstrous rage, ensnaring all souls around her.
• The Beast in the Jungle: The dream is done, yet danger prevails. Hannah summons the courage to act. A fate worse than death threatens everyone at Bly. Who will pay the price?

The Haunting of Bly Manor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This Blu-ray release of The Haunting of Bly Manor is excellent and the image offers a near perfect example of recently minted digital photography on Blu-ray. The 1080p resolution affords plenty of opportunity for the material to thrive, revealing precision textural grace on skin and period clothes, not to mention the complex interiors around the manor and the resplendent grounds around them. Furnishings and trinket odds and ends delight with stable, relentless clarity while sweaters reveal complex fabric definition and faces never want for significantly greater clarity. The picture is sharp and clear throughout. Color output is healthy; contrast is grounded and temperature is neutral. There's plenty of life and pop to clothes and accents in well lit scenes while black level depth is excellent. Additionally whites are crisp and skin tones are spot-on. Noise does seep into the series in lower light shots but never to intrusive levels. There are no encode issues to worry about. Fans will be thrilled with this presentation.

The Haunting of Bly Manor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Haunting of Bly Manor scares up a delectable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is always prominent in engagement and ferocious in output during its most intensive musical cues and action/horror elements. Yet it's also precise ant near quiet when whispers or light ambience or small yet critical localized effects are in play, and whether it's whisper quiet or dominantly loud there's never a want for greater clarity. Even as the track offers intense and well pronounced music with serious stretch and immersion and hefty complimentary bass clarity holds, and likewise when the track has opportunity to stretch the low end for critical support cues it never falters and definition never wavers. The sense of precision spacing and immersion are second to none. This is like the anti-Disney track. It's loud, aggressive, forceful, never timid, and unafraid of pushing the subwoofer. Positioning for full stage effects and discrete details are to be commended, and the total atmosphere is one of resplendent audio engineering, which is exactly what the content demands. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized with firm, unshaking front-center positioning (save of course when the material demands something outside the normal dialogue channels). The audio track couldn't be better in the 5.1 configuration.

The Haunting of Bly Manor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Haunting of Bly Manor contains one commentary on each disc and additional extras on disc three. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For "The Great Good Place:" Director/Creator Mike Flannigan.

Disc Two:

• Audio Commentary: For "The Altar of the Dead:" Director Liam Gavin.

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentary: For "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes:" Director Liam Axelle Carolyn.
• Home for the Haunted: The Ghosts of Bly Manor (1080p, 11:45): A look at defining "ghost story," the show's setting as a love story with ghosts, "ghost rules," character details, plot elements, ghost design, and more. This is a very well spoken supplement that offers honest and deep insight into the show.
• Welcome to Bly Manor (1080p, 11:15): A look at the show's depiction of the afterlife, making a follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House, the influence of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, character relationships in the series, the show's 80s setting, shooting locations, the series aesthetics, and more.

The Haunting of Bly Manor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Haunting of Bly Manor isn't exactly teeming with new ideas but what's here is a slick and refined Horror experience, a slow-drip exploration that rewards the patient viewer with a complexly woven tale that resonates long after it's through, even if audiences have contemplated on similar themes before. Paramount's Blu-ray delivers high yield video and audio presentation. A few extras are included. Recommended.