10 Ways TV Shows Blew Your Mind (Without You Even Realising)

Mike Flanagan's Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House is an absolute masterclass of writing, acting, and direction, Flanagan demonstrating absolute control over every aspect of the production.

This is most palpably felt in the show's incredible sixth episode, "Two Storms," which despite being almost an hour in length is comprised of just five long takes, the longest clocking in at a whopping 17 minutes.

The entire season's production was centered around this episode, because with one of the single takes requiring a seamless transition between two locations across time, it was necessary for the two sets to be built with an adjoining hallway.

In a fascinating tweet thread, Flanagan detailed the astounding particulars of the production that surely everyone watching took for granted: the sets included hiding places for cast members to sneak around, doubles were used to "teleport" characters, and a secret elevator was built into the set for the cameraman to move between levels.

Additionally there were literally hundreds of precise lighting cues which required the cast and crew to have their timings down to the second or risk blowing the whole take.

The much-discussed 17-minute take was also almost ruined by a damaged camera dolly, which broke apart moments after a successful take was finally completed.

There's no denying the technical ingenuity of the episode as presented, but it's easy to underestimate just how much work went into staging, rehearsing, and shooting it.

Flanagan himself said, "Production was murder and almost killed us all, but it was the easiest edit of my life. Took 10 seconds."