The Haunting Of Bly Manor: 5 Ups & 4 Downs Review

It's time to look at some elements of Bly Manor that don't work so well, starting with the performances. It's not to say that the acting here is bad, it isn't, but the actors, some of whom are here from Flanagan's previous ghost story, The Haunting Of Hill House (ET's Henry Thomas and Victoria Pendretti), clearly struggle with some elements.

Whereas Hill House was written and adapted by an American, starring American actors, Bly Manor is a very British affair, with Dani the au pair as the only principle cast member who is actually written as American. Each actor engages with the characterisation well and the emotional weight is easily conveyed here, yet the dialogue coach, if there even was such a thing, needs some clear lessons on accents.

Carla Gugino, as an older Jamie, while nailing the balanced timbre of middle English, inexplicably switches from southern, to Liverpudlian, Brummie, Yorkshire and back again multiple times in a sentence. Thomas doesn't fair too well either, often coming across like a Prince Charles impersonator rather than an eminent barrister.

The British cast do well to carry the rest then and prevent the whole series from descending into something more farcical, with T'Nia Miller and Rahul Kohli doing most of the heavy lifting. A nod has to go to the child actors who, despite reading from a script that is awkwardly anachronistic at times, are convincing and occasionally brilliant, given the gravitas of the roles.