Stephen King is well known as a horror author and his work is among the most ever adapted for TV or the silver screen. When King praises a horror series, this is a compliment indeed. After watching the Netflix Original horror series, the author took to Twitter to highly praise the show.
Mike Flanagan, the icon behind “The Haunting of Hill House” and the recent adaptation of King’s “Gerald’s Game” is also involved in the upcoming adaptation of “Doctor Sleep.” This can only be good for the sequel to “The Shining.”
Horror icon praises ‘The Haunting of Hill House’
Stephen King, 71, is a regular contributor on Twitter, whether as a political statement or to praise a show or book he has enjoyed.
After watching the Netflix horror series “The Haunting of Hill House,” he gave it a huge thumbs-up, saying the show is close to being a “work of genius.”
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodeled by Mike Flanagan. I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 17, 2018
In the tweet, King admitted that he doesn’t normally care for the kind of revisionism used for the series, but added that it is great and he believes the author of the original novel, Shirley Jackson, would approve of the series. Jackson published the original novel “The Haunting of Hill House" in 1959 and passed away in 1965.
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is a success
Judging by other reviews, it isn’t just King that finds the series to be a work of genius. The novel and Film follow the lives of the Crain family who moved into the house, planning on renovated it and selling it on. However, things go horribly wrong during the family’s stay in Hill House, leading to the five children growing up with various mental issues, including drug addiction, repressed trauma and other issues from their stay in the house.
Every Stephen King adaptation coming your way https://t.co/iOnTmSOL7c pic.twitter.com/jn0tQWYXW2
— House Of Nerd (@thehouseofnerd) October 19, 2018
The show flashes backwards and forwards, telling the story from the past and present and besides being a great horror series, it is also an excellent and gripping family drama. As noted by Lad Bible, Rotten Tomatoes has given it a 90 percent rating.
The horror series stars Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino (of “Gerald’s Game” fame), Mckenna Grace, Timothy Hutton and Victoria Pedretti. Mike Flanagan (“Gerald’s Game,” “Hush” and “Oculus”) wrote and directed all 10 of the episodes.
Mike Flanagan and ‘Doctor Sleep’
While “The Haunting of Hill House” was not one of King’s books, “Doctor Sleep” is. Flanagan is also involved in the film adaptation of that sequel to the horror novel and film “The Shining.” Glide Magazine is asking whether Flanagan can meet the standards of both King and Stanley Kubrick, the legendary filmmaker responsible for “The Shining.”
AMC is running a bunch of movies based on my stuff October 20th. Some of them are actually quite good.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 16, 2018
Among the many and various adaptations of King’s work over the years, some have been excellent, while others, not so much.
The magazine points out how picky King is over adaptations and he especially didn’t like Kubrick’s work on “The Shining.”
“Doctor Sleep” involves an adult Danny Torrance of “redrum” fame, now in his forties and trying to recover from his terrifying experience in the Overlook Hotel. At first, Danny uses alcohol to drown the “shining,” but ends up putting it to good use, both in a hospice and to help a young girl with the same talent.
Judging by Flanagan’s work on both “The Haunting of Hill House” and King’s “Gerald’s Game,” fans probably don’t have to worry too much as to Flanagan’s interpretation of “Doctor Sleep.”