From director Mike Flanagan, the 10-episode supernatural drama series The Haunting of Hill House (available to stream on Netflix) is a modern reimagining of the acclaimed Shirley Jackson novel of the same name. As the story weaves an unsettling tale that focuses on five siblings who grew up in the most famous haunted house in America, the audience gets to see how that experience affects them now as adults when they’re reunited by the suicide of their youngest sister. That tragedy forces them to finally confront the ghosts of their past, but when it comes to Hill House, that could also mean some real ghosts are lurking in the shadows.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, done while he was on a break from shooting The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, filmmaker Mike Flanagan talked about why he was drawn to the material in The Haunting of Hill House, rearranging the pieces of the story to make something new, how directing all 10 episodes was the hardest thing he’s ever done, when he realized that he was actually pulling off what he had hoped to achieve, and balancing serious real-life issues with the supernatural horror of it all. He also talked about what drew him to Doctor Sleep, why he’ll turn off the internet for two weeks when the movie comes out, and the film’s rating.

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Image via Netflix

Collider: I’ve watched all 10 episodes of this and sincerely have to congratulate you on what I think is really, truly a masterpiece of storytelling. Thank you for that!

MIKE FLANAGAN: Oh, thank you for that. That makes my day. Thank you!

What made you want to tackle this material, specifically? What it the potential for the horror that was inherent in the story, or was it more the complex family drama that had the horror woven into it?

FLANAGAN: Well, I’m always drawn to the drama first. A story is really only interesting to me, if you can remove all of the genre moments and remove the supernatural element, and it still works. Then, I’m interested. This one, in particular, I worshipped when I was a kid. I also adore the Robert Wise film, which is the ‘63 adaptation. I think that is a near perfect adaptation of this material. And so, when they approached me about this and said, “We want to make a series based on The Haunting of Hill House,” my first question was, “How?” It fits so perfectly into a feature film format. There isn’t enough for a whole season of television. Not as it is. You’re stepping into Robert Wise’s shadow, and you’re not gonna do that material better than he did it. So, how are you to do this? The answer for me was doing a reverent remix that would dig out the characters, the theme, the moments, the lines of dialogue or prose from the book, and just rearrange them all to see if we could make something new. I’m always drawn toward family drama, and dysfunctional family stories. It speaks to me, in a really profound way, and I think there’s so much to explore within it. The whole thing just started to get pulled in that direction, once we opened up the source material.

Was it your idea to do 10 episodes, or was that the number that you had been given to explore this with? And were you always going to direct all of them?

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Image via Netflix

FLANAGAN: Well, that was quite a discussion. Ten always felt right. I thought you could do a really balanced story in 10 chapters. From the beginning, I wanted to direct all of them. It was a big conversation about whether or not that was a good idea, and I went back and forth on that. Ultimately, I did it, and it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. I don’t know that I could ever do it again. It’s brutal. Now, I look at it, and I can see why people come in and do a couple of episodes. That makes sense. But this story, in particular, touches on a lot that’s very personal to me. I really wanted, for this one, to be at the helm for all of it.

How did you approach the production of this? Did you shoot it all at once, as if you were shooting a movie?

FLANAGAN: We shot it like we were doing a 10-hour movie. We cross-boarded it like a movie. We would do blocks of three episodes at a time, all cross-boarded around each other. So, it felt like we were making five movies, back to back. It was exhausting. It was impossible to stay ahead of it all.

During any shoot, there are countless unexpected things that happen and you have to figure out how to deal with all of it, as it comes up. So, as you were prepping this, shooting this, and then going through post on this, what were you most nervous about, along the way, and when did you realize that you had actually achieved what you’d hoped for?

FLANAGAN: I think I was most nervous about maintaining tension, over such a long period of time. That was something that was all new territory for me. And I think I really started to feel like we hit our stride and that it was going to work when we shot Episode 6, which was the hardest episode of the series, by a mile. When I got to sit back and watch that episode start to come to life, that was the first time I really felt like, “We’re gonna be okay. We’re doing something really cool here.” You’re always second guessing yourself.

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Image via Netflix

As if this wasn’t a challenging and daunting enough of a project to tackle, you’re taking on Doctor Sleep next, which seems even crazier. What made you want to tackle the sequel to The Shining?

FLANAGAN: It’s out of nothing but love for the Kubrick family and for the original novel. When I read Doctor Sleep, when it was first published, I was so taken with getting to spend time with Danny Torrance again. It touches on themes that are the most attractive to me, which are childhood trauma leading into adulthood, addiction, the breakdown of a family, and the after effects, decades later. It really speaks to a lot of my favorite stuff, so I was really, really fascinated by the possibility of being able to play in that world. It’s one of the most intimidating projects that I’ve ever done though, just because we’re standing in the shadow of Stanley Kubrick, which could have been Jesus. That’s a daunting thing. But the only way to get through it is to say, “I’m not Kubrick. I’m never gonna be, and I’m not trying to be.” I’m gonna make my movie and see how people feel. I’ll just turn off the internet for two weeks, when the movie comes out, and everything will be fine.

When and where are you shooting that?

FLANAGAN: I’m shooting it right now. I’m in Atlanta, and this is my first day off, or my only day off. We just finished our first week of shooting. (This interview took place on September 30th.)

Is it safe to assume that the film will be rated R?

FLANAGAN: Yes, it’s very safe to assume that.

With Hill House, you tackle some real issues, like mental illness and addiction, that are not easy subjects to explore. Did it ever feel like something of a high-wire balancing act to balance the scares with those serious real-life issues?

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Image via Netflix

FLANAGAN: Yes, but what makes the scariest work is when you can ground it in the world. If you’re grounded in real-life horror, in the darkness that we all really have to deal with, then the genre, as an allegory, really starts to work. It’s a very difficult balance to strike, from a writing perspective, for sure. The two feed off of each other. The scares only work, if you care for the characters. The heavier ideas that I wanted to talk about in the show, we get this chance to deal with them, allegorically and metaphorically, because it’s a genre show. We get to deal with real, authentic, dark human stuff, but we get a pass and we get to deal with it in different ways because it’s a genre show, at the same time. It’s a fantastic opportunity to give what I love the most about the genre, a chance to really look at the real darkness that we all have, in a safe and metaphorical space.

However challenging this was for you, it truly is a masterpiece of storytelling. It’s amazing that you pulled it all off!

FLANAGAN: Thank you so much for saying that. It means the world to me. I appreciate that so much.

The Haunting of Hill House is available to stream at Netflix on October 12th.

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