How Netflix's 'The Haunting of Hill House' pulled off the show's best episode, which included '18-page scenes without any cuts'

Travis Clark

Oct 23, 2018, 02:23 IST

Netflix

A new Netflix featurette goes behind the scenes of episode six of Netflix's new horror series, "The Haunting of Hill House."
Writer and director Mike Flanagan said that the episode's camera choreography had to be incorporated into the script because it had "18-page scenes without any cuts."
Flanagan said that one of the show's main sets was constructed with the episode in mind.

Netflix's new horror TV series, "The Haunting of Hill House," has quickly grown in popularity, and is one of Netflix's best-reviewed shows. But one episode stands out in particular for its immersive long takes.

Episode six of "The Haunting of Hill House" features a series of one-shot takes, the longest being 17 minutes, as the episode flashes between past and present. A new Netflix featurette goes behind the scenes of the episode with the cast and crew.

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When writing the script, writer-director Mike Flanagan said that he realized "a lot of the camera choreography needed to be incorporated into the draft itself, because we were doing 18-page scenes without any cuts."

Flanagan said that he "wanted an episode that appeared to take place in real time in one single shot."

"It turned into a challenge unlike anything else I've ever had in a production," he continued. "The set actually had to be constructed with this episode in mind because we knew we had certain shots that would require us to walk around the house in its entirety."

Carla Gugino, who plays the show's troubled mother Olivia Crain, said, "Everyone has to be absolutely in sync with each other and if one thing is off, the take is gone."

Watch the full video below: