Mike Flanagan, the director behind Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, has revealed that the series served as a personal coping mechanism following a suicide in his family. Speaking at the inaugural SXSW London festival, Flanagan explained that the storyline of Nell Crain's suicide in the show was partly drawn from his own experiences.
“There are images in that that are dreams and nightmares I had during that time,” Flanagan said. “That show is me trying to deal with grief and loss. I’m going to be dealing with it forever but having a creative outlet to try and pour that into has been incredibly therapeutic.” He added that he hopes the series offers comfort to others facing similar struggles.
Flanagan also credited his work on films like Doctor Sleep and Midnight Mass with helping him battle alcoholism, noting that the former aided him in getting sober. The director, known for his horror adaptations, discussed the genre's ongoing struggle for recognition, stating there is a “bias against horror” that resets whenever an award-winning project emerges.
“People outside the genre remain perpetually surprised that there is a really good story in here and it’s not just about the scares,” he said. Flanagan praised Stephen King, whose works he has frequently adapted, describing him not as a horror writer but as a “gooey-hearted, lovely humanist” who writes “emotional and empathetic stories about human nature.”
During the session, Flanagan also made a plea for the preservation of monologues in film, arguing against the trend of shortened attention spans. “Monologue is a dying art but there is nothing more impressive than watching an actor completely change reality with just words,” he said, noting that he often argues with studios to keep them intact.
Flanagan was speaking ahead of the premiere of his new film The Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleston, which closed SXSW London. The movie, based on a Stephen King novel, chronicles a man's life in reverse chronological order.
