If I were to sum up Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House in two words, they would be "mixed bag." There were so many aspects I liked, but there were also aspects that definitely bugged me. To start with the pros; most of the acting was excellent. The characters are played with such sincerity you easily feel the raw emotions of the core family dynamic. Most of the writing is great as well. the story is able to clearly show the root of each character's personality, and how the titular Hill House shaped them into the damaged adults they are. However, these compliments of the script and performances come with an asterisk. The acting takes a nosedive once we start spending time with the kids. Not all the kids had hollow performances, but most did. It doesn't help the children would often say things that would come out of an adult's mouth. The writing as well starts to phone it in toward the end. Things seem hastily wrapped up, and it almost comes across l...

A haunted house tale with a Western twist, this low budget scare machine delivers one creepy moment after another and is guaranteed to give even the most jaded of horror fans the heebie jeebies. At least that holds true for the first hour or so. Then this otherwise solid efforts slips a bit in the final act with scenes that rely too heavily on exposition. Still, the ride is a scary one, the acting solid and the Western setting a nice change of pace. There's enough here to like that I have to rate Dead Birds a Good, but I'm still not quite getting the title. Sure, there's a dead bird or two in it, but still.