The Haunting of Hill House Fans Need to Watch This AppleTV+ Masterpiece

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In 2018, Mike Flanagan released The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. The story centers on the five Crain siblings, who experienced a terrifying childhood when their parents brought them to Hill House with plans to fix it up and sell it. However, the family became trapped and tormented by the house’s supernatural forces. Years later, now adults, the siblings return to Hill House and are forced to confront their traumatic past, leading to another harrowing experience.

Critics loved The Haunting of Hill House because it was genuinely frightening, explored complex themes of loss and family issues, and was beautifully made, especially with its long, unbroken shots that made you feel like you were in the house. Because of this, fans of the show might enjoy a lesser-known gem available on AppleTV+, which offers a similar experience if you broaden your search beyond Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series.

AppleTV+’s Often-Overlooked Gem Kept Critics Invested For Four Seasons

AppleTV+ has quickly become known for its excellent shows and movies. Popular series like Severance, Ted Lasso, and The Morning Show have drawn a lot of attention, and recent films such as F1, The Gorge, and The Lost Bus were also well-received. However, some great shows on the platform don’t get the recognition they deserve, like Servant, which originally aired in 2019. This psychological thriller, produced by M. Night Shyamalan, centers on a couple, Dorothy and Sean, who are grieving the loss of their infant son, Jericho.

After Dorothy falls into a deep depression, they seek help from Natalie, a therapist who isn’t officially licensed. Natalie suggests a unique approach: caring for a realistic reborn doll to help Dorothy cope. This allows Dorothy and her partner to return to work, and they hire Leanne as a nanny for the doll, named Jericho, whom Dorothy increasingly treats as a real baby. With Leanne’s arrival, strange things start happening. Sean finds he can’t control the house alarm, loses his ability to taste, mysteriously gets splinters, and begins to suspect that Jericho isn’t just a doll anymore – he seems to be alive.

Sean quickly discovers that Leanne isn’t being truthful about who she is. At the same time, Dorothy is losing touch with reality. Sean, aided by Dorothy’s brother Julian, tries to keep Dorothy grounded, but bizarre events leave the audience wondering if what they’re seeing is real or if something supernatural is happening. Servant is a deeply unsettling story about grief, fear, and the challenges after childbirth, and M. Night Shyamalan builds suspense and a sense of confinement to create a truly frightening experience.

Maintaining a consistently compelling story for four seasons is challenging, but the 40-episode format actually benefits Servant. The show keeps viewers guessing, and combined with its unique camera angles, it effectively puts them right in the middle of the unsettling and traumatic experience alongside Sean and Dorothy. Praised for its strong acting, deliberately paced plot, and deep exploration of its characters’ psychology, the series has earned accolades from Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro, making it a great choice for fans of The Haunting of Hill House.

Why The Haunting of Hill House Fans Will Love Servant

Both Servant and The Haunting of Hill House deeply explore themes of trauma, grief, and denial. The children in The Haunting of Hill House, like Dorothy in Servant, struggle to come to terms with loss – Dorothy can’t accept Jericho’s death, and Stephen refuses to acknowledge the truth about Hill House. Both Dorothy and Olivia Crain are driven by a strong need to protect their children, while Sean and Hugh both fall short in protecting their families. Throughout each series, we learn more about what’s causing the characters’ pain, and the complicated relationships within their families take center stage.

Both the Bent-Neck Lady and the character Leanne share a common thread – they are both disturbed individuals with supernatural powers. What truly stands out in The Haunting of Hill House is its consistently unsettling and creepy atmosphere. While the show is definitely frightening, it’s the pervasive sense of dread that lingers throughout. Servant achieves a similar effect, and both series cleverly use their house settings to amplify this feeling. Although Hill House and the Turners’ brownstone are quite different, the enclosed locations make the audience feel as trapped and confined as the characters who live there.

Both The Haunting of Hill House and Servant excel at building suspense through their filmmaking style. Hill House uses extended shots and unique camera angles to create a deeply emotional experience, and Servant employs similar techniques – like slow camera movements and close-ups – to amplify the tension within the Turner family’s home. If you appreciated how The Haunting of Hill House relied more on atmosphere than jump scares, you’ll likely enjoy Servant’s consistently unsettling mood.

Stephen King really enjoyed the AppleTV+ series, describing it as both scary and captivating. He also highly recommended The Haunting of Hill House, calling it nearly a masterpiece. Both shows have deservedly received great reviews, and anyone who liked Hill House will likely appreciate Servant as well.

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2026-04-09 03:37