The Psychological Horror: The Haunting of Hill House & Mother! Uniting the Universe & Humanity?

To state that two pieces of filmmaking can connect God, Mother Nature, Humanity, and the energy of those who’ve passed and reside in the realms of the unknown, could be a bit of a stretch, but that’s the power of the psychological thriller and horror genre. If you do it right and utilize every aspect of filmmaking and storytelling, through mise-en-scene, symbolism and representation of the character, the editing, choice of angle in camera work, the screenwriting, direction, and truly showing how the actor reacts to a situation or what is going on in their minds compared to telling it to the audience to deliver a point — no matter how poignant or opinionated, can result in quite the compelling revelation for those viewing.

The psychological thriller and horror are some of the best ways to tell a story with such an influential depth and meaning to get audiences thinking, and overall, is one of the best genres to employ all of the possibilities in the art of storytelling and creating perspective on situations.

The Haunting of Hill House did a brilliant job of bringing awareness to mental illness within a toxic family situation, where their collective past impacted them differently and all the while affected their future. While following these family members, the utilization of non-linear storytelling by flipping from the past to the present, and back again, and cutting on relevant imagery while still telling the story to make a seamless transition — helped us to know that each of these characters was suppressing the experiences of the unknown that they had no logical answer for, with logic — therefore trying to be normal compared being told that what they were “imagining” constituted them as “crazy.” This show did a great job of showing that compared to having the characters tell us, more often than not, depending on what each character individually experienced. This caused a sense of deep relatability amongst audiences everywhere and how our society today truly shapes us into not being able to be who we truly are in fear of being scrutinized for being weird — therefore causing us to constantly live inside our minds. With this show and its overarching meaning resonating with viewers around the world, it’s no surprise it was considered a commercial success. Its acceptance among audiences, beyond the sensational filmmaking and use of genre though, is largely in part due to the fact that without all of the symbolism and incorporating the technical making of the show to represent the psyche, The Haunting of Hill House was still entertaining and no matter where it went, you could still understand the story.

This is why, those who loved the deeper medium of storytelling that this show was, and its use of symbolism and overall use and incorporation of filmmaking, would deeply appreciate Darren Aronofsky’s 2017 film, Mother! — especially because the main characters within each piece experienced the same kind of relatable numbness and loneliness within today’s society, yet both were accepted very differently between audiences.

Both in the lens of critics and general audiences, Mother! Was received relatively poorly with ratings of 68% (film critics) and 51% (general audience) fresh via Rotten Tomatoes. This is due to the fact that, as a psychological thriller, the story was largely told through the symbolism of what the characters and mise-en-scene of the film represented. Throughout the entire film, no part or point of the story was ever blatantly given to the audience — therefore demanding the need for their undivided attention and critical and deeper thinking caps on at all times to analyze every moment to understand the meaning of what is really going on. In contrast to The Haunting of Hill House which was more widely accepted and praised because it was also entertaining and general audiences were able to follow the story beyond the symbology and use of the genre, while still getting a scare or two. Yet, those who wanted to look beyond what was given to them and analyze the film in a deeper capacity still could — because, within every frame, there were always very specific choices made to enhance the story and meaning behind each scene. It’s for these distinct reasons — the conscientious, artistic, and detailed approach to the filmmaking, the symbolism of the characters, how they reacted, and the personal meaning behind their choices, as well as the over-arching meaning, throughlines, and at the same time, contradictions represented in each piece, that those who appreciated The Haunting of Hill House, should watch Mother! — as it is the next level of film analysis.

The medium of art that filmmaking is, has an all-encompassing ability to make us think and feel beyond our hearts and minds. With every aspect built into this artform, watching a movie can take us to the depths of our own souls and then expand beyond our existence and place in this world and Universe. Especially within the psychological horror or thriller genre, you have the opportunity to make in-depth points about the human psyche, or honestly, anything regarding the higher meaning of any experience or what so many of us go through without mentioning, and having the chance to create a world completely of that feeling.

In The Haunting of Hill House, the constant feeling of anxiety, internal and external conflict, darkness, complete numbness, pain, confusion, anger — you name it, was represented in the filmmaking. Through its mise-en-scene — like the statues lurking in every dark corner representing the constant fear surrounding them as well as the the the souls trapped there, watching, unfeeling, and unable to leave. This matches the feeling and tone of the house. There were never truly many warm moments or memories, but when there were, the color temperature of the scenes were displayed in warm and inviting tones filled with love, then the rest of the show, was often in shades of blue, characters were often traipsing amongst the shadows or hiding in the darkness — signifying that they never were truly able to feel themselves or feel safe in their own skin. The house itself really represents the mind, and the ghosts inside are the secrets of the characters — their guilt, the inability to move past the pain, confusion, and sadness from their past, and the walls of the house represent those that they build up against others in their present-day lives as a defense mechanism from having to confront those fears and feel the pain they’ve been suppressing.

In addition to the brief examples of mise-en-scene and lighting, another marvelous approach to telling this story is through non-linear storytelling and editing. The cool tones in the family’s present-day life reflect their current state of happiness by concealing their emotions, that’s why, when things get rough or they feel familiar, the show cuts back to that character’s past, explaining why they may feel the way they feel, why they react the way they do to a certain situation in the present, or how what they went through influences the way they live now. For example, after Nell dies and the family congregates in the room around her coffin — they start fighting. There’s a storm outside. Once Shirley walks away because she doesn’t want to admit she might be wrong, she goes to Nel’s body to find buttons on her eyes. She yells at the family asking who did that to Nel, they start figuring out who to blame, and then the lights go out. Then, when Hugh, the dad, stays by Nel’s Coffin, he sees Nel standing over in the hallway with her broken neck and she says, “daddy.” He goes after her, and the show cuts to the past when there is a storm at Hill House and the kids, him, and Liv meet up in the foyer after the chandelier falls. Then, all of a sudden, Nell is gone. Time passes and Hugh finds her again, in the middle of the foyer, breathing heavily in the dark where she says “I was screaming and yelling for you guys, but you couldn’t hear me or see me.” Then, it cuts back to the present, the family fights again, and Steven tells his dad, “that the wrong parent died.” At this moment, Nel’s coffin and corpse drop to the ground. The family then works together to pull up her body, then they leave without saying sorry. All the while Nel as a ghost with her broken neck stands next to her corpse as her family, again trying so hard to get their attention to let them know she’s there, yet they don’t hear her or try to listen.

In Mother! the movie thrives in showing and not telling — just as they largely did in The Haunting of Hill House. In Mother! though, dialogue is brief and fleeting, and most of the story is told through filmmaking as we mentioned. What I mean by this is that every character and thing you see on screen is a symbol. In short, Mother! is about the relationship between God and Mother Nature, Mother Nature rebuilding the house they live in to symbolize Heaven, Earth, and Hell, and all the while God is working on creating his new masterpiece after, you know, that asteroid came and set his first go at it with the dinosaurs on fire — which ends up bringing Adam and Eve to their house in the middle of nowhere, overstaying their welcome, and then the rest of humanity following in their footsteps — completely destroying and disrespecting the house in which they are being sheltered in. God, all the while, is loving all of the attention, and Mother Nature is set to the wayside, and all of her hard work rebuilding this house is completely demolished. Although that is a very brief and especially undetailed explanation of what this story is about, the movie never, not even once, blatantly expresses any of this. Not through dialogue, not through different pictures trying to give the audience obvious hints -just through symbolism.

In an attempt to not give too much away so you can discover these things on your own when you watch the film, I’ll explain how the storyline unfolds and what it symbolizes within the opening scene. The movie starts with a pair of woman’s eyes closing in a fire. This represents the first Earth or “House” that the first Mother Nature built in God’s first attempt of creating a life beyond what she made on Earth. Then, the woman’s eyes close — signifying her death, or the Earth starting on fire after the asteroid hits and an ice age covers the planet. It cuts to a charred house — a burnt and damaged Earth, that repairs itself to a bare and neutral-colored house as we travel through it, up the stairs, and into Heaven — where a blonde-haired, woman wearing all-natural clothes, no bra, and not a stitch of makeup wakes up to the question, “baby.” This signifies the rebirth of Mother Nature and the “Home” she would create for whatever narrative God was to write next.

Although there is such a contrast in the approach to filmmaking in both The Haunting of Hill House and Mother!, so much of the storytelling, or depth of the storytelling is done and expanded in such a beautiful way by doing so. The details of filmmaking might be sort of an afterthought in the Netflix series given the story is very much backed up by the dialogue but in Mother!, paying attention to everything happening really is the only choice you have, because nothing is handed to the audience — which is why, if you appreciate the depth of storytelling in showing and not telling — you’ll love the film.

The aspect of filmmaking doesn’t end in just the world around the characters, but in the characters themselves and how they view the world. Nell from The Haunting of Hill House and Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Mother!, whose character is named, “Mother,” although it is never actually mentioned, go through very similar experiences as characters and how the symbology and psychology behind how they react and what they say — depict the world they’re living in through their eyes. I don’t know about you, but I find that absolutely extraordinary and special.

In Hill House, Nell is the glue that holds the family together. She has the biggest heart and sees the good in them all when they can’t even see the good within themselves. Mother is often the same, trying to give humanity the benefit of the doubt and be polite as they invite themselves into her home and slowly destroy it. When it comes to anxiety and the pain that haunted both Nell and Luke in Hill House since they were children, they never really were able to heal, and no one besides one another, as they were twins, could understand that. They both know that what they saw in terms of spirits and ghosts was real, even though they were told by their parents and siblings that they weren’t real and putting a negative connotation around just imagining them — sending them out into the world thinking there was something wrong with them. Their mental state was heightened with the filmmaking, in respect to the tall man in the bowler hat always following Luke when he started to feel scared, and the Bent-Neck-Lady when Nell was in that same state. The constant lurking of these figures that have always haunted them and them getting closer and closer as the series goes on goes to show the building of Nell and Luke’s fear as they were feeling and discovering it themselves. Then, as they feel the presence of these fears, when they aren’t actually there, yet they are surrounded in shadow and unable to see creates heightening anxiety. Then, the feeling of loneliness and not being heard is only intensified when they are both with their family members, trying to express their sadness and how they want to heal, but their siblings only ever end up focusing on themselves and then flipping the script and blaming Nell, Luke, or another sibling or their dad for what’s going wrong in the current moment. After she dies, she tries to visit her siblings, get in touch with them, and still practically screaming to be heard, Nell still only wishes she could tell them that what really matters is being kind to and trying to understand one another. This is also the case with Mother.

In this movie where every moment consists of a very specific choice, Mother!, relates especially to Nell and luke in a variety of ways. All three of them, Mother, Luke, and Nell, want to get the most attention from the ones that they love the most, but at the same time, the ones that would and will never give the same amount of effort, love, or time for them. This is the rest of the family to Nell and Luke and then to Mother, it was “Him,” her husband — God. Luke and Nell are considered mentally ill, unstable, or incapable of change, and in contrast, God brings all of these unwelcomed guests into his and Mother’s home with open arms because of the attention they give him, while to her, they are taking away from their relationship, or really, their partnership in building this house, or Earth, together. Thus, the toxic relationship between family members and lovers is emulated within both of these pieces. Mother begs God to ask Adam and Eve to leave so she can work on the house (or you know, doing her thing and bringing Earth to life), all the while biding for his attention. He ignores her wishes because they “inspire him.” At the same time, when Nell and Luke’s family continue to blame and shame them for who they are and what pain they hold inside, they turn to other things to create a sort of relief from what they feel. For Nell, it’s antidepressants. For Luke, it’s heroin. So when God continually welcomes guests into their home against Mother’s wishes, and they persist in destroying all of the hard work she’s done on the house, she starts to feel ill. This leads her to touch the walls of the house, and feel the house’s heart shrink, and sees it starting to turn black. This is symbolic of pollution and wear and tear on the Earth. Therefore, Mother drinks this yellow, powdered drink that I like to think of as a dose of “sunshine,” or “happiness” — like putting on a happy face to try and make the pain she really feels to make herself and others feel better.

Then, along the same lines, as Nell literally calls out for help, and the fact that Luke constantly has to go back to rehab after developing a heroin addiction in the first place, their family ignores the initial signs, causing the addiction and the pain to keep getting worse and worse, and beginning to boil over — until Nel goes back to the house after getting off of her antidepressants and wanting to heal — she ends up dying because she gets wrapped up in what she wishes her life were life compared to actually confronting the fears once she’s back there. Mother continually watches as her house crumbles, her heart grows smaller and more black, the furnace in the basement (symbolizing Hell) getting hotter and louder, the house darker, red and flaming, broken, tainted, and filled with sadness compared to its natural colors of once before. She also runs out of yellow powder, or the ability to be able to hide or cope with her pain anymore — so therefore she tries to fight back and tells everyone to leave. In retaliation, they all, by the hundreds, start to beat her up. In her attempt to fight back and stand up for herself as her pain anger start to boil over- she still says very few words.

In both of these works, really, not many words are ever spoken to tell the audience how these characters are truly feeling. It’s done in color. It’s done in rain. It’s done in slow suspense — a glance and their facial expressions. These stories are truly shown in their most monumental form — through how the characters react and live in these worlds. Nell, Luke, and Mother are going through the same absolutely relatable aspect of life of not being heard and feeling like nobody cares, and therefore, plummeting down into a spiral of pain, loneliness, depression, and overall, destruction of who we truly are through our own minds and our humanity. Yet, despite how similar and relatable these characters are, Mother!, was still so poorly received.

Both The Haunting of Hill House and Mother!, share a deep sense of humanity even though the subject matter of each piece is in contrast to one another in terms of depicting the relationship between God, Mother Nature, humanity, the universe, and the energy that is never created nor destroyed in spirits and ghosts. The connections, meanings, and throughlines of these topics between both works are most importantly, why I feel those who loved the Netflix Series would love Mother! If God made us in His image, then that of humanity is built off of both Him and Mother Nature when you think about it. Our soul is the energy coming from the universe, our individuality from God, and our bodies from Mother Nature and Earth. Our bones are the rocks and trees. The grass is our skin. The water our blood and the soul our muscles. We are created in their likeness, and that likeness includes their humanity. They do feel pain, remorse, happiness, sadness. They feel stuck and make mistakes — which is deeply reflected in both films in humanity, those above, and those below.

Through the different walls and coping mechanisms, the Crains either denied their flaws or tried to fix them with logic, different identities through drugs, or ideas, in order to be loved by their family. God loved the attention and praise he got from humanity, and all the while, Mother was broken from the lack of attention she got from God and from humanity physically and mentally taking her for granted. Then, these spirits left behind at Hill House, are wishes, secrets, regrets as described by Steven Crain to be symbolic of what they mean in our minds and how they haunt us, but in reality, ghosts and energies beyond what we see and what we know, are the most honest versions of human-kind through being exactly who they are as they understand what life is and was, and have essentially “woken-up” to understand that it’s a beautiful thing, where our minds as humans and the influence from society ane what we suppress for love, attention, fame money, or to appear normal, are really the root cause of any evil that truly exists.

The psychology and inner philosophy in finding out how you truly feel in watching these stories, their meanings, comparing and tying them together, and the challenge of it all through symbolism and depth, will forever take your viewing experience as an analytical audience member to a whole new level. Considering God, Heaven, Mother Nature, Earth, the universe, and everything in between makes watching these two pieces side by side a ladder of revelation that leads to a deeper understanding of the humanity within us, have you asking yourself and the universe a few different questions you didn’t even know you had, or maybe even have you realize how you truly feel about a certain subject matter. So please, if you enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House and its all-encompassing approach to filmmaking to truly bring the story to life, then you’ll love Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!.

By Mary Strause