Samara

Despite having so much potential and having an amazing cult classic like "The Craft" to build off of, this movie missed the mark for the most part. It had a good premise, especially embracing the power of women and showing how Paganism and Wicca are not all about evilness or power-hungry practitioners, but rather than embrace this idea fully, the director chose to rely too heavily on absurd boasts of power and CGI that was, for the most party rather cheesy. The first half of the movie was great and really embraced the concept of sisterhood and unity. However, the climax was seriously lacking and the last half felt extremely rushed and throw together. The twist was not really all that intriguing and left a lot to be desired and the whole "Legacy" aspect was lost until quite literally the very end. I would give this two stars but for the fact that I greatly appreciated the inclusion of a transgender actress and some other key socially aware topics. The caring itself was good and I enjoyed a lot of different things about this. I just feel it missed it's mark far too much.

Though it is very different than Hill House, Bly Manor is beautifully tragic and chilling. It was well worth the wait and though some things could have been more thought out and refined, I think overall the story was as beautiful as it was tragic.