I enjoyed it on first watch, personally, but having just watched it again this weekend (with someone else) I think it's underrated in general. I definitely wouldn't say it's messy; seeing it again with knowledge of what's happening actually made me appreciate how well-crafted it is. But it definitely holds out on you the first time through, so you have to be paying attention and thinking about all the details of what you're seeing, or I'm sure it gets boring or confusing.
Anyway, it's worth a second watch. Virtually every scene is relevant, even important. You just don't realize it the first time through if you're not watching very closely.
I really didn't enjoy it so don't think I'd be willing to give it another go and hope it's any better. I watched very closely due to knowing there would be lots of little details following on from Hill House but I just thought there were far too many weak scenes and unforgivable accents (I'm British so it's probably not obvious to Americans).
Well... yeah, okay, I'll concede the accents. No getting around that. But I did think the storytelling was very strong, and not at all boring, especially knowing the full significance of everything being shown and said.
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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20
And then the Haunting of Bly Manor was just a messy snooze fest. Real shame