5 One-Shot Scenes, Zero Errors in 50 Minutes: How This Iconic TV Episode Achieved a Unique Feat in 8 Years

Few horror series have impacted us like The Haunting of Hill House did. To this day, it still haunts those who haven’t gotten over its narrative – and its cinematic feats.

Indeed, with “The Two Storms,” the sixth episode of his chilling and touching work, Mike Flanagan pushed the boundaries of television staging. Behind the illusion of a single continuous shot were five massive takes, a month of rehearsals, and a system where any mistake meant starting over. Here, both aficionados and newcomers come together: the flow is so seamless that everyone gets swept away, possibly overlooking the technique.

Warning, this article discusses some plot elements of “The Haunting of Hill House.”

Loosely based on Shirley Jackson’s novel, The Haunting of Hill House follows the five Crain children, haunted into adulthood by their eerie experiences in a mysterious mansion during their childhood. Released on Netflix on October 12, 2018, the series created by Mike Flanagan skillfully interweaves timelines to show how past traumas continue to consume its characters.

This narrative architecture reaches its peak in the sixth episode, titled “Two Storms.” This chapter is often mentioned as one of the most impactful of the series, as much for its emotional depth as for its impressive staging.

Two Storms and Two Eras Connected by the Camera

In the present, the Crain family members gather in Shirley’s funeral home on the eve of Nell’s funeral. A storm rages outside as accusations, secrets, and resentments burst forth inside.

This painful night mirrors another storm that occurred years earlier at Hill House. The viewer transitions from the present to the past, from the Crain children to their adult selves, and from the funeral home to the mansion without the camera seeming to ever stop moving.

To make these transitions possible, the two main sets were specifically designed for this episode. Hill House and Shirley’s funeral home were constructed on adjacent stages, connected by a real corridor. As Mike Flanagan revealed, Timothy Hutton, who plays the older Hugh Crain, was thus able to physically exit one set and enter another during the same take.

The shifts in time also relied on meticulously choreographed movements. As the camera made a 360-degree turn around Hugh, the younger actors playing the Crain children discreetly replaced the adult actors, who then had to return to their positions moments later.

Five Shots for Nearly 51 Minutes

Contrary to what its incredible fluidity might suggest, “The Two Storms” was not filmed in one take. Out of the episode’s 53 minutes and 38 seconds, about 51 minutes are divided among just five long takes: three in the funeral home and two at Hill House.

The first lasts 14 minutes and 19 seconds, the second 7 minutes and 25 seconds, the third reaches 17 minutes and 19 seconds, while the last two extend for 6 minutes and 13 seconds and 5 minutes and 31 seconds, respectively.

This concept was part of Mike Flanagan’s very first pitch for the project. Therefore, preparation was integrated into the series’ conception from the start. The sets included hidden passages for technicians, designated spots for equipment, and a specially made elevator to allow the camera operator to change floors mid-take.

Normal production was halted, and rehearsals started on March 6, 2018, with stand-ins. The actors joined on March 26, before shooting began on April 6. For nearly a month, dialogues, movements, lighting changes, and camera maneuvers were practiced like a huge stage play.

One Mistake and It Was All Over

The actors had to remember very long pages of dialogue and hit their marks at the right moment, allow the camera to pass, disappear from the frame, or replace another version of their character within seconds. Simultaneously, the technical team managed hundreds of lighting changes, artificial rain, lightning, ghostly appearances, and equipment movements.

In the first shot, a stand-in representing Nell had to be quietly removed from the coffin to allow the young Violet McGraw to slip in unnoticed. In another sequence, Carla Gugino had to sprint through crew-only passages to create the illusion that Olivia was teleporting around the house.

The third shot, lasting over 17 minutes, almost didn’t get completed. The mechanism of the dolly carrying the camera was nearly worn out from moving over the carpet. The team likely had only one more attempt: it was successful, and the transmission chain broke immediately after the take.

Each segment thus became a collective performance where a forgotten line, a misstep, a visible shadow, or a prematurely triggered effect could nullify minutes of effort. After this gargantuan preparation, Mike Flanagan joked about the simplicity of the editing, which took him merely about ten seconds.

A Feat That Is More Than Just a Stylistic Exercise

Yet, the success of “The Two Storms” rests not only on its technical virtuosity. By almost never cutting, the camera traps the Crains in their anguish and compels the viewer to remain amid their quarrels. Like the characters, the viewer cannot escape either the mourning or the ghosts that continue to move around them.

The seamless transition between the two eras also shows that, for this family, the past has never truly ended. The children and adults appear to share the same space, as if the walls of Hill House had abolished time. Other series have since attempted the long-take experience, but few have managed to harness such a feat so directly in service of their characters, with emotion, passion, and chills.

The episode “The Two Storms,” as well as the ten episodes of The Haunting of Hill House, is currently a must-watch on Netflix.