The eighty-seventh TV show: #139 Whistle and I'll Come for You
Regardless of the reasons, it's fair to say that our sense of pacing for TV has changed over time. While this is often seen as something that is seen in the length of shots, it's also a structural thing. In a horror story like this, we want to get to the mystery sooner - not fully, but with some hints and pointers. Alternatively, having some smaller thing go on at the side helps. The Tractate Middoth showed how things go if that doesn't work - a story that feels like it cuts off after the second act. Here, the first act establishing. normality drags a bit and, for all that has it happen naturally, leaves it a bit too long to establish something is going on. It takes off once the whistle is found, but doesn't feel like it builds up any tension to get there.
Once you realise that something is going on, it does start to increase it, while still keeping the whole thing small. There's something weird going on, but the show never really focuses on it until the end, letting dreams and short odd appearances do the work. It's more effective, but never really reaches beyond sheets dangling in the air, and it feels like it could have done it better.