Mike Flanagan has done it again with The Midnight Club, his Netflix horror series based on the 1994 YA novel by Christopher Pike. The show is just as sweet, emotional, and of course, full of terror as his previous work, and fans who have watched The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass can see some common thread throughout all four series.
Whether Flanagan's characters are having deep talks, running from mysterious ghosts in the hallways of their homes, or dealing with grief, fans can spot some Flanagan trademarks in the emotionally affecting The Midnight Club.
Smart Discussions Of Life, Death And Faith
One of Mike Flangan's trademarks is definitely having his characters have conversations about big, important topics, like life and death. Sometimes the characters are religious, but other times, they simply have faith that things will work out or they are wondering if they should dare to hope. Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass includes a long scene between Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) and Erin Greene (Kate Siegal), who were once romantically involved and who are clearly still in love. The two characters discuss their vision of what happens to people when they die, and the result is a beautiful, haunting and smart scene that proves the time and care that Flanagan puts into the people in his stories.
In The Midnight Club, Ruth Codd's brilliant character Anya fills this role by wondering what will happen when she passes away. She and her friends believe that she will be able to come back and send a sign. There are some scary moments in The Midnight Club, but the show also has wise things to say about death, including a brief scene involving a caretaker at Brightcliffe who says that people are scared of death but death means feeling no pain.
A Special Love Story
Mike Flanagan's TV shows also have love stories that are particularly sweet and interesting. Kevin (Igby Rigney) and Illonka (Iman Benson) are two of the best The Midnight Club characters and watching them bond and like each other even more is one of the most charming things about season 1 of the series. Kevin is nervous about breaking up with his girlfriend but realizes that he can't care so much about how other people see him as he deserves to live out his last days being content and at peace. Seeing this realization makes for a beautiful story arc.
Victoria Pedretti's The Haunting of Hill House character Nell Crain may be the terrifying Bent-Neck Lady character, but she also has an epic relationship with her husband Arthur Vance (Jordane Christie). The two seem to really understand each other, which is also true of Riley and Erin in Midnight Mass.
A Beautiful Old Mansion
Mike Flanagan also loves to include a gorgeous, creepy and memorable mansion in his shows. When watching the first episode of The Midnight Club, it's easy to be reminded of the houses in Hill House and Bly Manor, especially since there are similar double staircases in the entryways of these homes. These places are as epic and terrifying as famous horror movie houses.
Brightcliffe Hospice couldn't possibly be a more perfect location as it looks more idyllic than it really is. While the hope is that the patients will find peace, they find terror in every hallway, and watching them walk around after 12 a.m. is a chilling experience.
A Tragic Death
Flanagan also includes at least one tragic and truly sad death in every one of his TV shows. In The Haunting of Hill House, Nell passes away young, which is terrible to see. In the brilliant horror series Midnight Mass, Riley realizes that he has become a vampire and sits in the sun, that he will burn and die.
Anya dies in The Midnight Club, which brings up some questions as fans want to learn more about whether she can contact her friends or not. What Flanagan does so well is creating a truly emotional experience when a character passes away. Anya realizes that she wants to live at the moment that her disease becomes even worse, and she inspires the others to take chances and have more fun.
Creepy Ghosts/Strange Figures
When wondering if The Midnight Club is Flanagan's scariest show, one thing stands out: the amount of terrifying spirits that he includes in these 10 episodes. Illonka is the first to see a creepy old woman around Brightcliffe and she feels like she's constantly being chased. In one tough to watch scene, she sits in bed in the middle of the night and sees this woman. When Illonka hides in the bathroom, she can see a ghostly presence underneath the door.
In Flanagan's work, ghosts are reminders of the pain that the characters deal with. The teenagers of Brightcliffe are followed by thoughts of death every moment of the day and now they are seeing spirits, too. In Flanagan's previous shows, he terrified viewers with the Bent-Neck Lady in The Haunting of Hill House, vampires in Midnight Mass, and the strange figure with glowing eyes that Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) sees in The Haunting of Bly Manor. In Dani's case, this is a reminder of the car accident that killed her fiance.