It’s safe to say that Mike Flanagan ranks alongside the likes of Jordan Peele and Ti West as a modern-day horror aficionado whose name alone is enough to get the hype train pulling out of the station at warp speed. The Midnight Club encapsulated this perfectly, with Flanagan’s latest horror adaptation having drummed up quite a bit of noise in the days and weeks leading up to its release.
Based on Christopher Pike’s 1994 novel of the same name, The Midnight Club centers on the lives of eight terminally ill young adults who live together in a hospice, and who all meet up together at midnight to tell each other scary stories. The group makes a pact that the first one of them to die has to figure out how to contact the rest of them from the plane of the dead, and when one of them eventually does succumb to their illness, strange subsequent events get the rest of the group thinking that the pact may have been a bad idea.
As mentioned earlier, Flanagan’s reputation precedes him thanks to The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass, but it seems that that has worked against him this time around; indeed, while not an absolute misfire, critics don’t seem convinced that Flanagan managed to reach the expectations that he’s set for himself this time around.
Amelia Emberwing of IGN was lukewarm about the series, praising Flanagan’s handling of the show’s difficult subjects and themes, but criticizing the flimsy plot and disappointing finale.
“Mike Flanagan is a master of death and grief, and that’s on full display throughout The Midnight Club. Unfortunately, the more threads the club members pull, the weaker the story gets.”
The Guardian‘s Leila Latif called the show Flanagan’s weakest venture, also citing its plot and ending as weak points, but was happy to heap praise on the performances of the cast.
“Pike’s books are known for their bold conclusions, but the finale of The Midnight Club proves its weakest entry, frantically adding new threads to set up future episodes the premise doesn’t justify.”
And Judy Berman of Time echoed the ethos of the collective critical voice, ultimately concluding that while it could have been much, much worse, it’s a misstep for Flanagan’s artistic caliber.
“The Midnight Club isn’t the worst imaginable adaptation of Pike’s minefield of a book; there’s a version of the show that might’ve been downright offensive. But it’s no page-turner either.”
If you’re eager to make a verdict of your own, The Midnight Club is now available to stream on Netflix.