Mike Flanagan’s Netflix Horror Series ‘The Midnight Club’ Is Underrated

Although no one talks about The Midnight Club, it’s one of Mike Flanagan’s most meaningful Netflix horror series. While Flanagan is no longer working with the streaming service, he’s still hard at work crafting new scary stories, including an upcoming Amazon Prime Video adaptation of Stephen King’s groundbreaking Carrie. Flanagan made five exciting shows for Netflix, and most of them feature complicated families, ghosts haunting children and adults alike, compassionate storylines about healing from trauma, some epic haunted houses, and several unexpected deaths. From his fresh take on Edgar Allan Poe in The Fall of the House of Usher, which was released in 2023, to the tragedy and emotion of The Haunting of Hill House, which came out in 2018, these horror series never feel old or stale.

However, while Flanagan is fantastic at creating terrifying atmospheres and characters who are never clichéd final girls or victims, The Midnight Club is one of his more underrated series. Several years since it premiered on Netflix on Oct. 7th, 2022, it’s been overshadowed by The Bent-Neck Lady in Hill House and that acid rain Usher scene.

Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Midnight Club’ Should Be Praised More

Netflix

Sure, it’s hard to compete with the absolutely horrifying jump scare in a car in The Haunting of Hill House. And, since The Fall of the House of Usher was Mike Flanagan’s final Netflix horror series, it’s definitely top of mind for many. Still, there’s something special about The Midnight Club, which focuses on eight teenagers who are dying of illnesses and who connect while living at a hospice called Brightcliffe Manor.

Yes, the story is dark, heavy, and incredibly emotional. That’s why it’s so good, though. The Midnight Club‘s main characters, Sandra (Annarah Cymone), Anya (Ruth Codd), Kevin (Igby Rigney), Ilonka (Iman Benson), and the others, are different from Flanagan’s other horror protagonists. Ghosts and creatures still frighten them. However, since they were told that they don’t have that much longer on this Earth, the scariest thing has already happened to them, so they’re particularly brave. This allows Flanagan to explore big themes, such as freedom, courage, and growing up too soon vs. enjoying the peaceful happiness of youth.

The Midnight Club is also engaging thanks to its storytelling format. When the group gets together in the hospice library at night, they tell spooky stories, and these tales are adapted from Christopher Pike’s young adult horror novels, which were published in the 1980s and 1990s. If you grew up watching Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, then The Midnight Club has that same kind of cozy yet creepy vibe. Since the characters are reflecting on the cycle of life and death, the stories are more meaningful here, especially when Anya is in the spotlight. Also, thanks to Flanagan’s expertise at timing jump scares just right, it’s a bit scarier than those corny kids’ horror shows. There’s a particularly great long-running storyline featuring ghosts at Brightcliffe as well.

Netflix canceled The Midnight Club after Season 1, and while his other shows are miniseries, he wanted to make more episodes. But maybe the show is so good because there are only 10 episodes. Although the season finale has a big twist, you can watch the series and still feel Flanagan achieved what he set out to do. There’s a charming love story, lasting friendships between the main characters, and a nice balance of big twists and character growth. And although some questions are left unanswered, that feels okay. While waiting for Carrie, which should be released in 2026, The Midnight Club is a great binge-watch for Flanagan fans who missed it.