A show about dying kids is always going to be a hard sell, and of course, Netflix’s “The Midnight Club” has most of the usual tropes. Mixed with the harsh side effects of cancer and all five stages of grief are romance and devastating deaths. And as a anthology of ghost stories, “The Midnight Club” isn’t too revolutionary either. It’s like YA “Black Mirror” mixed with the usual fare of executive producer Mike Flanagan (he directed the first two episodes and wrote or co-wrote most of the season), with twists that most knowledgeable viewers will see coming. . But when you put those two things together – dying kids telling ghost stories – that’s when a show becomes something magical. And there’s definitely a magic to “The Midnight Club.”
The series is based on the 1994 book by Christopher Pike and tells the story of a group of teenagers who live in an old house that is converted into a hospice home. They are all dying from various cancers and other diseases, and most babies haven’t been around for six months or more. To keep themselves entertained and distracted, a small group of them meet every night at midnight to tell each other horror stories. The stories play out on screen, and the Midnight Club kids play all the characters, allowing for a new short film of a different genre within the context of each episode.
The show begins with the arrival of Ilonka (Iman Benson), a newly diagnosed teenager, who has come to this location with a mission after hearing of a former patient who had been cured of his incurable illness. Ilonka is not here to die. He is here to stay, by any means necessary. Sometimes those means include dismissing the well-meaning but slightly mysterious owner of the house, played by horror film legend Heather Langenkamp (“Nightmare on Elm Street”), and sometimes they involve drawing blood for a ritual in the creepy basement. , as directed by A Mysterious Woman in the Woods (“Midnight Mass” actress Samantha Sloane).
Naturally, all these kids learn that just because you’re dying, doesn’t mean you should stop living. Several characters point out that we are all actually dying all the time. People can die, but love doesn’t, etc. All of that is expected, but what is less expected and much more moving is that ghost stories are used to express the very understandable feelings these children are feeling, regardless of the life they live in. They regret the life they lived or mourn the life they won’t get to live. One story is about a girl who makes a split deal with the devil so that she can lead two separate lives. Another is about a time-traveling video game maker trying to figure out how to save the world, and there’s also a story about a teenage witch who can see the future and heal people. can. A story inspired by Japanese horror films and a slasher story that Taylor never wants to end. The teens hang on to each other’s every word as the stories are told, as if Midnight Club is the last thing keeping them alive, even as nearly all stories end in death.
What results is a gorgeous, engrossing YA series that does a great job of balancing what could be a seemingly sentimental teardrop of a story, with the kind of beautiful horror Flanagan describes in “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Haunting”. ” Known for. Belly Manor” and “Midnight Mass.” Flanagan has also brought in some of her favorite actors, like Sloane and Rahul Kohli, who fit right in with relative newcomers playing teens. But this time, Flanagan has taken on the younger and/or Or reduced to ghosts for a more frightening audience. These ghosts are like metaphors for children’s attempts to wrestle with their own mortality and what happens – if anything – after death. There is a question as to whether they are real or not, and whether or not it matters.
There are moments where the story of Midnight Club is no less exciting than the mystery happening in the house, so it feels like a bit of a drag. It also doesn’t help that some kids are bad at telling stories, so some of them deliberately laugh. But in the end, comes the opportunity to feel like you’ve embarked on an unexpected spiritual journey. Most of the questions have been answered, but the magic still remains, along with a few new questions created at the last minute.
There might even be a second season, as the point of Midnight Club is that it could go on forever as new kids arrive in the house, but that’s also enough that the show doesn’t need one. If this story is indeed over, Flanagan has proven that he is as good at YA as he has grown up, and there are many more stories he can and should tell.
“The Midnight Club” is now streaming on Netflix.
