As an ‘80s baby, my literary horror tastes consisted largely of Christopher Pike and Stephen King from my pre-teen years into young adulthood, so it’s no understatement when I say I couldn’t be more impressed by The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan’s career and filmography. With two King adaptations under his belt (Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep), Flanagan is gloriously tapping into Pike’s almost entirely unadapted bibliography for the horror thriller The Midnight Club, his latest project geared for the cross-section of genre hounds and Netflix subscribers. As seen above, the first teaser shares a bit in common visually with both Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, and hints at dark stories yet to be told.
The basis for The Midnight Club’s hook certainly isn’t the most heartwarming or reassuring foundation, as the title refers to a group of terminally ill teenagers living within a hospice run by a mysterious doctor. (Said doctor is portrayed by Nightmare on Elm Street franchise queen Heather Langenkamp, and I cannot wait to see her in action.) Those teens were obviously the ones speaking directly to our mortal cores in the Geeked Week-geared promo, as subtly eerie shit went on around them.
The youthful members of the Midnight Club include largely up-and-coming actors, and fans of Midnight Mass likely recognized Annarah Shephard and Igby Rigney, who were quite impressive in their respective breakout roles as Leeza and Warren. Others include The Baby-Sitters Club vet Aya Furukawa, Power actor William Chris Sumpter, and future Fall of the House of Usher stars Ruth Codd and Sauriyan Sapkota. (Also a Mike Flanagan miniseries.) A few stars who we’ll have to wait to see in their Midnight Club elements are frequent Flanagan collaborator Samantha Sloyan, her Hill House co-star Robert Longstreet and their Midnight Mass co-stars Zack Gilford and Matt Biedel. The X-Files and Upload vet William B. Davis is also in the mix, and I can’t imagine he’s playing the jovial hero here.
While it doesn’t feature any episodic footage, The Midnight Club’s first teaser does give fans a taste of their mantra — or whatever the sound equivalent of a taste is — as seen below:
To those before, to those after, to us now, and those beyond. Seen or unseen, here but not here.
Don’t go mistaking this crew for the Midnight Society from Are You Afraid of the Dark? though, since not everyone is guaranteed to make it to those weekly gatherings. Which isn’t merely gallows humor on my part, since The Midnight Club’s teaser isn’t exactly hiding the idea of creeping death being a driving concern for these characters. Plus, there would be all kinds of logistical problems with these particular youths going out and setting fires in the woods without anyone else knowing.
This first look is pure Mike Flanagan Netflix magic, too, starting with its stunning setting and its picturesque interiors, which lead into his Hill House and Bly Manor credits. Then there are the various background visuals and split-second scares that are signatures of the Haunting series. But then the teaser tips the scale back to the Christopher Pike side of things by essentially recreating the original Simon and Schuster paperback cover, albeit not filled entirely with white characters and I dare say the Grim Reaper that appears above may not be quite so human. And who can ignore that fire logo?
The Midnight Club is reportedly set to bring several of Christopher Pike’s stories to life through the group’s storytelling device, though not much has been confirmed on that part. Similarly, we’re still not sure when the show will pop up for fans on the streaming service, but I’ll send everyone a Chain Letter when it’s released. (Another one of his books.) In the meantime, check out everything coming soon to the streaming service with our 2022 Netflix Premiere schedule, and stay tune for more news on The Fall of the House of Usher, hopefully without any other setbacks like Frank Langella’s firing.
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