I love Mike Flanagan. I first heard of him when I saw Oculus back in 2014, and I’ve looked forward to his upcoming projects ever since. He’s one of the best horror filmmakers working today, and even though he’s been focusing on movies instead of TV shows these days, the quality of his work hasn’t slipped. So naturally, when I saw that Netflix released a trailer for his upcoming series Midnight Club, it just about made my day. Here’s what the show is going to be about:
At a manor with a mysterious history, the eight members of the Midnight Club meet each night at midnight to tell sinister stories—and to look for signs of the supernatural from the beyond. Based on the beloved Christopher Pike book series, and brought to life by the creators of The Haunting of Hill House.
Admittedly, that’s a very vague plot description, and I’m not familiar with the books the series is based on, but after watching this trailer, I have all the faith in the world in Midnight Club. For starters, as I said before, I’m a huge fan of Mike Flanagan, and while I haven’t loved everything he’s done, he’s had way more hits than misses. In particular, The Haunting of Hill House is my favorite horror TV series of all time, and Midnight Mass isn’t far behind.
On top of that, the trailer itself is pretty cool, too. It doesn’t really tell us much beyond what we already know, and it doesn’t seem to contain much (if any!) actual footage from the show, but it still has just enough to whet our appetites. For example, it has a dark, gloomy atmosphere from beginning to end, and if the series itself replicates that, we’ll be in for a real treat.
What’s more, this Midnight Club trailer also features a few hints of some tried-and-true genre tropes, and it incorporates them in a somewhat subtle way. Granted, these details aren’t exactly difficult to spot, but the trailer doesn’t go too far out of its way to draw attention to them. It’s an almost perfect balance between subtle and in-your-face, so again, if the series itself follows that same formula, this just might be one of the best horror shows of the year.
Midnight Club is set to hit Netflix on October 7, so while it’s still a few months away, it’ll come just in time for the best holiday of the year.