My Review of Passages (2023)

 

Written by Mauricio Zacharias And Ira Sachs And Arlette Langmann

Directed by Ira Sachs

Tomas: "You know what I was doing last night?"

Martin: "No but whatever it was you sound very excited."

There are still a few films from last year I had not caught up and this one I had been meaning to watch for a while. I'll admit, it's got a premise I'm not particularly keen on but the execution was a bit better than I thought it would be.

In this movie, you've got German director Tomas Freiburg (Franz Rogowski) living in Paris, making movies and having a bit of a stagnating marriage to Martin (Ben Whishaw). Thomas's attempts to add some excitement to his own discontentment though would cause more harm than good.

A random encounter with a woman named Agathe (Adele Exarchopoulos) resulted in Tomas embarking on a relationship with her while also trying to maintain his marriage to Martin. For a moment, it seemed like Martin was willing to go along with the idea before he dumped Tomas.

Of course while Martin spent a lot of the movie bring angry at Tomas's growing relationship with Agathe, he didn't stay single for long. He hooked up with a hot writer named Amad (Erwan Kepoa Falé), much to the annoyance of his estranged husband. It's a relationship he was better suited to as well.

However with Tomas getting Agathe pregnant and being under the scrutiny of her parents, even Tomas realised he had it better with Martin. The reunion between the two only served as a reminder that they're a genuinely mismatched pair.

I think as a protagonist/main character, while Tomas is undeniably human and isn't being intentionally malicious, he does seem to want to have the best of both worlds. Ultimately he ended up with neither as both Martin and Agathe eventually rejected him, ending this movie on a bitter note.

- This movie got to Sundance after being rejected from both Cannes and the Venice Film festivals.

- Both Ira Sachs and Mubi rejected the NC-17 rating for the movie. There's a few sex scenes in this one.

- Standout music: Janet Penford's Won't You Buy My Sweet Blooming Lavender.

- Chronology: A contemporary setting in Paris. Tomas and Martin have been married for six years.

Despite my general dislike for a certain trope this movie was built on, I do have affection for Passages. It's well written, quite moody in parts and the performances from the three leads are good. The realistic ending very much worked in this movie's favour as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Doctor Odyssey: "Quackers"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Maggie Kiley 

Avery: "I'm pregnant."

Heading into mid season finale domain and it was time for something a little bit dramatic but also a tad obvious. Yup, Avery's pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. 

At the start of the episode, we got her feeling nauseous over paints and then when her two highschool friends showed up on The Odyssey, Avery admitted that she wasn't sure whay she wanted to do.

Of course the more interesting part of this story was saved for the ending. The differences in reactions that both Max and Tristan had to the news was very much night and day. Max went into pure practical mode about Avery being able to balance both motherhood and her medical career. It was his way of being supportive.

Tristan on the other hand, I found his reaction more interesting. It seems that getting someone pregnant at sea isn't a new experience and was expecting Avery not to want to go through with the pregnancy. He sounded supported but weirdly resigned to something that he knew wasn't in his control. Avery on the other hand, she didn't seem to give any indicator as to what she planned to do herself.

As for the main plot of the week, well only on a Ryan Murphy show. It turned out that a bunch of eccentric people playing treasure hunt with a ridiculous amount of rubber duckies is actually a thing. The founder, Jill Manafort (Loretta Devine) had Lorena's backing and Robert's confusion for it.

However between Max's overall disdain for the premise (he's very environmentally conscious), the bigger issue came with Jill's husband Jerry eating inanimate objects (including a gold rubber ducky) that almost killed him. It does slightly ground an overall ridiculous but moderately amusing theme of the week.

- Tristan got to tell Vivian about his Venezuelan heritage during the contest while the two of them tried to define their relationship.

- It was nice to see Max getting some screentime with Rosie and Corey this week. Give them more to do in the second half of the season.

- The show will return in March with a mostly uninterrupted schedule.

- Chronology: The episode took place over the course of a week.

Quackers had more rubber duckies than anyone would ever need to see in their whole lives. It's a generally decent mid season finale but eight episodes in, the show still feels like its treading water at times. I'm hoping it gets better in its second half.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Northman (2022)

 

Written by Sjon And Robert Eggers

Directed by Robert Eggers 

Amleth: "I will avenge you, Father! I will save you, Mother! I will kill you, Fjölnir!"

Playing catch-up again, prior to the imminent release of Nosferatu, I found myself watching this bloody Viking led movie and its quite the bloody tale of vengeance.

Somewhat based on the legend of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard/Oskar Novak), you've got his journey as a young man who delighted in seeing the return of his father, King Aurvandill War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) to the tragedy of his father's death. A death that was at the hands of his uncle Fjölnir the Brotherless (Claes Bang). 

Forced to stay away from his mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) and sold into slavery as a grown man, Amleth was determined to get his revenge and nothing was going to get in his way. In fact being sold to Fjölnir and looked over by the latter's son, Thorir the Proud (Gustav Lindh) turned out to be an advantage for Amleth.

It gave him time to form an alliance and relationship with sorceress Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy) while also undermining Fjölnir at every turn. What Amleth hadn't considered was his mother in all of this, much to a personal cost.

It turned out thst not only did Gudrún marry Fjölnir voluntarily but she also had a son with him and had been the one who conspired with Fjölnir to kill both Aurvandill and Amleth to begin with. It's a nasty blow for Amleth and o e that he reacted badly too as the battle between him and Fjölnir descended into Hel. 

The battle between the warring pair certainly lying brought this to a rather bloody conclusion. In the end, one boodline almost certainly died out while another continued through Olga. Amleth got his revenge but at the cost of his own life.

- Yes, the tale would largely inspired a certain piece from William Shakespeare many centuries later. It's the blueprint.

- There's something jarring in seeing Alexander Skarsgard and Nicole Kidman go from a married couple in Big Little Lies to a warring son and mother here. The inclusion of a certain scene also didn't help either.

- Bjork makes a rather creepy cameo as the Seer while other alumni from Eggers such as Willem Dafoe, Kate Dickie and Ralph Ineson also have roles in this movie.

- Chronology: The film started in AD 895 but moving a few years later for the adult Amleth.

The Northman doesn't make for the easiest of viewings but I have to admire Robert Eggers refusal to go all mainstream too. Unlike his previous movies, this felt like a blockbuster but also a bit too weird to be one as well. It's not my favourite of his so far but I definitely liked it.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Hot Frosty (2024)

 

Written by Russell Hainline

Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti

Kathy: "I'm getting grief counselling from a snowman."

It's November so Netflix are a month behind on Hallmark's Christmas movie assault but that doesn't mean they can't generate the bigger headlines with some of their choices. Like this one for example.

If you were dying to see a sexy Jack Frost, well then, this one will be for you. The titular character, simply going by Jack (Dustin Milligan) got brought to life once single girl of the story Kathy Barrett (Lacey Chabert) placed a scarf on the sexy snowman and brought him to life.

From there on in, this movie played exactly as you expected to, almost beat for beat. Jack immediately found Kathy and in spite of her scepticism about being a snowman, she couldn't resist getting involved with him. 

Of course it's not just Kathy taken in by Jack's charms. The ladies of Hope Springs have no problem with his lack of attire or shirt in certain scenes while even Deputy Sherriff Ed Schatz (Joe Lo Truglio) found himself charmed by Jack. The whole community loved the guy on the spot.

Of course there was at least one exception to the rule. There was Sheriff Nathaniel Hunter (Craig Robinson). He was overzealous in wanting to uphold the law and even Jack had to pay for some minor crimes he commited when he first came to life. 

By the end of this movie, Jack was in danger of doing what snowmen must do and that was to melt away. Of course, true love had other plans and he became human instead. Come on, the kind of movie this was, there was no way it was going to end like The Snowman. It's a cute ending though.

- You get the feeling this movie was originally aimed for Hallmark before they decided that Lacey Chabert had aged out of their market range.

- There's a nice (but not subtle) Mean Girls reference as well as a reference to another Netflix Christmas movie. Two words: Lindsay Lohan.

- Standout music: The usual classics, in particular Jingle Bells Rock.

- Chronology: Christmas time in the lovely fictional town of Hope Springs.

I don't watch a lot of these movies but when I do, I'll admit in spite of their overtime cheesiness, they're usually inoffensive fun. Hot Frosty did feel a bit more polished compared to it's Hallmark counterparts but it's fun with believable chemistry between the leads. It did what it needed to and succeeded with it.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Superman And Lois 4x08: "Sharp Dressed Man"

 

Written by Brent Fletcher And Todd Hellbing

Directed by Michael Cudlitz

Lex (to Amanda): "Now that is a killer suit."

As we edge closer and closer to the very end of this show, there's time for Lex to make a few more underhanded moves against the Kents and Superman. What better way with some good PR?

Enter talk show host Gordon Godfrey. Yes, the mystery has finally been solved in terms of who Tom Cavanagh was playing this season as he popped up here.  Usually, this guy's connected to Darkseid but here, Godfrey's sole purpose was to make Lex look to the general public. He might have just succeeded.

Despite being encouraged by Clark to go the rebuttal route, Lois instead agreed on go on Godfrey's late night show to challenge Lex publicly. At first it looked like Lex was winning, then Lous almost came out on top. She nearly had Lex but then Dr Milton Fine (Nikolai Witschl) got the upper hand.

Assuming he's Brainiac, they really did wait until the last minute to introduce the guy. They also made sure that he made a lot of noise in this episode. When he wasn't scuppering Lois's attempts to take down Lex, Milton also went after John and Natalie.

The antics with faking a crash in order to gain access to their suits was a clever ruse. Unfortunately for John and Natalie, it also worked with Lex having the suit he really wanted. Yup, despite some initial setback, Lex won this round. He even got a kiss from Amanda.

- Lois was officially cancer free, there was jokes about her grammar and that favourite bar of hers was referenced.

- Otis ended up being killed off screen. Lex didn't lie about Otis beating him up in prison.

- Bit of a subplot with Jonathan and Candice breaking up as well as a dated Jamie Kennedy reference. Would a teenager in 2024 even know who he is?

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

Sharp Dressed Man certainly saw Lex coming out on top while also foreshadowing a predicted fate for Superman in light of recent events. Just two more to go.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Gladiator II (2024)

 

Written by Peter Craig And David Scarpa

Directed by Ridley Scott

Lucius: "What does my past matter, when my future is only to die as a gladiator?"

Ah, the legacy sequel. When they hit, they can really hit and when they miss, they certainly miss. Where does this one fit into things? If I'm being honest, there's elements of both at play here. I liked but did not love this movie.

Following a slew of critically acclaimed and some financially successful smaller movies, this was Paul Mescal's chance to prove he could play in the blockbuster space. I think he has the knack for that and with Lucius "Hanno" Verus, he effectively was given a superhero role without actually taking one.

Lucius was the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and Maximus Decimus (Russell Crowe) and like his father, he too, started this movie by losing his wife (Yuval Gonen) and winding up in slavery. It's not long before he's acquired by villain of the piece, Macrinus (Denzel Washington) and trained up to be a Gladiator. It's a path that Lucius grudgingly embraced along with a tense reunion with his mother.

Of course like his father, Lucius was motivated by revenge to offset Macrinus's thirst for power and control over. Macrinus in particular certainly played brother Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) off each rather well. On top of that, he also managed to orchestrate the respective downfalls of both Lucilla and her new husband, Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal).

Getting to Marcus Acacius, I was expecting more from Pedro Pascal. Not in terms of performance because Pascal doesn't put a foot wrong here but more in terms of screentime. He's actually not got a lot to do here and there's a revenge subplot between him and Lucius that felt poorly fleshed out with an almost rushed conclusion to it. I have similar thoughts about Lucius's subplot with Lucilla as well.

On the other hand, the dynamic between Lucius and Macrinus was easily the best thing about the movie. Both Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington are magnificent in their scenes together with the final few minutes dedicated to their rivalry coming to a rather swift conclusion. Fortunately the movie was smart enough to make sure it didn't the exact same ending as the first one in regards to Lucius's fate, thus opening that door for a third chapter. 

- May Calamawy was meant to be the female lead in this movie but her scenes were cut big time. You see her very briefly though.

- Macrinus is bisexual and even kissed a man but that scene also got cut. Saying that, Denzel Washington certainly played him like a bisexual man.

- Derek Jacobi popped up again as Senator Gracchus and even Matt Lucas had a few scenes as the Master of Ceremonies.

- There was some genuinely mad ideas involving a massive rhino that should've killed Lucius and mutant baboons. Caracalla also appointed his monkey Dondas as first consul.

- Standout music: The soundtrack has some good ones, including Strength And Honour, Let The Gods Decide, War Real War, The Dream Is Lost and Now We Are Free.

- Chronology: It's been sixteen years since the events of the first Gladiator movie for Lucius.

Gladiator II was something that treaded similar ground to it's first movie with a few differences but didn't quite come as well as it could've done. The lead performances are great, the action sequences executed well and there's some mad ideas that are to be admired. Overall, it's a good follow up to a classic movie but not without it's flaws.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Fall Of The House Of Usher (2023 Netflix Miniseries)

 

Written by Mike Flanagan And Emmy Grinwis And Justina Ireland And Mat Johnson And Dani Parker And Rebecca Leigh Klingel And Jamie Flanagan And Kiele Sanchez

Directed by Mike Flanagan And Michael Fimognari 

Verna: "The house of Usher. May it rest in peace."

With this, I have come to the endeth of my Mike Flanagan Netflix horror miniseries binge. It's been a rather fun two weeks watching these shows in a near vacuum but all good things come to an end and there's something oddly full circle about this particular series.

Flanagan started off with the Crain family back in 2018 and while they were dysfunctional, they also clearly loved each other. The Ushers on the other hand, they're more the polar opposite in this Succession style retelling of some Edgar Allen Poe tales.

Let's talk about the Ushers, shall we? You've got brother and sister duo, Roderick (Bruce Greenwood/Zach Gilford) and Madeline (Mary McDonnell/Willa Fitzgerald). They're a ruthlessly ambitious sibling act, desperate to take over their illegitimate father, William's (Robert Lomgstreet) pharmaceutical company, Fortunato but instead, they're having to deal with the obstacle of Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco). That was until he wasn't an obstacle for them.

Of course to get ahead in life and when they weren't working with/backstabbing the likes of Assistant US Attorney C. Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly/Malcolm Goodwin), the sibling duo entered a treacherous deal with the mysterious Verna (Carla Gugino) aka the Raven of this macabre miniseries. A deal that would cost them dearly.

Verna was happy to grant Roderick and Madeline's wish for success but it was a price that eventually Roderick's children (most of whom were illegitimate) had to pay. It probably doesn't help that because of Roderick's power games and influence that his children were predominantly selfish people, this making it harder to feel bad for most of them.

Between the second and penultimate episode, the downfall of each child varied but were effective nonetheless. Prospero (Sauriyan Sapkota) succumbed to an acid attack in a nightclub while PR machine Camille L'Espanaye (Kate Siegel) had her face mauled by another siblings monkey. Each death got crazier as the show went along.

There was Napoleon (Rahul Kohli) being driven mad by cat while Victorine LaFourcade (T'Nia Miller) ended up killing herself. Vain Goldbug founder and cuckqueen Tamerlane (Samantha Sloyan) got butchered by glass, following her public downfall but the most deserving fate was left to eldest child Frederick (Henry Thomas). Let's just there's a certain Poe story that's brilliantly executed here for this one. 

Of course while the Ushers themselves had a reputation that even Camille couldn't whitewash, what about the people within their orbit? Dupin in particular found himself summoned on the last night of Roderick and Madeline to hear the story he wanted to hear. In flashbacks we also saw Roderick's marriage to his only moral compass, Annabel Lee (Katie Parker) fall apart with the more Madeline influenced her brother.

Then there's the Ushers right hand man, Arthur Gordon Pym (Mark Hamill). He was a handy person for the Ushers to have in their pocket and one that was so hardened, even Verna herself struggled to tempt him. Even I was a bit surprised by that.

There's some emphasis on the Usher kids spouses and partners, but often they're very secondary to things. Morella (Crystal Balint), fellow doctor Ali (Paola Nunez) and fitness guy William (Matt Biedel) were probably the worst treated by their Usher partners with Leo's boyfriend, Julius (Daniel Jun) reasonably treated in comparison. Also Roderick's only grandchild Lenore (Kyliegh Curran) being the only Usher with a moral compass along with Roderick's second wife, Juno (Ruth Codd).

As for Verna herself, Carla Gugino must have had a lot of fun with this character. She got to have so many different guises as she claimed each Usher throughout the series. She also had great but often different reactions in how Verna approached each of them as well as her final scene, one they had all been taken off the board. This might be her best role yet in Flanagan's horror universe.

- Episode titles for this were A Midnight Dreary, The Masque Of The Red Death, Murder In The Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, Goldbug, The Pit And The Pendulum and The Raven.

- With the exception of Roderick and Frederick (maybe Tamerlane and Lenore), nearly all of the Ushers were LGBT. Dupin also mentioned having a husband in the last episode.

- Other alumni actors who popped up were Annabeth Gish, Lulu Wilson, Alex Essoe, Igby Rigney and Aya Furukawa.

- Althought this was Flanagan's last horror show for Netflix, he had expressed an interest in adapting Hell House. He likely will too but for somewhere else.

- Standout music: The Newton Brothers did some great work here once more.

- Chronology: The downfall itself took place over a span of two weeks in November 2023. The flashbacks were largely set between 1953 and 1980.

Now this definitely packed a bit more of a punch. The Fall Of The House Of Usher played like the horror version of Succession and did with aplomb. Some genuinely horrible but fascinating character, a man willing to finally bring down the crime family and a harbinger of doom that was fun to watch. A great final installment to this Netflix horror universe.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Heretic (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Scott Beck And Bryan Woods

Reed: "Well, ladies. I think it's time."

Sister Barnes: "Time for what?"

Reed: "Time for enlightenment."

2024 has been quite the year for horror with both well received sequel/prequels and other original fare seeping through. Yes, there's also been a few duds but the output has been largely positive this year.

Now where does this movie fit? Is it good or bad? Does it try to do something new within the genre? After all, it's not the first religious themed horror movie this year but it's one where we're spared demonic pregnancies, so points there.

The movie started off with two Mormon missionaries - Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East). They're spreading the word of God and on their way, they make the unwise decision to visit obvious weirdo, Mr Reed (Hugh Grant). It's a decision they end up regretting.

Going into the strange man's house, they keep asking for his wife (as part of their own beliefs to have a woman in the room with them) and he kept trying to derail the conversation. Eventually when it dawned on them that he's nuts, they're given a terrible option in order to get their freedom back.

The second half of the movie somewhat trailed into weirdness. There was an old woman (Elle Young) rambling about being a prophet and then Sister Barnes was seemingly killed off after a secret about her was revealed (a contraceptive implant). Then Reed showed Paxton all the other women that he had kept prisoner.

Needless to say, there's a battle of wits between both Reed and Paxton about the nature of all religions being used to control people. It's a bit messily done but Hugh Grant certainly sold that scene well before one of them managed to make it out of the movie alive.

- A blueberry pie was actually a blueberry scented candle and Sister Paxton had a thing for butterflies.

- Topher Grace had a brief but not very interesting or effective role as Elder Kennedy.

- Standout music: There's references to Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Creep and The Air That I Breathe.

- Chronology: Present day America. I'm uncertain as to where it's specifically set.

Heretic was a nice against type role for Hugh Grant and he certainly played the role well. He's backed up nicely by both Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East. Overall, while not as good as I thought it would, it's pretty solid and made for a diverting time. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Invisible Man (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Leigh Whannell

Cecelia (to Adrian): "Surprise!"

There was a time, not so long ago that Universal had planned a big and connected horror universe but with the flop of The Mummy that idea got quickly abandoned. Instead, it was a case of reviving horror icons but keeping them in their own worlds.

That shift in ideas definitely benefits this particular version of The Invisible Man because it feels too grounded to be in a shared universe. Not to mention, it's given a rather definitive ending that doesn't seem to lend itself out to further expansion.

However while past versions of the titular character aka Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) have been more heroic, this one's a straight up menace. A controlling mad scientist and Cobalt CEO, the movie opened with Adrian being drugged by his girlfriend, Cecelia Kass (Elisabeth Moss). Yes, she had good reason to do it.

Cecelia was trying to escape the abusive relationship she was suffering from with Adrian and had gotten her sister, Emily (Harriet Dyer) to aid her escape while staying with her detective best friend, James Lanier (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid). It seemed like she was free of Adrian, even more so when his brother, Tom (Michael Dorman) told her Adrian was dead.

Of course at no point in this movie were we as an audience meant to believe that and it didn't take long for an invisible Adrian to terrorise the living daylights out of Cecelia. Messing up job interviews, breakfasts, drugging her with diazapam and yeah, killing her own sister in a restaurant. Adrian's onslaught of terror on Cecelia was relentless.

It got to the point in the movie that Adrian succeeded in nearly removing all of Cecelia's support system, even letting her rot in jail until she managed to fight back. There's a bluff with Adrian making it look like Tom had tied him up and was actually the one hounding Cecelia but the latter saw throught that and got her revenge.

For a title villain of the piece, Oliver Jackson-Cohen definitely got very little screen time as Adrian but certainly made the most of the material regardless. It's Elisabeth Moss who dominated as Cecelia and there's something satisfying in the revenge that she enacted on Adrian. He really should've seen it coming.

- Originally this was going to be a movie that had Johnny Depp as the title character but I think we fared a lot better with what we got here.

- There's a connection to Whannell's other movie, Upgrade here through the fictional Cobalt company.

- Funnily enough a sequel has been discussed (where would they go with that?) as well as a movie for The Invisible Woman but whether either happen remains to be seen.

- Chronology: Present day San Francisco, thought the movie was filmed in Australia.

This version of The Invisible Man might have taken our title character down a villainous path for a sci-fi take of domestic abuse and coercive control, but it was worth it. Great performances from Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen and a satisfying ending make this a very worthy reboot.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Midnight Club (2022 Netflix Miniseries)

 

Written by Mike Flanagan And Leah Fong And Julie Bicknell And Elan Gale And Jamie Flanagan And Chinaka Hodge 

Directed by Mike Flanagan And Michael Fimognari And Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. And Axelle Carolyn And Viet Nguyen And Morgan Beggs

Dr Stanton: "We look forward to helping you write your own ending."

After going down an original path with Midnight Mass, it was back to book adaptations for Mike Flanagan's fourth horror show for Netflix and this one was something a bit different. Imagine a slightly maturer version of Goosebumps and Are You Afraid Of The Dark? That's what you get with this show.

Focusing on a hospice for dying young adults named Brightcliffe, you've got a slew of younger characters all coping with life ending illnesses as they navigate the limited time they have left, form friendships and oh yes, The Midnight Club. That title had to come in somewhere.

The title of course referring to the fact that our eight young adults meet up during Midnight in the library to tell each other ghost stories that are somewhat thinly veiled thoughts and feelings on the person telling them to a point. Some of these stories are better handled than others but if you like witches, ghosts, devil pacts, serial killers, time travel and so on, there's plenty to enjoy in that regard.

The young adults themselves are a likable bunch. The recently admitted Ilonka (Iman Benson) had thyroid cancer and was actively seeking a previous Brightcliffe patient named Julia Jayne (Larson Thompson) who was cured through supernatural means. It's a bit of an obsession with Ilonka throughout the show, putting her at odds with Brightcliffe's Dr Georgina Stanton (Heather Langenkamp) as well was making her an easy mark for the manipulative Shasta (Samantha Sloyan).

With secret cults factoring into this show, there's also some ghostly encounters in Brightcliffe that Kevin (Igby Rigney) can see while the other patients have their own shit to deal with. Abrasive Irish amputee Anya (Ruth Codd) worked as a brilliant foil to Ilonka and had two of the most moving stories in the show before her untimely death.

As for the rest of the kids, Cheri (Adia) was a rich girl with a penchant for lying, Spencer (Chris Sumpter) was a gay man who had AIDS, Amesh (Sauriyan Sapkota) had feelings for Natsuki (Aya Furukawa) and Sandra (Annarah Cymone) ended up being misdiagnosed. For protagonists, they're younger than previous shows but they're likable enough that the show works with them.

In terms of the adults though, both Stanton and Shasta are the main ones, largely servicing the Five Paragon plot that ended on a cliffhanger. There was also Ilonka's well meaning foster father, Tim (Matt Biedel) while gay nurse Mark (Zach Gilford) was an ally to Spencer, though a bit underused as a character.

- Episode titles for this show were The Final Chapter, The Two Danas, The Wicked Heart, Gimme A Kiss, See You Later, Witch, Anya, Road To Nowhere, The Eternal Enemy and Midnight.

- Mike Flanagan alumni who also appeared in guest roles included Rahul Kohli as Vincent, Henry Thomas as Freedom Jack, Alex Essoe as Poppy Corn, Katie Parker as Aceso, Robert Lomgstreet as a janitor and Michael Trucco as Frederick.

- The geek in me was happy with the references to the likes of Doctor Who and The X-Files. William B. Davis from the latter show also appeared as Mirror Man.

- Originally this show (based on the Christopher Pike book of the same name) was intended to be a two season show until Netflix cut it short. 

- Standout music: There's a good 90s soundtrack through the series. 

- Chronology: This show was set in the mid 1990s, especially given Mark's love for Interview With The Vampire.

The Midnight Club admittedly would be the weakest of Flanagan's horror adaptations for Netflix but not because it's bad. It's just that the ones that preceded it were much stronger than this one, which does plenty to get into. Overall, it's worth the twn episode but you'll need to read Flanagan's Tumblr for closure.

Rating: 7 out of 10