4 Best Mike Flanagan Projects To Watch Before The Fall of the House of Usher
You can check the calendar according to Mike Flanagan's release schedule: if a new project is about to be released, it means fall has arrived.
Mike Flanagan has developed his style over the past four projects released on Netflix. Now we know what to expect from his next brainchild The Fall of the House of Usher: long dialogues, a dozen of controversial characters and, of course, scary moments.
While you sit and wait for October 12 to see the new show, we invite you to remember the projects that made us fall in love with Mike Flanagan.
1. The Haunting of Hill House
Flanagan's debut series for Netflix caught a lot of attention right away. It was an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name.
A couple moves into an old mansion where first children and then adults begin to see ghosts. If you thought it was impossible to create multi-layered and interesting characters in horror, Flanagan confidently proves the opposite.
2. The Haunting of Bly Manor
After the success of The Haunting of Hill House, Flanagan turned to Henry James' oft-filmed story, The Turn of the Screw. The ominous mansion in the American outback of the previous show was replaced by a luxurious English estate. Young schoolteacher Dani arrives to manor to look after two orphans – Flora and Miles.
This show has no intention to scare you – here Flanagan talks about melancholy and ultimate love that even death cannot control.
3. Midnight Mass
Midnight Mass was Flanagan's first original project for Netflix. The director, who was raised in the Catholic tradition but later became an atheist, brought his own view of religion to the story.
The series follows the life of a small, isolated religious community living on an island far from civilization. When a young priest arrives there, something supernatural begins to happen, which many locals mistake for a religious miracle.
4. The Midnight Club
The release of The Midnight Club marked Flanagan's return to adaptation. The source material for this show is the novel of the same name by Christopher Pike.
The story follows a group of terminally ill teenagers who spend their remaining days at a hospice. At some point, they make a deal: whoever dies first must contact their friends and send a signal from the afterlife. The teens' main entertainment is nightly meetings in the library, where they tell each other horror stories.