The new show Midnight Club was released to Netflix viewers on October 7th, 2022. This chilling series explores the desperation one may feel to continue to live. Midnight Club is an adventurous series that leads viewers to stay on their toes as they dive deeper into the episodes. 

Created and directed by Mike Flanagan, produced by Leah Fong, the 10 episode series gives viewers a sense of tension and mystery as Ilonka (Iman Benson) explores ways to save herself from terminal illness as she resides with other dying teenagers at Brightcliffe Hospice. With Flanagan’s style of horror from The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, Hush and many more, viewers are put into a new, creative style of horror.

The storyline of the series consists of eight young adults who are all terminal. At midnight, they come together in the library and tell stories, mostly thrillers and horror. The difference with this series is that it plays out the scenes of the stories and the majority relate to what it feels like to be terminal. Pulling a viewer into the eyes of how the characters got to where they are now. More predominantly featured, Kevin (Igby Rigney) tells the story of a serial killer being forced to murder women in order to please the demon inside of his mother. The representation and symbolism behind the forced structure shows his feeling of entrapment. Furthermore, Anya (Ruth Codd) tells the story of wanting to live two lives at the same time. A party life compared to the perfect student and daughter life. In her story she explains how she lost her leg due to cancer, however, very indirectly. 

The great production also has mystery and sharp twists. In the series Ilonka (Iman Benson) finds herself in the woods trying to find natural herbs for treatment when she meets Shasta (Samantha Sloyan). The main purpose for Ilonka living at Brightcliffe is because she saw the story of Julia Jayne (Larsen Thompson) where she was “cured” from cancer. This mystery of how Julia got cured and if it was cult related was a huge stir in the series. 

On the other hand, there was a negative downfall of the show. While watching, there were cheesy jumpscares that were more comedic then scary. In the show there is an old woman who seems to haunt Ilonka and viewers do not understand the significance of this old woman. Theories can be made, however, the last episode leaves us on a cliffhanger so it is hard to know exactly who the woman is and why is she haunting Ilonka and Kevin? 

Moreover, the series does have great directional images. The makeup and backgrounds were a great addition to the scenery that gave a more truthful feel of the moment. There are also scenes that are so suspenseful that it keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat waiting for the next jumpscare. While watching, the lighting and the imaging is just perfect and matches the sentimental feels for the action. 

Overall, Midnight Club has a great storyline that involves drama, horror and thrilling moments. It truly is an originated idea of cult-like actions in order to gain a healthy life. It creates such an interesting structure that makes a person continue to watch the show.