Hi all!

Today I am ranking all of Mike Flanagan’s horror/thriller shows. He is an American film director, best known for Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil and more. Better yet, Mike has a solid television series catalogue on Netflix. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Spoilers Ahead! 

1.) The Haunting of Hill House 

In first place, we have perfection: The Haunting of Hill House. This is my favourite horror series! It is loosely based on the novel by Shirley Jackson. It follows a family that move into a gothic mansion, where they soon begin to experience paranormal activity. The story travels between two timelines: when the children are first living in the house, to adulthood; still dealing with the hauntings that have followed them. Not only is this show extremely scary, it’s surprisingly emotional. We witness family dynamics fall apart when one of them commits suicide. The ending will leave you shook, as everything comes together and begins to make sense. If you only watch one show on this list, let it be this one!

2.) The Fall of the House of Usher 

In second place, we have The Fall of the House of Usher. Loosely based on various works by 19th century author, Edgar Allan Poe, the series adapts otherwise unrelated stories and characters, into a single nonlinear narrative. Set from 1953 to 2023, it recounts the rise to power of Roderick Usher, the intimidating CEO of a corrupt pharmaceutical company, plus the events leading to the deaths of all six of his children. This series was phenonemal. It featured an ensemble cast, led by Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel (Mike’s actual wife), Ruth Codd and more. Every single episode is packed with horror, gore, shocking deaths and reveals. The final episode gives everything we have been yearning for since the start. I died and went to heaven!

3.) Midnight Mass 

In third place, we have Midnight Mass, which was a contender for second. The story follows a young man who returns to his isolated hometown on Crockett Island, hoping to rebuild his life after serving four years in prison, for killing someone in a drunk-driving incident. He arrives at the same time as a mysterious, charismatic young priest, who begins to revitalise the town’s flagging faith. However, the community’s divisions are soon exacerbated by the priest’s deeds, while mysterious events befall the small town. Everything about this show is incredible. It builds and builds to a terrifying climax you will not see coming. I loved the claustrophobic setting of a small island inhabited by disturbed villagers. There are so many deep and engaging conversations between the characters. It’s perfectly written.

4.) The Haunting of Bly Manor

In second last place, we have The Haunting of Bly Manor. This story, based on The Turn of the Screw, follows a young governess (Dani), hired by a man to look after his niece and nephew at the family country house, after they fall into his care. Arriving at the Bly estate, she begins to see apparitions that proceed to haunt the premises. Furthermore, the children appear to be in communication with said spirits. As we delve deeper into the story, we realise not all is as it seems. There is a much darker force controlling Bly Manor. This is not a ghost story. It’s a love story. It reinforces the themes of love and possession over and over; demonstrating how sometimes, those two things travel on blurred lines. My main critique of the series was it was a bit too ambitious. There were many plot lines and interweaving stories to follow. In the finale, things were wrapped up a little too quickly. It was also unnecessarily confusing. I was hoping various characters would be mentioned but they weren’t featured. I was also underwhelmed by the lack of scares. It started strong but sadly waned.

5.) The Midnight Club 

In last place, we have The Midnight Club. It follows a group of eight terminally ill young adults, that reside in the Brightcliffe Home hospice outside of Seattle, run by an enigmatic doctor. Together, they meet at midnight, to tell each other scary stories. They also form a morbid pact – the first one to die will be responsible for communicating with the others from beyond the grave. As you can imagine, this show is incredibly sad. It is very difficult to watch, knowing all of the kids are dying and will die as the series progresses. However, that’s not the only reason it’s last on my list. I was not a big fan of the stories themselves. Some of them took up the entire episode and weren’t that interesting. I wanted more of the main storyline and less anthology-based spooky tales. Ruth Codd was the best part. If you know, you know!

 Thank you so much for reading! How you would rank Mike Flanagan’s shows?

Peace & Love xoxo