Okay, how does he do it??? How does Flanagan continue to pump out amazing things? Well, I don’t have the answer to that, but I do know that I am never disappointed when he has his stamp on something.
Creator: Mike Flanagan & Leah Fong (once upon a time and Haunting of Bly Manor)
Cast: Iman Benson, our main character “Ilonka” Igby Rigney “Kevin”, Annarah Cymone “Sandra”, Ruth Codd "Anya", and a handful of amazing young actresses/actors.
Also, familiar faces: Heather Langenkamp, Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, Robert Longstreet, and Henry Thomas to name a few.
Rating: TV-MA (Mature Audiences)
(Netflix Original) https://www.netflix.com/watch/81291615?trackId=253448517
NON-SPOILER REVIEW
This will be a non-spoiler ‘rave about it’ review. This series (intended to have more than 1 season) targets a younger audience than his previous work. Tweens. Even so, we were completely engaged and on the edge of our seats through each of the 10 episodes.
Set in the 90’s with teenagers (of course we’re totally relating to this era of music and tv / movie references that are tossed around between these kids), you are really taken to a space that feels remote and somewhat helpless alongside teenagers dealing with terminal diagnosis at such a young age.
What a better setting for a series of jump-scares, all based on the stories by author Christoper Pike, to set the mood for the meetings of the midnight club in this series. A backdrop full of dark corners, creepy old people and shifting time periods.
I really enjoyed this series, as it isn’t as ‘adult’ as Bly or Hill House, the topics that are addressed by these kids are nothing but adult and more troubling than the ghosts and cults that occupy the storyline.
We powered though this series in just 2 days, yep, liked it that much, and also just had time open up to binge! And honestly, we had more questions at the end than answers (not all lose ends have to be tied up in a pretty bow, but…) Then I read an interview with “Variety” with Flanagan mentioning that this story is not intended to end with this ‘season’ and with or without Netflix he intends to go further with the story… WHEW!
So, you know what you can expect from Flanagan, great story telling, hidden easter eggs, familiar faces, great setting, great acting, and great scares. You’ll get your fix of “Flanaverse” (yep, it’s a thing), so, if you haven’t checked it out yet… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!
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