Mike Flanagan Ranked
Halima Duarte
05.13.2024
Star Filmmaker Mike Flanagan announced his departure from Netflix early 2023 – to then be countered by his welcome to Amazon Prime. Flanagan exited the horror and thriller genres in his short-lived Netflix legacy, leaving behind a few limited series and movies. In just a four year period, he produced some of the most gut-wrenching, mind twisting, spine-chilling pieces to ever hit the screen and put Netflix as a high competitor in the horror category. His pieces have made horror history, so there is no better way to look at his work than with the ranked guide to Mike Flanagan’s Netflix legacy.
7. The Midnight Club (2022)
This show feels the least true to the horror genre and shows the least of Flanagan’s full potential. The Midnight Club takes place in Brightcliffe, a hospice home specifically with young adults who suffer from terminal illnesses. The young adults have formed a Midnight Club, where they gather around and share scary stories and gather rumors about Brightcliffe’s past. The club’s pact is revealed — the first to die must reach the others from the other side. But other secrets entail about Brightcliffe.
As a horror fan, this show did not keep my attention. It struggled to keep a horror feel and fit the paradigm of a young adult series. A lot of elements felt out of place and deviated from what watchers could expect at first glance, and not in a good way. However, if horror isn’t your thing and Mike Flanagan now peaks your interest, it’s a place to start!
6. Before I Wake (2016)
Technically, this movie is not part of Flanagan’s contract with Netflix in 2018, but it set the tone for his future. This film follows the story of two foster parents who find out that their eight-year-old foster child has a prodigious ability to translate his dreams into real life. All seems well until his foster parents realize that his visions also appear in the real world and a recurring nightmare patches itself onto the family.
Don’t be fooled by how low this movie may be — it keeps the audience engaged! The story is unique and doesn’t only rely on jumpscares. It actually has a plot and backstory instead of overwhelming the audience with fear, which some horror movies fail to accomplish. The story moves very fast, so some details do get lost as the movie progresses. However, it is a quick and easy watch.
5. Midnight Mass (2021)
Flanagan showcases his immense knowledge of Stephen King through this chilling miniseries from 2021. The story follows a man who returns to his religious, isolated island hometown after serving jail time. The town then starts to go through supernatural incidents following the arrival of a new priest.
This is the first on the list that highlights what Flanagan does best with his stories — hidden Easter eggs and references to other work. Flanagan first models the island very similar to the unsettling Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. Additionally, as someone may gather from the title and plot, the supernatural incidents and episodes are made to model the Bible. The timeline of the episodes follows Lent, a time of change and rebirth,which perfectly describes what happens to the town members.
4. Gerald’s Game (2017)
Another one of Flanagan’s movies, Gerald’s Game elicited a visceral feeling within the audience. Based on the Stephen King novel, the film is about an older couple who retreats to a lakehouse to rekindle their straining relationship. In a failed attempt at foreplay, the husband Gerald dies and leaves his wife in handcuffs with no help in sight. Not only does she fight for her own survival, but hallucinations start to consume her.
Recreating a book into a movie is a daunting task for anyone. The slightest change or alteration can take a toll, but Flanagan adapted the story in the best way. Six years after its release, you can still see this movie peeking into the top ten. It’s scary, disturbing, and even makes the most seasoned horror fans turn away.
3. Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
Arguably one of Flanagan’s most well-known works, Bly Manor is a love story hidden in a ghost story. It follows an American au pair in the 1980s who comes to take care of two children in their UK home. With the help of the other house staff, secrets about the manor and what resides in it come to light — but not before wreaking havoc. Flanagan uses inspiration from Henry James, which can be seen from the episode titles that match James’s works.
The twists and turns of Bly Manor with the combination of its deep and rich plot makes Bly Manor what viewers loved. It is rare for viewers to see the complex stories of every character.
2. Haunting of Hill House (2018)
The first installment of the annual miniseries follows a family that once lived in a haunted manor that took their mother’s life. The now adult children are being taunted and drawn back by the spirits of the old manor. The series loosely follows the Shirley Jackson novel with the same name.
This series is so high on this list thanks to the unpredictable plots and the attention to detail — the spirits cater to each child in a way that still makes them tick as adults. It comes to show how history repeats itself, and that we cannot escape our pasts.
1. The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
This series will most likely be our last Netflix series from Flanagan, but he definitely went out with a bang. The Fall of the House of Usher is about an extremely wealthy but corrupt Roderick Usher who witnesses the dramatic deaths of all his children . As the title may have given away, they are all based on Edgar Allen Poe stories. And when I say based, I really mean every single aspect of the show, from the names of every character, to the way the Usher children die. It honors and emulates the famed poet to a T.
Flanagan made sure every detail could be pulled right from a Poe work, but he infused a modern edge. Every episode is partnered with a tragic death of an Usher with a miniscule spoiler hidden in the episode title – the irony is bold when the heart surgeon dies in the Tell-Tale Heart episode. It also serves metaphors and monologues of wealth, greed, overconsumption and everything that surrounds it. Even though it is a show about death, almost every episode is bittersweet, as their demise has a direct correlation with their biggest mistakes in life.
Mike Flanagan leaving his partnership with Netflix is a bittersweet reality. The thrill of his limited series and what they are going to have in store every September. However, this is not his end. Contracts looming through Amazon Video give hope to a new age of horror and mystery on the horizon. The next mystery Mike Flannagan gives us is just what he plans on doing next.
