As a subscription service, Netflix often produces its highest quantity of content around specific holiday seasons. During the Christmas period, for example, Netflix has, in recent years, become somewhat famous for their original movie releases celebrating the yuletide chapter. However, it is Halloween that arguably takes the prize for the most Netflix-friendly season, with many original releases landing in the month of October. This year Netflix has pulled out all the stops in its quest to be the go-to destination for spooky content, and one such release which has garnered much attention is The Midnight Club.
When looking for inspiration, some of the best work can be sourced via novels, and that is exactly what the team behind The Midnight Club did. Releasing in 1994, Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club was a hit with many fans of young-adult horror and, following the announcement of the upcoming series, has had somewhat of a renaissance with a new generation of fans of the genre. Pike is a veteran of supernatural mystery and horror novels, especially those aimed at a younger audience, so adapting one of his works is a surefire way to bring success to Netflix during Halloween. With the show just around the corner and with it promising to be one of the stand-out additions to our screens this October, here is a comprehensive guide on how to watch The Midnight Club in time for its release this Halloween.
What Is The Midnight Club About?
Of course, like many shows, the fine details of the plot of this 10-episode horror series are not known to the public. However, with the show being based on the novel of the same name, it is fair to expect that many of the details from the novel with be reflected on our screens. What we do know is that the writers have stayed true to the original premise, with the show centering around the patients at Brightcliffe Hospice, who congregate at midnight to share spooky tales. Once a sinister pact is made, and following an untimely death, strange events begin to occur that cause spine-chilling havoc for the group of friends. With such a simple yet effective premise, the original novel was a massive hit with readers, and for that reason, it is fair to assume many of the same narrative themes and threads will be translated into the on-screen version. Despite dealing with themes of the supernatural, The Midnight Club has its roots in something much more serious and moving. The original novel, despite its fantasy, touches on themes of death and one's own mortality with the main characters being terminally ill. This means that the show may have a difficult subject on its hands, and will have to find a way to bring that to a younger audience with the same success that the novel had.
Similar to many other shows, a lot can be understood from watching the trailer which can be viewed below:
Beyond plot details, the trailer gives us a sense of the style and mood of the show. It begins with an insight into the backstory of Ilonka (Iman Benson) whose life is changed when she is diagnosed with thyroid cancer and leaves to stay at Brightcliffe Hospice. It is here that the main story is set, with the trailer then introducing us to the ensemble cast and giving us a taste of some of the witty dialogue we can expect between them. The style of horror is clearly consistent with showrunner Mike Flanagan's previous work with the likes of The Haunting of Hill House, which is great news for those who are fans of his heading into The Midnight Club. There is a sense throughout the entire trailer that this will be a bone-chilling rollercoaster ride of a series, with the intensity and scares consistently providing us with reason to watch between our fingers as we try to hide our eyes.
Where And When Can I Watch The Midnight Club?
As mentioned previously, this is a Netflix production and therefore will be streaming exclusively on the platform. With its obvious ties to the Halloween season, it will come as no surprise to learn that it is launching on the 7th of October worldwide. Unfortunately, there is no other way to watch The Midnight Club other than on Netflix, which can be subscribed to for $9.99 per month for a basic subscription. Additional subscriptions can be purchased, with a standard subscription priced at $15.49 per month and a premium subscription priced at $19.99 per month.
Who Is In The Midnight Club?
For a show that will rely so heavily on its ensemble performers, a talented young cast list was expected to be announced. This is exactly what we got, with a group of names that are sure to be fan favorites, by the end of the airing of Season 1. The original novel has five main characters: Ilonka, Kevin, Spencer, Sandra, and Anya. As mentioned previously, Iman Benson (#BlackAF) plays Ilonka, but other notable names in the cast list include Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as Dr. Stanton, Samantha Sloyan (Hush) as Shasta, Zach Gilford (The Purge: Anarchy) as Mark, Matt Biedel (Midnight Mass) as Tim, Igby Rigney (Fast & Furious 9) as Kevin, Aya Furukawa (The Cabin In The Woods) as Natsuki, Annarah Cymone (Midnight Mass) as Sandra, Chris Sumpter (Power) as Spencer, and newcomers Sauriyan Sapkota, Adia, and Ruth Codd as Amesh, Cheri, and Anya. Fans of showrunner Mike Flanagan will notice that many of the names on the cast list have worked on his projects before with the likes of Biedel, Cymone, and Rigney having previous experience acting for him. So with the combination of Flanagan and Leah Fong (Once Upon A Time) behind the creation of the show and many of Flanagan's most trusted actors as part of the cast, all packaged inside the fail-safe narrative from Christopher Pike's brilliantly spooky horror novel from 1994, The Midnight Club series is looking as if it will be unmissable this Halloween season.