"To those before, to those after, to us now, and to those beyond, seen or unseen, here but not here..."
I have fond memories of the Christopher Pike novels from my junior high and high school days. Even at that point, they were already beyond my reading level but I enjoyed the stories as they were all about kids roughly my age, if not a little older. They were also easy reads over the course of an afternoon so I could burn through them. Among my favorites was The Midnight Club, which just premiered the first season on Netflix and I was eager to dive into it.
Ilonka (played by Iman Benson) had a bright future ahead of her. She was Valedictorian and preparing to head to college in the fall when she is diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer. As she researches her condition, she discovers the story of a patient named Julia Jayne who made a miraculous recovery while staying at Brightcliffe Home Hospice for terminally ill teens. The facility is run by the warm but enigmatic Dr. Georgina Sutton (played by Heather Langenkamp) along with Nurse Practitioner Mark (played by Zach Gilford). Ilonka decides to enroll, hoping that she will find an unconventional cure, just as Julia Jayne had. Upon her arrival, she begins meeting the other residents, including her roommate, Anya (played by Ruth Codd), her acerbic but fiercely protective roommate. She quickly bonds with Kevin (played by Igby Rigney), who she meets when she first arrives. Among the other residents are Spencer (played by Chris Sumpter), Sandra (played by Annarah Cymone), Cheri (played by Adia), Natsuki (played by Aya Furukawa) and Amesh (played by Sauriyan Sapkota). On the first night, Illonka follows Anya when she quietly leaves the room close to midnight. It turns out that every night, the residents convene in the Library, in front of a roaring fireplace, for a meeting of the Midnight Club, where they swap scary stories with the group, with one member taking a turn each night. They also made a pact, if one of them dies, the should make every effort to reach out to the rest of the group from beyond the grave. As Illonka further digs into the history of Brightcliffe and Julie Jayne's miraculous recovery, she discovers there is something decidedly supernatural and potentially sinister about the place
The series was created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong, based on the original novel by Christopher Pike. Christopher Pike was inspired to write the original novel when he received a letter from a fan who was in a terminal cancer ward with several other teens who would meet at midnight every night and discuss his books. He wrote the book specifically for her, but rather than have the characters discuss his books, he had them tell scary stories. This comes full circle with the series though because each story a member tells in the series is and adaptation of another Christopher Pike book. The series has a unique set up in this sense because while it is an adaptation of The Midnight Club, it also is a bit of an anthology series as each story that is told is presented as a vignette with all the characters within the story played be the main cast members. The genres of the stories told are refreshingly varied, spanning from ghost stories to serial killer thriller to science fiction and even a hard boiled detective story. Each story that is told is born from the character telling the tale's own struggles or internal conflicts, with certain thematic parallels to their real world struggles. The show does keep a respectful balance between the scares, both in the stories and in the series as a whole, while treating the characters with dignity and respect, creating a unique blend of scares and heartwarming moments. These are kids struggling with terminal illnesses and each one is carefully fleshed out as we learn their hopes, dreams and fears as they face an unimaginable reality. Setting the series in the mid-90s, when the books originally were published, was a nice touch as well.
The show assembled an impressive cast led by Iman Benson as Ilonka. She initially arrives at Brightcliffe with the goal of healing herself, but quickly bonds with the others and wants to find a way to cure everyone if she can. Her character is very driven and ambitious, but also has a strong compassionate side and Benson does a fantastic job balancing those two character traits. Ruth Codd has one of the trickiest roles as Anya, who has been through many stages with her illness and it has worn her down, leaving her with a very sarcastic and at times almost bitter personality, but she is also fierce and strong character just without any tolerance for bullshit and speaks her mind freely. It's tough to make a character like Anya likable, but Codd manages to pull it off remarkably well. Igby Rigney is endearing as Kevin, bringing the good hearted character to life quite well, a character who is still trying to cling to his current life, including trying to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend, even though he is terminally ill and it is clearly taking a toll on him. Annarah Cymone has a tricky role as Sandra, who since becoming ill has become deeply religious, something that deeply irritates Spencer, who is gay and in the advanced stages of AIDs. She manages to find a balance with the character who needs her faith to help face her diagnosis but doesn't use to judge others. There is a very touching scene where she reconciles with Spencer that she handles beautifully and moved me to tears. Likewise, Chris Sumpter gives a heartfelt performance as Spencer, who clearly feels isolated in at least some ways from the other teens, as the only gay kid there. The others try to be as supportive as they can but there is only so much we they can do. He wonderfully conveys both the fear and frustration his character feels, while also trying to maintain a strong façade. Zach Gilford turns in a sensitive performance as Mark, the nurse practitioner for the facility that sees over many of the teens care directly, especially Spencer, who he has a certain kinship with as a gay man himself and tries to give him some sense of connection to the LGBTQ community, even if Spencer is primarily stuck in the Hospice. Heather Langenkamp, horror royalty, gives a great performance as Dr. Georgina Sutton. She has a delicate balancing act with the character who has to at once be warm, caring and almost maternal towards the teens under her care, yet knows more than she is letting on and it's not certain you can completely trust her. It was such a thrill seeing her in this and I loved her interactions with the younger characters, especially a scene where she clues them in that she knows they meet in secret every night, "Why do you think there's always fresh firewood every night?"
The Midnight Club is another winner of a series from Mike Flanagan, sitting comfortably with his other series such as The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. This series even works in some Easter Eggs to his past works, including appearances by his frequent past collaborators, that I won't spoil. Unlike the other series though, this one is not a limited series and leaves the door wide open for a season 2. Considering how much I thoroughly enjoyed this series, I have my fingers crossed it gets renewed for a Season 2. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger exactly, but it is clear there is still so much more story to tell, both with our group of teens but with Dr. Sutton and Brightcliffe itself. I just hope we get to see it. As it is though, The Midnight Club is fantastic Spooky Season entertainment.
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