Horror fans owe a lot to Mike Flanagan and Netflix. From ghost-filled chillers like The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor to slow-burn bloodbaths like Midnight Mass, the collaborations between the filmmaker and the streamer have certainly catered to every kind of genre fan. But which of Mike Flanagan's Netflix horror shows are the best?
Due to them all being so unique, it stands to reason that different outings appeal to different people; check out whether your favorites match ours below. What's more, we've ranked them, too, now that The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan's latest and last Netflix project is now streaming.
It's fitting, really, that it acts as some sort of bow from the writer-director, as it centers a man reflecting on his successful career – and everything he did to maintain it. For what it's worth, Flanafans needn't worry, he'll still be making stuff in the not-so-distant future; he's just teaming up with Amazon Prime Video as part of a new multi-year deal. We'll be sure to keep you posted on his upcoming works but for now, let's dive into every Mike Flanagan horror show already available to scream-and-stream...
5. The Midnight Club
Based on the 1994 novel by Christopher Pike, The Midnight Club was co-created by Flanagan and Leah Fong. It isn't bad per se, it just doesn't measure up to the former's other titles. Narratively all over the place, over-reliant on jumpscares, and led by a younger cast that clearly doesn't quite possess the acting talents of the stellar ensembles in Midnight Mass and Hill House, it sees the titular club investigate whether there really is an afterlife.
Each of the eight youngsters is terminally ill, so their fascination with the beyond is steeped in melancholy – something Flanagan fans are well used to, and fond of, by now. But its focus on teen angst doesn't always blend well with its more serious, supernatural scares. That said, it's visually lush, and if you're looking for something spooky that's catered to a younger audience, this'd prove the perfect Flanagan outing for you. Decent Halloween fare, if nothing particularly more.
4. The Fall of the House of Usher
Undoubtedly Flanagan's goriest miniseries yet, The Fall of the House of Usher sees the filmmaker embrace his twisted, campier side while adapting Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name – and some of the author's poems, too; most notably The Raven.
Deliciously dark and chic, it sees Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood, on great form) relive his life and career through a tense, fireside conversation with his old pal and investigator Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly). Turns out – and fear not, this is no spoiler – all of Roderick's six children are dead, and he maybe, kind of, sort of had something to do with it. A problem shared is a problem halved, right?
It's super fun to watch Flanagan's frequent collaborators like Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, and Rahul Kohli ham it up playing the worst people you've ever known, and watching privileged pricks get their comeuppance will never not be a treat. But it's frustratingly formulaic and repetitive in places – and its "death of the week" approach sometimes leaves you wanting to fast forward to the end of each episode. You'll see its "twist reveal" in the finale coming a mile off, too. With that, we had to plonk it in the number four slot.
3. Midnight Mass
What's better than a vampire horror story? Well, a surprise vampire horror story, so Midnight Mass is automatically a winner in our eyes. If nothing else, the faith-based fable is worth watching just for Hamish Linklater's pitch-perfect performance as Father Paul, a charismatic priest whose supposed relocation to the small town of Crockett Island uneases its residents – and brings with it a monstrous supernatural threat.
It's a little too existential and dialogue-heavy – damn, some of those monologues are mawkish – and it's much less intimate than Flanagan's previous works, but it builds to one hell of a conclusion, steeped in religious iconography and drenched in blood. In addition to Flanagan first-timer Linklater, it's arguably Samantha Sloyan's best work, too, having previously teamed up with the filmmaker on Hush and The Haunting of Hill House. In Midnight Mass, she plays Beverly, a devout Christian who stealthily becomes one of the show's overarching antagonists. While genre fans could do a lot worse than The Midnight Club and The Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass is the first of Flanagan's work on this ranking that is not to be missed. We promise the slow-burn is worth it.
2. The Haunting of Bly Manor
If you'd rather tear up than be terrified, The Haunting of Bly Manor is sure to be right up your street. Based on several works by Henry James, most notably his 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw, it sees Victoria Pedretti (who wowed us in Hill House, but more on that later) play Dani, a young American woman who moves to England, and takes a job as a nanny at a secluded countryside estate. There, she strikes up a fast friendship with the precocious children she's been charged with looking after, as well as cook Owen (Kohli) and housekeeper Hannah (T'Nia Miller). But it's her romance with gardener Jamie (Amelia Eve) that acts as the backbone of this story...
You see, something sinister is lurking in the grounds of Bly Manor, and it doesn't take long for the dwelling's dark past to come to light – just as Dani's secrets do, too. While it has its scary moments, The Haunting of Bly Manor is mostly focused on love and how, even if it's fleeting, it's worth the sorrow that comes with losing it.
It's also just endlessly entertaining to try and catch all of the ghosts hidden in plain sight throughout the show's eight episodes. (We caught 47, how about you?)
1. The Haunting of Hill House
Well, it had to be number one, didn't it? The Haunting of Hill House is horror at its finest; a heartbreaking tale, bolstered by sensational performances, that explores the devastating effects of growing up inside a spirit-infested mansion. It's a genius retelling of Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name, which sees four strangers come together at the titular abode to try and prove that it's occupied by poltergeists. Here, Flanagan centers the Crain siblings, who are all struggling to face up to the ghosts of their pasts – and their mother's tragic death.
As we watch each of them unravel to varying degrees (we love you, Nell!) in the present day, the show regularly jumps to 1992, where flashbacks depict the events leading up to the fateful night the frightened family fled Hill House.
Know we're not being hyperbolic when we say that everything about it is great, from it's uncanny casting of the Crains in both timelines and 'one-shot' episode 6 to THAT jaw-dropping Bent-Neck Lady twist. As evidenced by this list, every single one of Mike Flanagan's is worth tuning into, but up against the exquisite five-out-of-five Hill House, the rest is... simply confetti.
All of the shows mentioned above are streaming now on Netflix. If horror isn't your bag, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to watch right now.
