First Episodes and First Impressions
Midnight Mass: Although I had seen Ouija origin and a small part of the haunting of Hill house many years before, this was the first of Mike Flanagan’s works I dived into paying attention 2 who he is, what he does, and who are in his projects. The initial scene of Midnight Mass was very interesting and well done with the lighting and audio and everything, but after that point it became seriously boring 2 me. I didn't like any of the characters introduced or any of the characters' feelings about the setting. I knew it was supposed 2 b about vampires but not even a toe was fully dipped into that plot. All there was were dead cats which would have been more interesting if there were less i think. the only actor I recognized when watching this was the actor for agent reyes in the X-Files, and I also noticed an X-Files poster in Riley Flynn’s room. another thing i wanted to point out is the fact that Riley Flynn is an awful name 😮💨🙏, and for a show called midnight mass, they did not hold any midnight masses.
The Midnight Club: This show had been on my TBW for quite some time, I know it is a book adaptation, but some aspects reminded me of Are you afraid of the dark? I didn't enjoy the beginning sequence, I think it would have been nicer for Ilanka to get to Brightcliff sooner so the characters could maybe develop a bit more. I did however like that she was having visions of the people and the house before she found it researching. Some costumes and set design bother me as they are not very 1990’s. I think if one is going 2 do a show that takes place in a decade that's foreign to younger viewers, they have to really sell it. The first episode didn't stand out a lot to me aside from the cast of young people, but apparently the mystery introduced in episode one was enough to draw me in to complete the entire series. my favourite character, of the first episode and otherwise, is Kevin. I can talk about my feeling regarding the rest of the episodes on a separate post. (writing this after editing the post 2 write that very last sentence which this will make sense once u read it, but this comment isnt abt the first episode actually sorry, but i locked in when they made that The X-Files reference, just saying)
The Haunting of Hill House: i’ve seen the beginning of the episode and the end of the episode a while back. Which is an experience I hadn’t had for any of the other episodes that I watched previous to this one, but it had been uninteresting enough for me that I had a forgotten most of it. Before learning about the numerous projects of Mike Flanagan, I got interested in this show because it features prominent child actor McKenna grace who makes girl rock or pop punk music that I enjoy. any whoosle, my real thoughts of the episode are that yes it was very boring and some of the flash vaccines were too crazy to understand. I liked the character of Young Luke and I was told that Luke was going to be my favorite character. I of course recognized many of the actors, but my favorite ones were not in this project or we’re not in what I had seen of this project. I did notice the other child actors some of which I recognized, and some are so amazing at their job its insane, like you are five years old what are we doing. I liked the dancing spirit or possibly possessed woman its very good 2 me. female hysteria as a horror. None of the characters were extremely developed in the first episode. The music didn’t stand out to me nor did the script. I did, however, notice that the color grading was often very dark. My favorite part was when all of the family had that feeling when nell was ill or whatever you wanna call it and it cut 2 each of them briefly. uhhhh thats it. pretty boring.
The Haunting of Bly manor: I was familiar with the text this series was adapted from, which I hadn’t been for any of the previous projects. I had seen another adaptation of the book before, so I kind of knew what to expect. I liked in the beginning the nod to the title of the book by the narrator. I have also noticed Mike Flanagan‘s beautiful use of the cinematic tool that is narrating. I don’t quite understand in this story how the narrator plays in, but of course I did only watch the first episode. I appreciated the casting for the children in this adaptation more than the other adaptations I had seen. I also liked Flora‘s use of talisman. I was told that Miles was going to not be as creepy as he is in other adaptations, but he was still pretty unnerving and messed up in my opinion. Character that stood out the most to me was probably the man who works as a chef who I cannot remember the name of at this moment. The scene that stuck out the most to me was the one where they locked Dani in the closet it was very interesting. Additionally, I liked the dialogue in the scene where Dani and the one of other women who works at the estate r talking in its chapel. This series caught more of my interest than both Midnight Mass and Hill House. (i hope her name is dani and i didnt just make that up)
The Fall of the House of Usher: this adaptation also uses the tool of narration. It possibly has the largest cast. I don’t think any of the mysteries were introduced in such a light that I will be seeking the next episodes, but some of the sequences interested me more than others. I liked the scenes where it showed the two main siblings when they were younger. Both as teens and early in their adulthood. My favorite repeating actor in these projects was in this series, but not until late in the episode and I have text receipts of me bothering my friend because all I really cared was to see his face and his hair. I call him “the guy that I like the hair and face of” or “the guy that looks like the secret third Winchester”. Some parts of the episode just generally confused me. Actually, most parts did. I was attempting to remember the name of the character that stood out the most to me just now and was reminded of the scene where they were testing on a monkey, which disturbed me in a good way and made me think about umbrella academy which i hope never happens again. Anyways, the character that stood out to me the most was the woman who I think does fashion. I cannot remember her name. She has white hair n stuff. oh and ALSO!! they got another The X-Files cast member. dont think i wouldnt catch that. i know mr. flanagan must like The X-Files cus ik hes into that supernatural & catholic stuff.
