#anya the midnight club

[neonstatic]

it's sad cus tammy and juno finally had a connection... when juno rambled to her abt how lonely she felt alone in that big house, you could tell that tammy was rly seeing her for the first time. and tammy invited her to her big event and gave her an assigned front seat with a personalised pack (that did NOT include poo!).... and then tammy lost it and juno received a mic stand to the head javelin-style

[dcvina-claires]

thinking about how steven told hill house’s stories despite never really believing them and how jamie kept dani’s memory alive through a story and how she thought it was a ghost story but it was really a love story and how the midnight club found solace in the stories they told each other and how season two was going to have anya star in ilonka’s story and how we really are all just stories in the end

[bodie-r-hart]

You want it darker

Gänsehaut um Mitternacht

THE MIDNIGHT CLUB

from the Netflix Series Episode 'Anya'

[smokestarrules]

me when the terminally-ill kids in the terminally-ill kids show die:

[sdcfrvgbthy]

spence: this place is a lot like mcdonalds illonka: what?! spence: you'll find out soon later the day anya: welcome to mctherapy can i take your disorder amesh: ive about mcfucking had it with this spence: say that one more time and ill beat the mcshit out of you illonka: what did i get myself into

[jinxneedssleep]

I was watching The Midnight club and-

Cryingscreamingthrowingup

[chokherbalii]

mike flanagan gonna pay for my therapy bills??

[ashleybenlove]

Cheri singing Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day at their little beachside funeral for Anya is like... fitting for Anya. I think she would appreciate that song.

I know that the original intent was a edgy sort of “fuck you” but yeah, people have claimed it for end of eras.

ETA: Also, it’s a CELLO cover. Fuck. 

[dontyoulistentome]

Y'all did a fantastic job with the gif sets and all those edits, but which one of you fuckers (affectionate) was gonna tell me this was victim to Netflix's generous cancellation policy?

[richdadpoor]

Creepshow S4 Trailer Promises Ghosts, Ghouls, and Gore

It’s a scarily good time to be a fan of horror TV, with Chucky recently revealing its season three premiere date, and now Shudder’s Creepshow anthology series announcing its own return. Season four of Greg Nicotero’s George A. Romero-inspired series drops Friday, October 13 on Shudder and AMC+. What Did the Actors Bring to Their Back to the Future: The Musical Performances? Even better news:…

[fabledenigma]

In the Source Link, you will find a gif pack of Ruth Codd in Netflix's The Midnight Club.

Ruth plays the role of Anya, an amputee at Brightcliffe hospice. She is the roommate of Ilonka and one of the members of The Midnight Club. She also appears as Dana, Scottie and Harmony in the stories of herself and others. Ruth, like her character is an amputee. If you are casting her as someone, please remember this.

Source - FabledEnigma

[flanaganfilm]

The Midnight Club - Season Two

I'm very disappointed that Netflix has decided not to pursue a second season of THE MIDNIGHT CLUB.

My biggest disappointment is that we left so many story threads open, holding them back for the hypothetical second season, which is always a gamble.

So I'm writing this blog as our official second season, so you can know what might have been, learn the fates of your favorite characters, and know the answers to those dangling story threads from the first season.

So for those of you who want to know what we were planning to do, here's a look at what would have been season 2!

AMESH Season 2 would open with Amesh, his glioblastoma advancing quickly. He would tell the first story of the season, but would be struggling to make it through. We'd focus on his love story with Natsuki for those first few episodes as it becomes clear that Amesh's death is imminent.

Meanwhile, Ilonka is trying to reconcile how she was fooled by Julia Jayne, all while falling further in love with Kevin, and she realizes he may be fading faster than he lets on.

Ilonka begins a serialized story in an effort to encourage him to "stay alive a little longer," like he did in season one. And the story she tells is... REMEMBER ME.

This was the thing I was most excited about for this season.

REMEMBER ME is one of my all-time favorite Pike books - it tells the story of a teenage girl who is pushed off a balcony, and awakens as a ghost. She has to navigate being a spirit while trying to solve her own murder. We would have stretched this story out over 5 episodes. We were going to use it as a vehicle for Ilonka to try to come to terms with the fact that she is going to die, and to begin to trying to wrap her head around being a ghost... but this is the coolest part... the lead character of Ilonka's story wouldn't be played by Ilonka. She'd be played by...

Anya.

Because this is how we live on, isn't it? In the minds of those we leave behind. And Ilonka would use REMEMBER ME as a way to imagine her dear friend Anya, waking up as a ghost, navigating the afterlife. And this sets up one of the best mechanisms of the show - even if a character dies, as long as they're remembered by members of the club, they live on in their stories.

As the story starts to pick up steam, though, the group will have to deal with the death of Amesh, which he greets with grace and bravery.

In his final moments, he sees someone in his room - the Janitor from the first season, as played by Robert Longstreet, who says comforting things to Amesh even though he can't respond.

In his final, final moments, the SHADOW descends upon Amesh, and he is engulfed into it, which reinforces the idea that the Shadow is DEATH...

With Amesh's death comes something that upends the entire thing: a NEW PATIENT. We didn't work out too much about who this would be, but it would be a new roommate for Ilonka. Someone taking Anya's old bed. Ilonka would find herself being initially cold to her - just as Anya was when Ilonka arrived. Even feeling like this new girl shouldn't necessarily be ushered into the Club. But of course they would develop a beautiful friendship over the course of the season. The new girl joins the club, where something else exciting is happening - Cheri is telling a story. We hadn't decided which one, but I think it might have been MONSTER.

Natsuki would be the next to die, which would be heartbreaking. And again, she would talk to the janitor just before it happened... and again, the Shadow would come in the final moments.

For Spence, though, things would take a different turn.

The advancements in HIV treatment in the late 90's would come into play, and we'd see his prognosis change. The HIV cocktail came out in Dec 1995, and we really wanted to explore that.

Spence would ride the swell of antiviral advancements, and by the end of the season, he'd no longer be classified as terminal. In the finale of season 2, Spence would leave Brightcliffe just like Sandra did in Season 1, heading off to manage his disease and live the rest of his life.

But onto the BIG MYSTERIES of the season one... here are some answers: What is up with Dr. Stanton's tattoo and bald head? Well, a few things. First, Dr. Stanton is actually the daughter of the original Paragon cult leader, Aceso. Her nickname was Athena, she wrote the Paragon journal that Ilonka found in S1. She turned on her mother and helped the kids escape, but because she was part of the cult in her teenage years, she had the tattoo.

It was her initials that Ilonka found carved into the tree in season 1 (her maiden name was Georgina Ballard, hence the G.B. that Ilonka finds carved in the tree).

She hated what her mother became, and the atrocities of the cult. She reclaimed the property after her mom was gone, and wanted to change it into a place that celebrated life. She was trying to undo her mother's legacy and leave something behind that was beautiful. She is wearing a wig at the end of S1 not because of a sinister reason, but because she is undergoing chemo. Dr. Stanton has cancer. Having helped so many people deal with disease, she now has to deal with it herself.

Her treatment would be successful, and she'd go into remission, but having to face that - while caring for the terminal kids at Brightcliffe - was going to be a very introspective arc for Stanton.

What about the Living Shadow? It's Death, right? Well... no.

At the end of the season, Kevin will die... followed shortly by Ilonka. And as she is dying, two things will happen. First, she'll find herself talking to the Janitor, played by Robert Longstreet... and she'll make a discovery.

HE is Death. And nothing to be afraid of. It turns out no one else ever saw this character. Stanton has a cleaning service, and the Nurse practitioners make up the rooms - the only people who ever saw this mysterious Janitor were the patients. He is Death, and offers them kind words before they die. Then what was the Shadow?

This is an idea we take directly from the book REMEMBER ME, and we'll see it play out in the final moments of Ilona's final tale. In Pike's book, Shari is pursued by a dark entity called The Shadow. When it finally catches her, though, it turns out it is not a bad thing at all.

The Shadow is THEMSELVES. It's the Unknown. As it engulfs someone, in the last moment of their life, it takes them through a place of understanding and catharsis, preparing them for the next step.

THIS is what happened to Anya in S1 when the Shadow finally reached her - that's why she fantasized a life beyond Brightcliffe, which ultimately let her find acceptance of her death. It looks different for everybody, depending on their mind-set - because it is simply an extension of themselves.

The Shadow is just the final catharsis, a return to our original form - it is a moment of true understanding, and once we experience it, we move on to the next place.

We see the Shadow in full effect when it finally comes for Kevin. KEVIN DIES with Ilonka at his side, and it leads to the biggest reveal of the season:

Who were the Mirror Man and the Cataract Woman?

They were Stanley Oscar Freelan and his wife, who built Brightcliffe (fun trivia, he is named after the real-life Freelan Oscar Stanley, who built my favorite hotel in America - the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley is also the inspiration for THE SHINING!).

But more than that... there's a reason that Ilonka only sees Stanley in the mirror, and sees the Cataract Woman whenever she looked at Kevin. This is something else we took from Pike's original book... these aren't ghosts, but glimpses of PAST LIVES.

Ilonka WAS Stanley Oscar Freelan, and Kevin WAS his wife. They've lived many lives this way, and are true SOUL MATES - they always find each other, and they always fall in love. In this life, they knew it would be a short one, so they agreed to find each other in the house they built. They've been "remembering" who they are, and glimpsing their former selves in reflections, and sometimes when they look at each other. This is also why Ilonka's very first words to Kevin in S1 were "Do I know you?" and why Kevin thought she was familiar as well. They are two souls who always find each other, again and again.

The story is this: Stanley was dying, and built this cliffside home hoping that the seaside air would help him. It did, and he far outlived his prognosis (this is also true of the real-life Freelan Stanley). However, his wife began to succumb to dementia.

She would wander the halls, looking for him ("Darling!") and would even forget to feed herself ("I'm starving...") and she eventually refused to leave the basement. Heartbroken for her, Stanley painted the walls to resemble the woodland view, and the ceiling to resemble the night sky, so that it would be a little more beautiful for her.

He also painted a labyrinth on the floor, which was a technique used to try to curb the effects of dementia. She'd walk the pattern of the maze and it was believed it could help her cognition. Eventually, she developed frightening cataracts, but Stanley loved her through it all.

They were soul mates.

So while they seemed scary in season 1, that was just how Ilonka and Kevin's mind were trying to remember their pasts. We even had their faces distorting in ways consistent with how memories degrade over time. When the Shadow comes for Ilonka, and gives her this understanding - this "remembering" - she realizes she has nothing to fear. She and Kevin will shed these personas and be reborn, and have the joy of finding each other another way. The Shadow comes for her, Death takes her gently, and Ilonka goes off with Kevin back into the cosmos, ready for their next incarnation. The series would end with Cheri telling this story to a whole new table of patients, including our new series leads. Most of our original cast now would exist as stories, a story told to the next "class" of storytellers at the table, all of whom we will have met by the end of the season. A story called "The Midnight Club."

Well, that's it... that was what we had in mind. It's a shame we won't get to make it, but it would be a bigger shame if you guys simply had to live with the unanswered questions and the cliffhanger ending. I loved making this show, and I am so proud of the cast and crew. Particularly our cast, who attacked this story with incredible spirit and bravery each and every day.

But for now, we'll put the fire out, and leave the library dark and quiet. To those before, and to those after. To us now, and to those beyond.

Seen or unseen, here but not here.

I'll always be grateful that I got to be part of this Club.

[the-pleasure-garden]

The midnight club (Mike Flanagan, 2022)

El tema del terror me ha sido siempre reacio. Mi valentía es simplemente inexistente cuando se trata de jumpscares (que por cierto la serie tiene el récord de más jumpscares seguidos) u otros recursos para hacer sentir temor. Defino esas producciones por su capacidad para hacerme tener pesadillas y sin embargo puedo decir que, olvidando algunas idas al baño en la noche con temor de espejos, no tuve ningún tipo de trauma. Al menos no ded terror. Sentía trauma de la tristeza de los personajes. En una serie cuyo propósito es despertar terror poner personajes con enfermedades terminales hace que las cosas tomen un giro bien diferente. Si la muerte es la razón del terror ¿cómo lo definen estos personajes? Ellos no se enfrentan a lo desconocido con preocupación a una muerte que se acerque más de lo debido, porque lamentablemente esto ya pasó. Temen de los espíritus solo por su capacidad de ser portadores de mensajes que cada vez los ponen más cerca de un destino inevitable pero prematuro. Creo que el uso del terror en esta situación es lo que hizo que no tuviera pesadillas, que quisiera lo imposible en compañía del club de la media noche.

Con una estrategia marcada del ritual como espacio en el cual se comparten historias, la serie esta planteada al rededor de este carácter cíclico. Desde posturas llevadas a la necesidad de las familias en el proceso del duelo con visitas que se repiten, se nos presenta un espacio que se aleja de la familiaridad que los une en la biblioteca, en este ritual impuesto no todos tienen un lugar equiparable. Hay familias que no llegan, otras que no existen, pero los que se quedan en la noche todos pertenecen. Cuando da la media noche el ritual solo admite a pacientes, jóvenes que llegan con un singular vaso o pocillo para recibir un poco de vino mientras se brinda por los fallecidos y se “crean fantasmas” como lo dice Natsuki en una oportunidad. A la luz de historias inventadas, cada quien pone su esencia en un pedazo de ritual que lo vuelve oyente o narrador. Pero que nunca jerarquiza entre sus miembros. Ni siquiera rituales propiamente dotados del tabú de lo místico y la invocación a seres extraterrenales hace que los miembros se encuentren en ese mismo equilibrio de la biblioteca. Con sacrificios de sangre y de corazón los miembros tratan de salvar a su compañera pero lo verdaderamente valioso de esta escena no es el ritual recitado como instrucciones que se envían de un externo, es en realidad ver como quienes ya no tienen más que sus recuerdos dejan incluso esto en pro de que uno de los fantasmas que no crearon no se vuelva realidad.

El contar historias como punto de reunión es la excusa mejor pensada para hablar de cada uno. Es la estrategia narrativa hablar de sí mismo como un otro y de pensar a los otros como parte de sí mismo el verdadero argumento del club de la media noche. Es una narración que surge en lo efímero, en historias que no deben escribirse porque todos sus miembros pasados las pueden oír. En un club que está siempre en crecimiento y que sin embargo no necesita de más asientos se crean fantasmas para saciar la ansiedad del futuro que no existe. Antes de estas narraciones se recuerda el pacto, ese grito de esperanza porque exista un más allá, mientras habitan ese limbo construído en el bosque. Esta idea del retorno como oportunidad para comunicarse es la expectativa que se crea en todos. Es ese estado de alerta porque pueda pasar lo inexplicable. Tan inexplicable como el destino trágico que los aguarda a todos. Pero en este caso, se evitan los diagnosticos, tratamientos y examenes, cada uno de los miembros usca pruebas de que sus antiguos compañeros quieren saludar. Rechazan cada posible lógica para simplemente sentirlos cerca.

La familiaridad y el legado son aspectos que rondan constantemente la trama. Ese lugar común que a pesar de ser fatal puede reunir absolutamente a cualquier, en especial desde el filtro de la juventud. Si esta edad es liberación, la enfermedad los ata de cualquier posibilidad y esa circunstancia es tal vez la más poderosa. La atadura que tienen no a la enfermedad sino a la muerte. Esa consciencia sobre el final conjuga de manera muy bella con las historias de Kevin, y su intento de que todos lleguen a escuchar y el pueda presenciar su reacción.

Siendo la segunda vez que escribo esta reseña, creo que la primera quedó mucho mejor pero se borró :( quiero exaltar la historia y el capítulo de Anya como lo más devastadoramente hermoso que he visto.

Sobre el título: Es el nombre del club, es la reunión a una hora que no termina de ser ayer pero tampoco es mañana. Es el limbo en el que se encuentran y en el que deciden tomar las riendas sobre lo que aún tienen poder.

Una serie de:

Duelo

Cuentos

Legado

[horror-aesthete]

The Midnight Club, 2022, dir. Axelle Carolyn

SE01E07 Anya

[kit-middleton]

Burning question about Midnight Mass (contains spoiler)

Hello lovely people! I am writing a Midnight Mass fanfic and it has become imperative I find out how old Riley Flynn is meant to be. 

I assumed he was roughly Zach Gilford’s age, so around 40, but I’m not sure Mike Flanagan doesn’t know Zach is now older than Matt Saracen. My evidence? One of the kids in Midnight Club (it might have been my perfect Anya) described Mark (Zach Gilford’s character) as “cute” (indisputable, he is adorable) and “young”... These kids are like 20, I know for a fact they would think a 40-year-old is ANCIENT!

So. How old do we think Riley is?

Only tangentially related: who else is thrilled about Mark’s obsession with Interview with the Vampire when so much of Gilford in Midnight Mass was literally... what is on this photo.

[eggelette]

The Midnight Club

So I finished the Midnight Club and I have to admit, out of all Mike Flanagan's work, its the weakest. However the runt of a pack of wolves is still a wolf, Spoilers ahead.

I think this weakness is unfortunately because we've gotten used to the strength and maturity of his previous shows. The explorations of deep, haunting love and the ramifications of the way we choose to show that love and although the Midnight club had glimpses of this, it wasn't as much depth.

I think two things influence this overall critique. The first is that the stories within the story doesn't always hit the beats of the overall central story, which for season 1 was at least portrayed as Julia Jayne being Shasta. None of the other members of the hospice were involved in the overarching story, except for the ritual for Anya but that's it. They never met Shasta and thought she was weird. We didn't even see the other kids' reactions to Ilonka''s involvement to the ritual. Instead the stories were like vignettes of the characters which I really liked (except Kevin's because it didn't really tell us anything about the character except he likes to be alone, which is fine but inequitable compared to other characters) but I feel like the two weren't cohesive. The last episode was more dedicated to resolving each of the character's which felt rushed and disjointed, and was ultimately also a disservice to Julia Jayne's story and ramifications of being prepared to kill Ilonka, a child she had been slowly manipulating, for her own health. Health is not wealth at the exploitation of others and that whole narrative thread was dropped because it had no room to breathe.

The second is the fact that Ilonka is the biggest Mary Sue of all times. I mean I understand her being a vulnerable desperate teen who is deadset on her notions of healing herself and her own percieved intelligence is in theory, compelling. I just don't think it came across in practise, because never in the narrative is she challenged or questioned for her actions, plans or words. She's always justified and treated as right by her peers- hell, even in the final scene with Kevin he says she's right when she simply isn't. You could read this as two desperate teens consoling each other, but she was wrong both in the way she treated Kevin's ex-girlfriend, and in the ritual for Anya! It would have taken the life of the others if it worked! When Sandra fucked up with Spence she spent an episode actually reflecting and told a story for her redemption (which still hilariously included Angels) while Ilonka dosn't have to earn her redemption, she just walks in while the camera pans on her and boom forgiven. Also a nitpick of mine, is that she has blind faith in Shasta for the ritual, but her concern and doubt rises when she isn't in the centre of the circle? It's not intelligence, but sheer selfishness that raises red flags, and it's fine to have a selfish character but treat them that way.

The closest that came to any kind of obstacle for Ilonka, was when she asked Dr. Stanton if she could keep her whole "i was almost complicit in a murder sacrifice oopsie" a secret to the rest of the hospice and Dr.Stanton was straight up like "I thought you would have wanted to know something like that? :)". I cackled. But no, no narrative consequences. I think my biggest grip with Ilonka is that she was the protagonist when all of the supporting characters were much more interesting. Anya's story, both the one she told and in the episode of "Anya" were highlights, along with Amesh and Natsuki's stories and respective meanings. I loved Sandra, Spence and Cheri. I adored Mark and the Janitor (Flanagan's season 2 post confirmed my suspicions about the latter).

Speaking of season 2, I took a gander at the posts and I don't really think the ideas would have addressed the critique I'm levelling. The janitor as death I absolutely love, along with Spence getting AIDS treatment (and then going off to live with Sandra in a condo as per my headcanon). Even the elderly ghost couple as soulmates, reincarnated in Kevin and Ilonka is super sweet in theory, but Ilonka's Mary Jane status who can do no wrong has soured it. Also season 2 seems it doesn't have much to do with Julia Jayne, which questions why we are spending so much time in season 1 with the rituals and the lore, and the hourglass, and then not even delving deeper into how the most vulnerable people are scammed and exploited seems like a waste. Time that could have gone to the characters.

Surprisingly, I really liked the ending of the Midnight Club, I love how there were touches of collaborative storytelling earlier (with the club describing Anya and Rhett's future together in the Anya episode) and how it culminated in them finishing Imani's story. I thought Amesh adding him and Natsuki to the story (well their OC's) along with Sandra's film noir OC was incredibly endearing. That, along with the appearance of Angel Porn and all the jumpscares really sold me for the teenaged antics of the group, and the whole nature of the found family.