Published by Mason Oldridge, 21 October 2022
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Horror, thriller and coming-of-age teen drama all come together in the latest chilling series from The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan.
The series sees a group of terminally ill teens living in a hospice tell each other stories at midnight while having a pact that the first to die should send them a message beyond the grave. This intriguing premise delivers as both the main storyline and the stories told within it eerily drawn you in.
In contrast to previous series, a coming-of-age element is largely present as the group bond over their shared mortality and relationships form among the youngsters. The stories they tell all somehow partly relate to their troubled selves, with particular praise deserved for the heart-wrenching hitchhiking story.
However, horror remains at the forefront whether it’s the record-breaking jumpscares in the premiere, the elderly ghosts, the time-jumping or the discovery of the underground chamber that once inhabited a cult.
The penultimate episode is arguably the best as protagonist Ilonka discovers the friendly neighbour is actually Julia Jane, the former resident who was cured in the 60s, who attempts to perform a human-sacrifice ritual. The final episode isn’t as dramatic, though explains Julia was misdiagnosed rather than cured but attributed her fortune to the Gods instead of luck and she was performing black magic as she’d fallen ill again. It also wraps up all storylines, with Anya sending a message in the form of fixing her statue, before the final reveal that the elderly ghosts were the original owners of the building and Stanton has a cult tattoo.
7/10