8 Mike Flanagan shows and movies to watch ASAP (and 4 you can skip for now)

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE | Steve Dietl/Netflix

As we look forward to Mike Flanagan's many projects in development—like his take on Clayface for DC, a Carrie series, and The Exorcist—now feels like the perfect time to look back at Flanagan's many television shows and movies, to create a guide for those who want to dive in and don't know where to start. Which shows and movies are worth watching, and which can you skip?

To be honest, I think all of Flanagan's works are worthwhile, but there are a few you could skip if you're really pressed for time.

Carla Gugino dressed in red
CARLA GUGINO in THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE | Steve Dietl/Netflix

The Haunting of Hill House

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: Netflix

Starting with the series that put Mike Flanagan on the map, The Haunting of Hill House is still considered the filmmaker's magnum opus. It's brilliant, masterful television with beautiful writing and wonderful performances from the entire cast. An adaptation of Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel of the same name, there's no world where you can miss out on watching this Netflix Original series.

Absentia

  • Verdict: SKIP
  • Streaming: Tubi

Flanagan's feature directorial debut is decent but lacks the same spark as some of his later works. In this film, a woman and her sister realize that a strange tunnel nearby might be linked to several disappearances, including that of her missing husband.

Carla Gugino handcuffed to a bedframe
CARLA GUGINO in GERALD'S GAME | Netflix

Gerald's Game

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: Netflix

A romantic getaway turns into a nightmare scenario when a woman finds herself trapped and handcuffed to a bed in a remote cabin where no one is likely to find her until it's too late. What starts as an idyllic retreat between Jessie (Carla Gugino) and her husband Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) spirals out of control when Geral suddenly dies, leaving Jessie handcuffed to their bed. Based on Stephen King's novel, Gerald's Game has become famous for its cringe-inducing "degloving" scene.

All the kids in The Midnight Club
THE MIDNIGHT CLUB | Netflix

The Midnight Club

  • Verdict: SKIP
  • Streaming: Netflix

The esteemed horror filmmaker tackled Christopher Pike's popular YA horror books for this supernatural teen drama about a group of terminally ill kids living in hospice who get together every night to tell each other scary stories. Again, The Midnight Club isn't a bad show by any means, but it did feel weaker than some of Flanagan's other works. Perhaps it would have improved had it gotten additional seasons.

VICTORIA PEDRETTI as DANI in THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR
VICTORIA PEDRETTI as DANI in THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR | Eike Schroter/Netflix

The Haunting of Bly Manor

  • Verdict: SKIP
  • Streaming: Netflix

I don't think The Haunting of Bly Manor is a bad series by any means, and it is another tragic story among Flanagan's many incredible works. But if you were to go into this season expecting something similar to The Haunting of Hill House, I think you would be disappointed. And fan reactions to this season weren't as positive as they were toward Hill House.

HAMISH LINKLATER as FATHER PAUL
HAMISH LINKLATER as FATHER PAUL in episode 105 of MIDNIGHT MASS | Eike Schroter/Netflix

Midnight Mass

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: Netflix

Midnight Mass is a special series because it was one of Flanagan's first projects based on an original story and not an adaptation of a book. But never fear, Flanagan proved himself entirely up to the task with a show many feel is one of his best works to date. Zach Gilford stars as Riley Flynn, a troubled businessman who has just been released from prison, where he was serving time for a drunk driving incident. He finds his hometown has changed quite a bit since he was last there, all related to an enigmatic and charismatic priest (Hamish Linklater).

Ouija: Origin of Evil

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: Netflix

A marked improvement over the 2014 film Ouija, this movie is set in 1967 Los Angeles. It follows a widowed mother and her young daughters as they become targeted by a malicious entity seemingly summoned by their scam séance business.

Before I Wake

  • Verdict: SKIP
  • Streaming: Netflix

A dark fantasy film about foster parents struggling to cope with the death of their biological son, especially when their foster child starts experiencing nightmares featuring him. He seems to have the terrifying ability to bring his nightmares to life, leaving his new parents terrified and desperate to find answers. Before I Wake is fine but rather forgettable as far as horror films go.

Doctor Sleep

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Available to rent/buy from digital retailers

Adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name—a sequel to his classic book The Shining—I've been trying to convince more people to watch Doctor Sleep for years. It's a fantastic movie featuring some of the scariest and most disturbing horror movie moments from the last decade. We catch up with a much older Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor,) who is still struggling with his trauma over the events that occurred at the Overlook Hotel and now must contend with an insidious cult known as the True Knot.

The Usher family sits at a dinner table
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER | Eike Schroter/Netflix

The Fall of the House of Usher

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: Netflix

Another adaptation, this time of various works by Edgar Allan Poe, Flanagan left Netflix on a high note with this compelling gothic series starring several of his frequent collaborators like Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, Rahul Kohli, and more. The show centers on the ultra-wealthy Usher family, owners of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, a company embroiled in a high-profile scandal regarding their illicit advertisement practices concerning the fictional drug Ligodone. When patriarch Roderick Usher's (Bruce Greenwood) children begin dying off, Roderick finally divulges the truth about what happened to them to the principal attorney on the case.

Hush

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: AMC+, Shudder, and Tubi

This excellent slasher film starring Flanagan's real-life wife, Kate Siegel, as a deaf-mute writer attacked by a killer in a remote house in the woods has received a new life lately now that the film is available to rent or buy digitally. A new physical release and movie streaming on several platforms have also been available since Netflix removed it.

Oculus

  • Verdict: WATCH
  • Streaming: Prime Video

Oculus is a haunting and spellbinding tale about a genuinely freaky mirror known as the Lasser Glass. Adult siblings Kaylie and Tim struggle in the wake of their parents' violent deaths, and Kaylie suspects that the antique mirror could be the cause of it.