Mike Flanagan’s Stuck-At-Home Binge Guide: Indie Horror Hits and Overlooked Gems
Doctor Sleep writer-director gives an update on his two new Netflix projects, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass, and shines a light on indie horror with recommendations for what to watch while you're hunkering down at home.
(Photo by Jessica Miglio / © Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection)
Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game) was looking at a banner year, with the pending release of The Haunting of Bly Manor, the second installment to his hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, and the start of production for his next project with the streamer, Midnight Mass. Then the entertainment industry shut down, with TV and film productions suspended as precautionary measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“Midnight Mass was two days away from principal photography when we shut down,” Flanagan told Rotten Tomatoes when we checked in with him recently. “I flew my family out of Vancouver just before they closed the border, and I could actually see some of the exterior sets we built from the airplane. A few days before the shutdown, we had a table read of all seven episodes with the full ensemble, and it was amazing. This show is so special to me. It was surreal to just put everything down and walk away from it.”
The series, according to Deadline, follows “an isolated island community that experiences miraculous events — and frightening omens — after the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest.” The series creator has been building up to this show for years now, with it beginning as an Easter egg in movies Hush and Gerald’s Game.
Flanagan may not know when things will pick back up, but he’s confident they will: “Netflix has gone above and beyond when it comes to taking care of the cast and crew on its suspended shows. They’ve been adamant that as soon as it is safe, whenever that is, we will pick up right where we left off and get Midnight Mass back into production right away.”
Bly Manor is a different story altogether.
“We’re in post-production now and on schedule, and have been able to keep post moving by setting up remote editing systems in people’s houses,” Flanagan revealed. “I just can’t say what that schedule represents as far as release before Netflix makes their official announcement, but I can say that there isn’t any talk of changing the plan, at least as of yet.”
Now with some epic downtime on his hands, Flanagan said his viewing habits have been “all over the map.”
“Last night we watched Once,” he said, “and we’ve been bingeing Patriot on Amazon. I’m almost finished with season 1, and the ‘rock, paper, scissors’ scene is absolutely stunning. I’m halfway through War of the Worlds on Epix, and last week I had a positively weird triple-feature of Apocalypse Now, [Andrei] Tarkovsky’s Stalker, and A River Runs Through It.”
While each of those titles — all Fresh or Certified Fresh at 80% and higher on the Tomatometer — is definitely worth a watch, the filmmaker has a few other recommendations for viewers at home. Many may know the man from his horror work in television, but Flanagan’s career began in the indie film world, and that’s where his heart still lies.
“I figured I’d take this opportunity to amplify some independent horror films,” Flanagan said. “My debut feature Absentia was championed by a number of people in the horror community and spread entirely by word of mouth, and it’s entirely because of that support that I have this career.”
While some of these indie horror movies can be found on the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, Flanagan suggests if you can afford to go the extra step and make a purchase, that type of support speaks volumes.
“These are the kind of movies where such purchases make a difference,” he says. “That kind of demonstrable audience helps more films like this get made, and helps these filmmakers have more ammunition to keep making the kinds of films they make. I can speak from personal experience that each and every rental or purchase makes a real and tangible difference.”
Read on for Flanagan’s list of favorite indie horror films, “Each of which,” he adds, “would be well worth your time as we all do our part to mitigate the spread of this real-world horror.”
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