The Midnight Club episode 6 review: A familiar Mike Flanagan direction?

Having just crossed the halfway mark of The Midnight Club, the series is already starting to resemble some past works of the modern master of horror Mike Flanagan. With no offense to the brilliant five episodes that preceded this one, the sixth episode, titled Witch, was so far the most complete episode in the series.

While the first five episodes scattered hints of the supernatural around the real premise and dragged in the horror elements through the storytelling, this episode was more upfront and dived into one of the horror tropes that are familiar to Flanagan fans. Though it is remarkable how the director did not recycle one bit of material from his previous work and still managed to generate both fear and emotion, a trademark of the director, in a new form.

Read on for a detailed review of The Midnight Club episode 6.

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The Midnight Club episode 6 review: A full episode with some recurring formulas

This episode has something unique in terms of storytelling. This episode breaks away from the conventional one-story-per-episode format and dives into two back-to-back stories. Though this initially seems like a fun prospect, it soon runs out of fuel despite the tight pacing and convincing acting.

Kevin's (played by Igby Rigney) serial killer story, which also seemed to metaphorically point to the mindset of some real-life serial killers, started off the day. It was soon joined by Illonka's (played by Iman Benson) latest story, which seemed to have a certain direction but could not generate the excitement of its predecessor.

The episode soon evolves into a more sophisticated take on death, with Anya (Ruth Codd) nearly reaching the end of her limited lifetime. This was one of the highlights of the episode. Flanagan's profound understanding of humans, especially humans in the face of mortal peril, is spot-on once again as a desperate Illonka decides to venture into the unknown and even fight death itself. This emotion resonates strongly throughout the room, giving a glimpse into what facing death really feels like.

With a little push from the mysterious Shasta in the forest, Illonka leads the entire group in a "cult-ier" direction. Fighting death off isn't something that is plausible, except when there is a horror angle involved. This is precisely where the final segment of The Midnight Club episode 6 takes us.

This is by far the most interesting part of the episode, where The Midnight Club resonates with Flanagan's previous masterpiece Midnight Mass. The final segment requires a ritual with each member burning one thing that they love. This also leads to an emotionally-packed moment, with most of them narrating small stories about their association with the item.

The episode ends on a high note with the ritual nearing its end and something sinister ready to burst out. The creators intentionally left the episode at this tense point to create a cliffhanger of sorts.

This episode had good moments throughout its 50-minute runtime, but it lacked stand-out moments like the episodes before it. The episode's rapid dive into the completely supernatural side of the show makes it a gateway to the more important part of the show. Hopefully, the next episodes will live up to the hype created by this one.

All ten episodes of The Midnight Club are now streaming on Netflix.