Flanagan goes YA for ‘Midnight Club,’ but never fear – it’s still good
TV review: The switch to young-adult source material doesn’t mean Mike Flanagan’s high bar has been lowered. This is another artistic mix of heart and horror.
Horror TV
‘Devil in Ohio’: Horror miniseries as comfort food
TV review: Adapting her own book, Daria Polatin delivers a safe and tame devil-worshiper saga. But it’s boosted by the excellent Madeleine Arthur.
‘Firestarter: Rekindled’ (2002) an interesting experiment
Stephen King flashback (TV review): Not as bad as one would assume, “Firestarter: Rekindled” follows Charlie McGee and her troubles into her 20s.
‘Evil’ Season 2 (2021) down-to-earth and deliciously demonic
Frightening Friday (TV review): Ironically, its grounding in reality makes “Evil” one of TV’s best supernatural series. Here’s my look at Season 2.
‘Salem’s Lot’ miniseries (1979) sucks life out of King’s book
Stephen King flashback (TV review): King adaptations have a proud history in the miniseries format, but the first one doesn’t stand the test of time.
Fuller’s version of ‘Carrie’ (2002) digs into characters
Stephen King flashback (Movie review): The third “Carrie” film is a more faithful and character-driven take on King’s book.
Shyamalan helms engrossing ‘Servant’ Seasons 1-2 (2019-21)
Frightening Friday (TV review): He’s known as a filmmaker, but “Servant” makes a compelling case that Shyamalan’s skills translate to the TV format.
John’s top 10 TV shows of 2021
2021 television: Mystery miniseries dominated 2021. But at least one reliable old standby cracks my list of the year’s 10 best TV shows.
‘Yellowjackets’ soapier than I’d like, but has some sting
First episode impressions (TV review): This miniseries has a great premise of teen girls thrown into an extreme situation, but it’s also a little soapy.
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ has bizarre, sharp edge
First episode impressions (TV review): This miniseries shows that what teens are doing now is decidedly different from what they did in 1973 or 1997.