Photo: Eike Schroter/Netflix
TheNetflixhorror series' first episode, titled “The Final Chapter,” boasted 21 startling moments on its way to breaking the Guinness World Record for most jump scares in a premiere episode. But the joke is, it only happened because of Flanagan’s dislike for the scary movie trope.
As Flanagan, 44, was creating the series alongside co-creator Leah Fong, more and more executives pushed for jump scares. So Flanagan decided to over-deliver in order to simultaneously appease his bosses and disempower the shock tactic.
“I thought, ‘We’re going to doallof them at once, and then if we do it right,a jump scare will be rendered meaninglessfor the rest of the series,'” he told Deadline.“It’ll just destroy it. Kill it finally until it’s dead, But that didn’t happen. They were like, ‘Great! More [scares]!'”
Eike Schroter/Netflix
Flanagan has been a longtime hater of jump scares and didn’t plan to make a name for them in his work.
“My whole career I completely s— on jump scares as a concept, and I wanted to make sure it was pinned to me, too, as much as it is to the show, to Netflix, and all of us who have inflicted this on everyone,” he said.
“Now, I have my name in theGuinness Book of World Recordsfor jump scares, which means next time I get the note, I can say, ‘You know, as the current world record holder for jump scares, I don’t think we need one here.'”
In an additional conversation withThe Wrap, Flanagan expanded on thehumor behind his new record. “I think this Guinness thing is kind of hilarious because, you know, this was really kind of an attempt to take the power of the jump scare away from the show and kind of get it all over with,” he said.
“Just say, ‘Now it’s done and it’s not going to have the impact. We can focus more on the stuff that’s important,’ but it kind of went a different way. And you’re right that having this record, to me, is something that I think is really funny and something that I’m also really grateful for and I think is really fun.”
Flanagan is known for creating Netflix’s horror favoritesThe Haunting of Hill House,The Haunting of Bly ManorandMidnight Mass— and he directed the 2016 horror filmHush.
The Midnight Club— his latest work — follows the fictional story of teenager Ilonka, who is diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer. Upon the failure of her medical treatment, Ilonka relocates to a hospice center for teens where she meets members of “the midnight club.” Ghost stories unfold as the teens promise each other whoever dies first will send a sign from beyond the grave.
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All episodes ofThe Midnight Club’sfirst season are now streaming on Netflix.
source: people.com
